Holiday Bands January 2024
Hello everyone!!
Let me tell you about this bloody life-changing experience I had last month. Up north, in Elizabeth (Lizbef), The Northern Sound System is an incredible youth centre designed to put on programs for young people, particularly music-related. Similarly to the iconic ‘Rock Camp’ project by Girls Rock, NSS hosts ‘Holiday Bands’ which allows folks ages 13-17 to form a band, write songs, and perform, all whilst being mentored by some fantastic musos.
I was helping steer the ship along with my good mates Maddy, Zayd, Em, Mia and Nick, as well as Zara being the best Polaroid intern EVER. I got to meet so many cool musicians and help them create some killer bands, and every day they had tons of workshops and activities they could be a part of.
Kynan popped in to show us how they screen print t-shirts, and I scored myself a rare abstract collage of various Adelaide bands:
Throughout the week, we had guests like Aston (TOWNS) teaching the kids about guitar tones, and Cahli (Teenage Joans, Pity Lips) giving tips about TikTok and social media content creation. At lunch, Violet Harlot played a short set for the kids, and it was really crazy seeing so many of them get inspired and impacted by our silly little songs. Here’s a lil snap Zara got of me (if you rotate it 90 degrees, it looks like I’m doing a flying kick lol):
Finally, on Friday, it was the big day - THE GIG!!!! I got to be Stage Manager, making sure everyone was in tune, making sure the right bands had the right microphones etc. Watching these kids grow over 5 days was insane, and they absolutely TORE UP THE STAGE!!! The staff made a Suggestion Box for the kids to put any feedback or comments for us, and after everything was said and done, I was sent home with a handful of wholesome letters, demanding I return.
Anyways, this blog is dedicated to any young musos, or to anyone who knows any young musos, who want to start a band, but don’t know where to start, or if they don’t know if they even can start a band (pro tip: YES YOU CAN). NSS is a really valuable resource for young musicians so I highly recommend you guys reach out to them and keep your eyes peeled for any opportunities that they will have coming up soon!
