Mental health the mane focus of music festival

THE Lions Club of Leopold will help run a music festival next weekend that raises money and awareness to combat the rising rate of suicide and support mental health services.

The Mane Event music festival, which is on Saturday October 14, is the brainchild of directors Jon Gilchrist and Tristan Gall from Geelong.

The event is held during Mental Health Week every October at the iconic Barwon Club Hotel in South Geelong.

Tristan is passionate about his music and has specifically supported and promoted the local Geelong music scene, while Jon has been performing for more than 20 years in various bands, but is probably most known for his keyboard and vocal skills in local glam rockers, the Glitter Gang.

Both having struggled with their own mental health, they saw a need for more support and funding in Geelong, and along with their passion for music, a music festival was the obvious platform from where to do this.

Jon asked his father, Bob Gilchrist, about setting up a charity.

After weeks of research, the costs and paperwork seemed like an impossible task, so Bob approached the Lions Club of Leopold, of which he is a member, and put forward a proposal to help run the event.

The support from the Lions was amazing, Jon said, and this gave rise to the most obvious choice for a name – The MANE Event.

After approaching owner Greg Dodds at the Barwon Club Hotel in Geelong, he introduced the boys to Al O’Neill who books entertainment for the venue.

The three boys put their heads together and started the arduous task of creating a music festival which would end up a permanent date in Geelong’s music calendar.

In 2014, the one-day music festival showcased a Painters and Dockers reunion, and featured Mick Thomas, Nick Barker and some amazing local and interstate talent, raising $2,000 for beyondblue.

In 2015, The Mane Event returned to The Barwon Club with The Badloves, The Stiffys, The Kite Machine, Nick Barker and another A-list of local musos, raising $3,000 for Headspace Geelong.

In 2016, The Mane Event harnessed the power of music into a two-day event headlined by The Black Sorrows, Vaudeville Smash, JR Reyne, Lloyd Spiegel, Alister Turrill, and another stella local line-up.

The amount raised was an amazing $8,000, once again presented to Headspace Geelong.

With the encouragement, contacts and unending support of Al O’Neill and the Barwon Club, 2017 will see the Lions Club of Leopold and the boys do it all over again.