WAM's World: West Australian Music News March 2019

A brief glimpse at the goings-on in the WA music industry, rounded up by WAM aka West Australian Music.

WAM’s Song Of The Year

The search for WA’s best songs is on. Presented by Act-Belong-Commit, WAM’s Song Of The Year comp is now open to WA songwriters, bands and producers.

There’s over $45,000 worth of prizes on offer across 17 categories, including studio time with WA’s finest and a HUGE grand prize packed with everything you need to launch your next big release. Submit your best songs by Monday 25 March to be in the running.

Mental Health Matters Workshop

WAM is proud to team with APRA AMCOS, Support Act and AccessEAP to deliver a super informative and practical workshop focused on mental health and well-being in the music industry.

With research showing that musicians are five times more likely than the general population to suffer from depression, this workshop is a great way to learn how to identify mental health issues, find out where to go for help, and get tips on self-care and helping others.

Mental Health Matters will be held Monday 25 March at the State Library of WA.

WAM’s Demos From The Wheatbelt

A fresh crop of home-grown songs from WA’s Wheatbelt is about to be unleashed on the nation.

This month, ten Wheatbelt artists will visit WAM’s pop-up recording studio in the iconic Cummins Theatre, in Merredin, to lay down their own, original tracks with two of WA’s best producers, Matt Gio and Dan Carrol. Their finished songs will form part of WAM’s upcoming 'Demos From The Wheatbelt' compilation to be distributed Australia-wide later this year.

Bunuru Festival Returns

To Yagan Square 23-24 March. The free, community celebration is named after the Noongar season for February-March and pays respect to the traditional land owners.

This year, WAM is proud to be working with renowned WA artist Karla Hart to curate an exceptional line-up of Indigenous WA musicians to perform across the weekend. There’ll also be plenty of family-friendly activities and top-notch food from Yagan Square’s eateries.

Perth Caravan & Camping Show Showcases Local Talent

WAM is thrilled to be working with the Perth Caravan & Camping Show to inject local music into their programme and create more paid-performance opportunities for WA artists.

Twelve talented locals will be popping up for performances throughout the show, including Aminah Hughes, Bill Lawrie, Chris Gibbs, Daniel Searle, David Rivett, Jenny Gaunt, Julie Kember, Justin Walshe, Natasha Eldridge, Platform2, Robert Hinton and Tash Shanks.

Perth Caravan & Camping Show is on 20-24 March at the Claremont Showgrounds.

LAUNCHPAD (upcoming local launches)

Clay Western (EP launch) - Mojo’s Bar, 7 March
GAZEY (single launch) - The Bird, 7 March
Claire Anne Taylor (album launch) - Mojo’s Bar, 7 March
Sweet Oblivion (EP launch) - YMCA HQ, 8 March
Supernaked (single launch) - The Bird, 13 March
Wild Tone (tape launch) - The Bird, 15 March
Izatang (single launch) - Mojo’s Bar, 16 March
Verge Collection (single launch) - Mojo’s Bar, 16 March
Placid (single launch) - Four5Nine Bar, 21 March
Great Gable (single launch) - Rosemount Hotel, 23 March
Mejadra and Marc Osborne (double album launch) - The Ellington Jazz Club, 26 March