An Australian tour often doesn’t deviate from the major cities, however more and more artists are taking their shows to rural towns of late and for good reason. Rural crowds are simply great!
1) As an artist how important is it to play regional shows?
KLP: I think every artist and every situation is different. For me I love trying to get out to as many places as possible. Even if it’s a small town/venue, every person counts.
ODD MOB: It’s incredibly important to play rural shows. We absolutely love the support that our rural following shows us, so naturally we love to show our appreciation.
2) What are the differences in playing in a regional town to a major city?
KLP: Venue size and crowd size can definitely be different – but other than that if the crowd is there for the right reasons then it can be fun regardless of where you are or how many people you are playing too.
ODD MOB: People in regional areas really love to get rowdy and really appreciate it when an act that they like comes to their part of the world. Whereas, people in the cities are generally a bit more spoilt for choice. We might play in say, Sydney or Brisbane, 4 or 5 times a year, whereas we might only play in a rural town once in that period.
3) You have big followings in the big cities, naturally. Is it humbling to see country kids turning up at your shows?
KLP: Hmmm I’ve never really looked at it that way. I get excited when anyone turns up to any shows! And again, I’ve had good and bad shows in both major and regional places so I never take anything for granted and just try to do my best at every single show.
ODD MOB: It’s always humbling when anybody comes out to see us. To have such a large number of fans part with us is absolutely mind boggling, especially in areas with a much smaller population. When a person tells you they’ve driven miles to come and see you, it really dawns on you that your music actually means something to other people.
4) What is your best memory of performing at a regional show in Australia?
KLP: There was a pretty fun one at Yamba. I had never been there before and had no idea if anyone would show up – but they showed up and turned up big time! I saw boobs and crazy body parts and screaming. It was very fun and kind of insane. I really want to go back there this year!
ODD MOB: Playing at Proud Mary’s, over the long weekend earlier this year, was one of the craziest rural shows we’ve ever experienced. Anybody who was there knows how wild it got haha!
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Thinking of hitting up a rural gig? Proud Mary’s in Erina has a chock-a-block August line-up on the horizon – including the aforementioned acts, peep the list below.
Aug 6 – Beni
Aug 13 – KLP
Aug 20 – ODD MOB
Aug 27 – WONGO
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