Hall to launch live music lounge

A NEW series of live gigs at Ballarat Trades Hall is set to champion local musicians.

The Solo Lounge will open on Friday, 9 June with performers Candi Wade, Sylvie May, and SPAV on the line-up.

Sarah Spaven is the artist behind the SPAV name, and this show will mark her first headline billing.

“I have an emphasis on storytelling,” she said. “My songs are sometimes a little bit quirky, or surprising, and I like to sing made-up stories.

“It’s a big imaginary world of songs, which is really fun because it means I can dive into situations I’ve never been in before and stretch the creative side of myself.”

Spaven got into song writing within the last three years, but is not new to performing, with a background in musical theatre, and screen acting in film and television.

She said she is proud to be part of an all-female line-up which aims to celebrate women songwriters in the Ballarat community.

“The music industry is definitely a diverse one, but it’s still a very male dominated space, so it’s very exciting to see an all-female line-up,” Spaven said. “It’s not very common, unfortunately.

“I’m looking forward to performing in such an iconic space in Ballarat. Trades Hall is quite magical.

“They’re really trying to get more live music into the space and shake things up a bit, so I’m excited to be a part of that movement which is bringing live music into that beautiful Ballarat space.”

Doors open at 7pm, with the first performance at 7.30pm. The bar will be open, and tickets are $10 at bit.ly/45CTDZC.