Student musos battle for the spotlight

Swinburne students will be taking the stage at the Leadbeater Hotel for the third annual Inter-Varsity Battle of the Bands this Friday, Ella O'Neill and Matthew Parkhill report.

Melbourne's music gig scene is not exactly rock n' roll.

Musicians are expected more than ever to fork out cash for gigs themselves and create their own brand, playing a game of 'who you know' to get the ball rolling.

Since COVID, venues have seen running costs soar, passing on some of those demands to the acts that fill their stage. Despite young people still flooding bars for live music, the purse pinch is felt by all from both sides of the stage.

Despite this, Swinburne students will be belting out original tunes against other University bands for the third annual Inter-Varsity Battle of the Bands this Friday at the Leadbeater Hotel in Richmond. Six bands from Melbourne's campuses have prepared for the competition, with ticket prices going towards signing emerging disabled artists.

Eden, the Swinburne Music Society President, helps organise the Battle of the Bands and says many of those who have tried out for Swinburne's band were first-time performers.

Eden, top right, has been helping organise the Battle of the Bands for the past three years and runs Swinburne's entry. (Image: Supplied)

"...One of the really cool things is that a lot of the people who do try out, it's often their first time actually performing, especially in front of a crowd of this size," Eden says.

"We're hoping, [with] the venue capacity [being] about 300, we're hoping to sell 300 [tickets]... So it's kind of a leg up for those musicians who haven't really been able to play in a lot of bands, where they can get that experience and then also perform live."

Melbourne's music scene has suffered from owners and labels having to increase their share of the pie, leaving bands with tiny margins from ticket sales. Eden says bringing the bands and university students together for the Inter-Varsity Battle of the Bands is a great way for young musicians to make those crucial connections in the gig scene.

"it is really difficult. You've got to pay a sound guy... a lighting tech... you've got to get your equipment there and set that up. Now, record labels are requiring bands to do their own social media work, and measuring that as success... putting all that together, to put on a show, you're looking at an investment around one to three grand."

"It is a really difficult time financially to do any live music, and we're very fortunate to have the backing of the universities to put on these events, and that venues like having us there."

Door tickets cost $20 for Friday evening's event at the Leadbeater Hotel, and online tickets cost $15. All proceeds will go towards supporting disabled artists to create and share their own music.

"Last year, we raised about $1500 for the Australian Children's Music Foundation, and this year we're working with a charity called Wild at Heart. They're a record label... that focuses on artists with visible and invisible disabilities," Eden says.

"That's pretty cool. We love seeing more live music, especially from artists who you otherwise wouldn't hear from."

There are multiple bands from universities including Deakin, RMIT, Melbourne and Latrobe. Some universities like to stick to a genre, so expect a Jazz big band from Melbourne University, which promised on social media to keep their band members below 20.

But otherwise, Eden says the songs are kept under wraps until the big night.

Doors open at 5pm with the show beginning at 6pm this Friday, the 21st of November.