Hall hosts intimate gig series

EVERY few Fridays, Ballarat Trades Hall’s one-hundred-and-sixty-capacity expanse is being condensed into a small clubroom-style setting as part of a series offering.

Having launched in mid-October with a double gig by Troy Wilson and Jojo Rainwater, the venue’s Solo Lounge program is giving audiences a suite of intimate performances through to mid-2025.

“It’s about elevating the status of Trades Hall as a venue that’s awesome to see music in,” curator Rex Hardware said.

“For some of the shows we’ve been putting on, we really want to showcase a nice, respectful concert listening experience for our solo artists.

“We’ve got some low tables around the room and to the back and sides to give it a bit of a club setting that’s a bit different to theatre-style rows of seats.”

Mr Hardware said the program is part of a broader post-pandemic goal for the venue.

“Coming out of COVID, we did a Ballarat songwriters night featuring the Underminers, Marc Oswin, Candi Wade, and Patrick McCabe and it was a fantastic showcase,” he said.

“The reaction was so great, we thought we’ve got to continue this solo thing.

“The other thing is we’ve really ramped up our lighting and stage experience for artists and audiences. We’re using a Hazer and there’s some amazing photography and video coming out of these shows.”

The series’ next gig will feature Dayfever’s Connor Toomey, and Candi, on Friday 15 November.

“They’re two of Ballarat’s absolute upcoming stars,” Mr Hardware said.

“A lot of these performers just have such a passion for writing songs and presenting a lush set of solo works.

“A lot of our performers who’ve developed and performed with bands, some of those bands haven’t been working, so many of these artists are doing solo shows because that’s what’s available at the moment.”

Other double bills to come include local performers Zerene Jaadwa, and Hot Lemons’ Sarah Spaven performing as Spav, on Friday 29 November.

Country artists Wendy Phypers and Dave Patterson, performing as The Cartwheels, as well as Penny Burke, will follow on Friday 13 December.

Tickets to upcoming Solo Lounge gigs are $11.83 and can be found at the Ballarat Trades Hall events website.

The remainder of featured artists will be announced as the series progresses.

The program is being supported by Ballarat Regional Trades and Labour Council, and H Squared Studios with $10,000 through Music Victoria’s 10,000 Gigs: The Victorian Gig Fund which launched in September.