Cash Savage And The Last Drinks have announced their own grassroots music festival in Melbourne (Naarm), endeavouring to fight back against the rising trend of big companies filtering hard-earned revenue out of the local music scene.
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The ambitious two-day feat will be held at the iconic Estonian House in Brunswick (a non-profit, community-run venue), running over the night of Friday August 23 and the afternoon of Saturday August 24.
Savage and her band will headline the 18+ Friday show with support from Real Sunnies and Joshua Seymour, with the following day’s family-friendly matinee gig featuring Uncle Kutcha Edwards, Our Carlson, Georgia Knight, Kate Alexander, Howl At The Moon, a joint set from Thomy Sloane and Lucy Waldron, and DJ sets from members of Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever.
Especially notable, as Savage herself pointed out in a press release, is that every band on the lineup includes a member of The Last Drinks. “Every band is family,” she declared.
The event is being hosted independently by Savage and her band’s manager, Nick Finch, with their aim being to foster an economy for the Australian music scene more focussed on the musicians themselves. Savage explained: “We’re all so jack of the way big business has been steadily creeping its way into the arts and entertainment industry.
“These days you buy a ticket to see a band you love, and your booking fee goes to some company whose majority shareholders have been tied to weapons, climate catastrophe and human rights abuses. Not to mention the bank’s transaction fee every time you buy a drink at the bar.”
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To pull it off, Savage and co. are running their Estonian House takeover as a DIY endeavour. She continued: “My uncle once explained to me that he had his farm laser-levelled so that every single raindrop would stay on the farm, not a drop of water ever left. This gig is like that: it’s DIY.
“The band members will be working at the bar and mopping the floors. My mum and dad are coming to collect the empty cans for the recycling deposit. Booking fees go to charities. All the profits will go to musicians. We will do everything we can not to fund the bad guys and we’ll encourage cash payments to leave the banks out of it.”
Tickets are on sale now, with options to attend the Friday and Saturday individually, or together in a discounted bundle. You can head here to grab yours online, or buy them with cash (for an additional discount) at Record Paradise in Brunswick and Poison City Records in Preston. Additionally, kids under 12 will be able to attend the Saturday show free of charge.
Cash Savage And The Last Drinks released their fifth studio album, So This Is Love, last April via Mistletone. It marked their first full-length offering in nearly four-and-a-half years, with its predecessor, Good Citizens, arriving in September 2018. So This Is Love earned the band their first ARIA nomination, picking up a nod for Best Blues And Roots Album. It ultimately lost the title, but did go on to win Best Album at last year’s Music Victoria Awards.