Pretty over the moon with how things went for our first feature event of our ongoing residency The Sunday Wash-up, held every Sunday night at The Dock in Redfern.
Supported by Great Southern Nights, we had a bit of budget to create a bigger couple of Sundays over two weekends. Add us programming an outdoor stage in the Redfern chapter of City of Sydney's Sydney Streets in the middle on a Saturday, and we figured we had a bigger program: enter the "Cupholder Weekender".
Problem was booking the thing.
We've been so flat out trying to stay afloat financially while simultaneously getting SydneyMusic.net to some degree of sustainability that I've never really been able to get a week ahead on the Sunday Wash-up program for most of its existence. Booking 9 acts over two weeks felt like a tough ask.
We've programmed some amazing local emerging music in this residency over the last 9 months - I'm incredibly proud of the lineup. There have been zero duds in my opinion, and we've booked the entire thing with our ears, making a resolute commitment to make no decisions based on social and streaming metrics. It's ruled. We're so excited about the music we've been able to turn people onto. And we've been able to create an artist-first environment that gives people a wonderful creative context to perform within.
So, booking the Weekender. Caitlin had some more free time with the end of a contract about 4 weeks before the festival. Not a lot of time; well behind the eight-ball. But away we went!
It all started with a booking of Terrificus. I'd known I wanted to do a show with them since the moment I saw them live, but I wanted it to be the right occasion. Then we saw Paste and loved them and Caitlin took a punt at a booking - a good thing we got them as it looks like they won't be playing together until next year after this weekend. I was over the moon with what Sadie were doing. Then I saw Entertainment Quarter play their first ever show supporting Bilby's album launch. And I'd wanted to have Marcella Sunshine Allen do a DJ set ever since we got into her Inner West Princesses EP with Cherry Rype.
For the outdoor festival, we booked amazing songwriter Jack R. Reilly (he just released a great album), Ingleburn hip-hop lord DXVNDRE, and electro-pop auteur Louisa.
And then amidst discussions about future lineups, Caitlin says "I've been talking for ages about Twelve Point Buck, what about we ask them if they want to do a show"?
Somehow, a band that hadn't played a Sydney show in some time responds positively to the notion of a booking, then decides they want the Weekender date - in two weeks. Suddenly, our Weekender is booked.
(The next day, Twelve Point Buck launch an album called loud music for quiet people. It receives 36,000 streams in its first 24 hours.)
The only real lowlight was that City of Sydney cancelled the Sydney Streets festival due to rain. Gutted - second time this has happened to us. What was meant to be a low-promo gig that was intended to give amazing exposure to some artists we really love by being part of a well-attended street festival became a scramble for the back-up plan - moving the gig inside. With no promo lead time, it was a quiet gig - but the performances were amazing and everyone there experienced something special. Thank you to Jack, DXVNDRE and Louisa for bringing their all and killing it. And Caitlin's DJ set into the night crushed so hard.
But the rest? Wow. Here are some photos.
Thanks as ever to The Dock for such a cool space to put on amazing music. It's such a privilege.
