IT IS with great enthusiasm that I mention a monthly music event that we (the Glasshouse Musos), with the support of the local community, are running in Maleny. Called Muzika it opened on the first Thursday in April and, not surprisingly, we asked ourselves at the time “will an audience come?”
One might argue it is not a good time to put on an event and expect an audience to attend, but after two years of “living in the wilderness”, most in the performing arts industry are thinking any time is the right time for putting on an event these days.
Muzika is a rebadging of the very successful Club Acoustic that ran at Maleny RSL for six years until late last year.
Our first audience in April was modest, but as the regulars noted, it was full of first timers to this sort of show, so a good sign of where we might be able to take it.
To say the music was uplifting, at times sublime on this opening night, is an understatement.
It seemed that each act inspired those following them and they each lifted to the standard being set for the evening.
I won’t mention what the highlights were for me, as it seems that each person I spoke to was excited by something different in each performer they heard, but I will list who played and their order of presentation.
Thank you Jenny Fitzgibbon and Lyn (Frank and Fearless), Kat Davie and Greg Beattie, Peter G, Paul B and Mikey D (the Swing Brothers, with Sister P), the Karen Law Family band, Kelly Cork, Noel Gardner and Alex Bridge and the final act – Tom Richter, Ian Belcher and Peter Hudson.
The night wouldn’t have been complete without our guest speakers Susie Duncan and Andrew McLean along with MC Noel Gardner who added their own special magic to the proceedings.
Short presentations from poets, story tellers and guest speakers on a range of entertaining subjects were a feature of Muzika in its past life and take us perhaps closer to the thriving community that is found here, evidenced as well in the volunteers who step up to assist events such as ours to go beyond the planning stage.
Thank you, every one of you!
We are back with our second Muzika on Thursday May 5 from 6.30pm.
We don’t yet know who all the acts are, but rest assured they will be good. One of them is The Levee and they stunned us with their virtuosity and passion when we first heard them last year so if they even just aim for that level again we will be more than happy.
Brendan O’Shea – the Mindfulness Poet, will be our MC for the evening, and he is always a heap of fun.
The food is yummy, the drinks are plentiful, the venue is spacious and the sound is exceptional.
It is only $10 to get in so do try to join us for a great music-based evening in Maleny in May.