Local musician Kiera Owen, vocalist of rock band Rag n’ Bone has been busy organising shows with her side project, entitled ‘Uh-Huh’. Her newest show, ‘Lickmypalooza’ promises a unique night of music catered specifically for the LGBT community.
‘Lickmypalooza’ promises a lineup of great local bands coming together for an eclectic night of music at Connections.
“I’ve got Timothy Nelson and the Infidels, got them headlining it, and then I’ve got Boom! Bap! Pow!, soulful prowess of a band, they’re awesome. And then I’ve got Rag N’ Bone, which is the band I play in, and then Filthy Apes, which is kind of like a surf rock group, they actually wear ape masks. They’re really fun, they just make you smile for forty minutes. And then I’ve got Lionizer and Sarah Pelicano as well, and then I’ve also got DJ Pussymittens a.k.a. Alicia Katani. ” Owen said.
Owen explained that ‘Lickmypalooza’ was the result of an effort to bring original music directly to LGBT community.
“I thought, every time I do a gig I’m going to try and have some point of difference from just putting on a regular show that’s just showcasing music.
“We got the Pride email to register an event and I thought ‘Well, I feel like the couple of years in Pride there’s been a big focus on theatre and that sort of stuff but there’s not really a focus on music, especially not original music. Especially not music that caters to a young audience.’ So I thought I’d get a nice eclectic group of bands that either have members that are part of the community or that just really support the community and their music’s super fun. So that’s what I did.”
It’s also the first show of its kind to play at Connections, which Owen said was a big drawcard for the musicians.
“I think the most exciting thing for me is that there’s going to be a gig at Connections [laughs]. So a lot of them time it’s a lot of DJs, which is great, there’s obviously the drag shows and the Bingay, and there’s all those kind of events but between the two gay venues in Perth there’s just no live music. I mean we’re lucky in Perth, you don’t really have to go to a gay bar any more. Everywhere’s pretty accepting and it’s not really a big deal any more. But I think for those people that like to associate with those venues and meet new people I think that it would give them an opportunity to see live music for a really decent price and they’re bound to like at least one band on the bill.”
Owen said she’s hoping that this intersection of the LGBT and music communities could become a regular occurrence.
“The ultimate goal would be to have hopefully at least one of the gay venues open up live music on a regular basis, even if it was just once a month. So I think if this went well that could potentially be something that could come out of it, which would be really cool.
“I think the best thing about this gig is people that I know in the gay community are excited about it and heaps of musicians that I know that don’t even associate with the LGBT scene are really excited as well.”
Get more information and tickets for ‘Lickmypalooza’ here.
Sophie Joske