Canberra rock duo The Barren Spinsters have been selected to join the line-up of over 150 Australian and international acts at Australian Music Week (AMW) in Sydney, and the pair couldn't be happier.
Now in its fifth year, AMW seeks to showcase new talent and trends in the industry, featuring performances and presentations from industry professionals.
Ahead of their first AMW trip, The Barren Spinsters' drummer Matt Tennant isn't sure what to expect. “I've never done Australian Music Week myself,” Matt says.
“Brendon [Houlahan, frontman] has done something similar, but it's definitely gonna be a learning experience. I'm just gonna put my hand out like a little kid and get Brendon to lead me around and tell me what to do,” he laughs.
The aforementioned Brendon, on the other hand, is excited to see what's been going on in the industry. “I've been to a couple of these conferences before; we've never really showcased our music before at these events, but it's good to go along and see what the current music industry climate's up to and what's happening,” Brendon says.
“It's just evolving and changing so quickly. I remember going to a conference like ten years ago and they were bringing out streaming and everyone was like, 'oooooohhhh'.”
Matt adds: “Everyone had their Discmans and were like, 'this ain't gonna catch on'.”
The band hails from Canberra and Matt believes the Australian Capital Territory contributes to an often understated subculture of high-energy bands.
“In Canberra, the tricky thing is because of the layout of the land – there's a lot of public service buildings and there's always apartments going up near live venues – it was always a bit of a tricky one trying to find places to play because you'd play somewhere and then a month later it wasn't there anymore,” he says.
“You'd kind of rock up with your gear and be like, 'oh, this is a hairdressers now. Okay, cool.' That's probably why a lot of Canberra bands have so much get-up-and-go and so much energy because they know that their favourite venue might be gone next week, so everyone wants to get out there and do as much as they can while venues are still open.”
While they may only be two members strong, Brendon struggles to find any major downsides to being a two-piece. “It's somewhat more challenging with the onstage banter oddly enough, because when one song finishes I've gotta race and change guitars and swap a few things over so it's kind of like, 'Matt! Talk to the people!'” Brendon says.
The Barren Spinsters have been touring Australia extensively this year, and have embraced the chance to play as many different shows as possible. “We've been loving it,” Matt says.
“We've been loving doing little shows, big shows and anything in between – lots of fun community events like afternoons of music in the sun where people can bring families. It's been really fun getting around Australia and meeting a lot of interesting characters.
“Sometimes we get put on bills with heavier acts and sometimes we're on folkier line-ups. Just travelling around and seeing all these different niches and scenes and cliques, it's really cool. There's a lot going on out there.”
Brendon is excited to bring The Barren Spinsters' frantic high-energy antics to Australian Music Week, regardless of the risks. “There's a lot going on at our live show and when it works it's absolutely cooking and when it doesn't, it falls apart in a heap. It's quite exciting to see what happens next.”
