WAM's World Western Australian Music News December 2019

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

It’s been a massive year for WAM filled with celebrations, exciting events and watching the great strides made by WA artists and industry. As we move into the new year, here’s our 2019 in review.

Demos From The Wheatbelt

In March, ten Wheatbelt artists travelled to the iconic Cummins Theatre in Merredin to record their original songs with producers Dan Carroll, Andy Lawson and Matt Gio. The compilation was launched to a sold-out Cummins Theatre in September, with songs racking up 3,000-plus streams.

Girls Rock! WA

The first of two 2019 camps, held at North Metro TAFE Leederville, kicked off in January designed to empower and connect young female, trans, and non-binary musicians through a programme of instrumental instruction, band rehearsals, workshops, fun activities, and live performance.

After the overwhelming success of the first Girls Rock! camp, a second camp was held in October, with over 50 campers and 100 volunteers taking part across both gatherings.

Higher Note & WAM Workshops

Held over two days in September, the bespoke Higher Note workshops saw self-managed musicians and emerging managers kick their careers up a level. WAM held six development workshops throughout the year, exploring songwriting, grant writing and more.

Song Of The Year Awards

Over $45,000 worth of prizes were won and 100 songs recognised over 17 different categories. Performers Tara Tiba, Flewnt, Echo Adore, Pat Chow and Rhubarb Records DJs performed at a sold-out Awards night at Freo.Social, with the grand prize taken out by Carla Geneve.

Starting Ground Workshop

WAM and APRA AMCOS, in collaboration with Tjuma Pulka Aboriginal Media Corporation, brought the Starting Ground workshop for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders to WA for the first time.

The free, two-day workshop featured Drew Goddard (Karnivool) running sessions in songwriting, music production, artist management, touring and live performance, marketing, promotion and more.

New Noise Collective

2019 saw the introduction of youth initiative New Noise Collective presented by WAM and Act-Belong-Commit. A group of passionate music lovers aged 16-20, they successfully ran two editions of all-ages Library Sessions gigs and a packed stage at WAMFest.

The Women's Music Network (WMN)

Established to provide a platform to empower women, trans and gender non-binary people in music, WAM hosted a number of WMN events across the year with speakers including Vanessa Thornton (Jebediah), Addison Axe (The Tommyhawks) and Ofa Fotu (Odette Mercy and Her Soul Atomics).

Sounds Of The Kimberley

Ten Kimberley artists were selected and travelled to a pop-up studio in an iconic, heritage-listed pearler’s warehouse to record their original songs with producers Matt Gio, Dan Carroll and Andy Lawson, plus Sean Lillico and James Newhouse. With recording in the bag, the compilation is set for release in 2020.

Who Run The World

The free workshop held in collaboration with Perth Festival and WAAPA, saw a group of young female-identifying musicians explore everything from creative process to the basics of sound, stage presence, to laying the foundations for a viable music business

WAMFest

And finally, who can forget our 2019 flagship events: WAMFest, WAMCon and the WAMAwards, which saw 130-plus acts hit 20 stages across 2 nights, 65-plus international and Australian music industry representatives flock to our city centre, and 36 shiny vinyl record trophies awarded to WA’s best.

A huge thank you to every musician, industry member and fan for making 2019 a year for the books, and we can’t wait to continue the journey with you in 2020. This is the WAMily signing out.