When COVID lockdowns swept through Newcastle's live music scene like bushfire, only a resolute optimist would have foreseen what was to come.
The pain, emotionally and financially, was immediate and devastating.
But musicians have either returned or sprouted anew - not only with renewed vigour but in far greater numbers, green shoots throughout the pubs of Newcastle.
"A lot of young bands came of legal age through COVID, so a lot of them hadn't played in licenced venues," says venue owner and event promoter Dylan Oakes. "They'd only been playing at parties. A lot of them were forming just before COVID, practised when they could and started to get out there. They were writing a lot of music while in lockdown. Once the studios were open for rehearsing, they were full as well."
To draw attention to the new bands on the scene Oakes, co-owner of The Family Hotel, conceived a one-day boutique festival in his pub called Band Aid.
The inaugural event was in December 2021 and featured 18 acts, a sonic charcuterie board of full-band and acoustic sets.
The day was a success but most surprising was the interest that Band Aid triggered.
Oakes' inbox overflowed with interest from young bands desperate to play live.
Two more successful Band Aid events followed to accommodate the requests, in March and June this year, but it was evident that a larger showcase was required.
West Best Bloc Fest was born.
"The idea stemmed from the King Street Crawl in Newtown, years ago," Oakes says. "I always thought it would be great to revive the Newcastle scene, to put on something so large. The idea seemed doable when direct messages came in quite heavily over the Christmas period in 2021. Bands asked if they could play at the next Band Aid. I hadn't necessarily planned another one but, sure enough, I did and put the next event on in March [2022] and then the third in June."
Serendipitously, West Best Bloc Fest will see music lovers crawling a different King Street when they collect their wristband and move between the seven venues - The Family Hotel, Jam's Karaoke, Rogue Scholar, The Happy Wombat, The Star Hotel, Besties Coffee and Papa's Bagels.
Oakes was unable to secure a major financial sponsor for the event's first year, so is resigned to losing money once expenses and acts are covered.
But the bigger picture is a compelling one, and the promoter hopes the festival might accelerate the cultural shift that has seen more venues host live original music.
Even though The Cambridge Hotel will soon shut its doors, a number of residential pubs now frequently book original music, including the Stag and Hunter, Lass O'Gowrie, The Oriental, Seven Seas, Hamilton Station Hotel and Carrington Bowling Club.
"The smaller rooms are great for these kids because they don't feel so vacant and they have people in them already," says Oakes.
He believes these smaller venues are crucial to a band's development, with larger rooms like the Cambridge or Civic Theatre vital to allow local artists to support larger touring bands.
"We need a big room in the city and hopefully that happens with the Victoria Theatre," Oakes says. "Because the goal is to get our artists supporting major touring acts. I don't see why Gang of Youths bring Gretta Ray to the [Newcastle] entertainment centre and someone from Newcastle can't open for those acts like Silverchair did it with Pantera."
TAKING STOCK
Such was the music scene's transfusion of fresh blood that Oakes filmed a short documentary, capturing live Band Aid performances and interviews with the crop of young bands.
The project has now evolved into a feature-length documentary that will culminate at West Best Bloc Fest, with plans to submit the film for consideration to the likes of Cannes and Sydney Film Festival.
"The overwhelming response [during interviews] was how good it was to be together again," Oakes says. "Covid changed the world, it changed the Newcastle music scene. Everyone seems to have come back more lovingly, more accepting and supportive. They're just happy to go watch bands, support their friends and play gigs themselves."
Out of the Band Aid venture has evolved a company, Band Aid Bookings, that will be a three-pronged operation of event promotion, venue booking agency and publicity, bringing the Band Aid aesthetic into venues other than the Family Hotel.
Oakes and his colleagues are already booking a monthly showcase at the Crown & Anchor, with its owners having just invested in upgraded staging and sound to accommodate original acts.
The Band Aid venture would not be possible without the enthusiasm of young artists.
"I'm impressed with their attitude and their easy-going nature on the stage," Oakes says. "They're not afraid to share a joke or pull an awkward face. They've really been a pleasure to work with over the last year. There's a rawness but there's also an angelic humbleness to them, which I think Newcastle breeds."
SONGS OF FREEDOM
Sean Cook, who runs Carrington studio and rehearsal space Novotone with his fellow bandmates in alt-rock group Bloody Hell, also noticed the changing of the guard post-lockdowns.
"I think there's this sweeping spirit in Newcastle of people getting more and more keen," Cook says. "I think Covid helped, which is a funny thing to say, but all these people had time on their hands, and then they knew there was this amazing time coming when 'things are going to open up and we're going to be free! We get to gig!'. All of a sudden everyone's booking gigs. Working at Novotone, we've definitely had an influx of bands. There's an eagerness because they were caged up, to some degree. They're hungry and they're finally getting their chance."
Cook's observed that it's not just a fresh group of acts that have hit the scene.
"There's an emergence of bands, for sure, but there's an emergence of promoters," he says. "They're super keen to get involved and give the bands the chance to play the shows they want to play."
The singer and drummer also believes that isolation may have fuelled originality in the songs that's appeared.
"There's a lot of unique music," Cook says. "You weren't as connected to the world so you went down your own path and exploration, and the music sounds more individual."
While the mental toll of lockdowns was not always conducive to creativity, Cook did use his time in isolation to write music.
"I got a lot done," Cook says. "[Lockdown] allows reflection and so much emotion to be had, like anger and distrust, but also so much community feeling. There was a lot to sift through emotionally and intellectually. That inspired a lot of my writing."
Grunge rockers Unpretty, a local four-piece between the ages of 18 and 19, formed during Covid lockdowns.
Singer and guitarist Mason Cappiello gave no thought to when venues might re-open, he simply wanted to start a band and write songs.
"We spent so long practicing then not seeing each other because of restrictions, so by the time we finally had enough songs to play a gig, venues started having bands back," Cappiello says.
He admits to being nervous ahead of their first real show in a pub.
"It was pretty nerve-racking to be honest, but as soon as we started playing the nerves went away and we just had fun," he says. "Our first gig was at Novotone with pretty much just friends and whoever we invited there. But our first pub gig was at the Hamilton Station [Hotel]."
Cappiello, who cites "Led Zeppelin, Silverchair and Nirvana" as influences, found music a good way to pass the time.
"It was good to have something fun to do during lockdowns," Cappiello says. "I also still had school and exams, so doing both of those things filled up my day pretty quick."
For two-piece surf rock outfit Midway, forced isolation made creative inspiration hard to come by and songwriting was difficult when they couldn't be in the same room.
"We have a really collaborative process and when you can't collaborate it's tough," singer and guitarist Jordan Snowden says. "And when you're stuck inside all day, there's nothing to write about. I found it hard to think of things - a lot of my songs are based on the beach or relationships, so it's hard to write when [lockdown's] going on."
For Oakes who, outside of owning a pub and Band Aid commitments, is himself a singer and guitarist in two projects, the avant garde rock group Les Poétes Pop and Mutant Elephant, music was a lifeline during enforced isolation.
"Mutant Elephant was a band I formed to more or less deal with my personal issues during COVID," Oakes says. "Music was my only personal escape during lockdown."
West Best Bloc Fest is on Sunday October 2 from noon. Tickets are available now through Trybooking.com. Wristbands can be collected from the carpark behind the Family Hotel on Steel Street on the day.
