Local music looks to retake the stage

AN indie network of artists will hopefully be returning to live shows next week for its winter showcase.

Poppet Head Records is made up of some of Bendigo’s biggest alternative rock musicians and was created after local musician Trevor Petrie realised how much original and independent music the region has to offer.

“I was living in Castlemaine for a few years and while I was there I took the opportunity to get down to Melbourne a bit, trying to break into the Melbourne music scene by going to a lot of open mics and gigs down there to try and meet some people,” he said

“Something that I came away with from that experience was that Bendigo has some really awesome talent that not a lot of people know about.

“What I wanted to do was bring together a group of like-minded musos and create a sort of artist discovery platform to try and highlight some of the indie rock and alternative artists we have in the region.

“Plenty of people are familiar with the Bendigo Blues and Roots Festival and there’s this whole other pocket of music in Bendigo that I thought needed showcasing and that turned into Poppet Head Records.”

Petrie maintains that Poppet Head is not a traditional record label in that they don’t sign artists.

Instead, the label serves as a growing “information sharing community” currently with eight acts involved.

“We’re really a cooperative of indie musos, any of the artists that are involved retain 100 per cent control of their music,” Petrie said.

“That was something I was pretty passionate about from day one and something that’s resonated really well with the artists.

“Having 100 per cent control of our art is paramount and a big part of why we go down the DIY indie path.

“When you’re writing material, and everyone on the label does write their own material, it’s a part of you and it’s a part of you that you’re wanting to share with other people and you don’t really want outsider influence on that.”

The annual Poppet Head Records winter showcase is set to be on 21 August, with artists Sparrow Daley, Frank Bell, Acoustic Foxx and Steph Bitter included in the line-up.

Petrie said the event has been a long time coming and rescheduling has become the “number one sport for 2020 and 2021.”

“I’ve found it absolutely crushing not having live music, not having that ability to go out and play gigs,” he said.

“I never gigged that heavily, I played a show a month, but I’ve been lucky to play maybe twice this year.

“It’s a big hole, sort of a loss of identity in a lot of ways. The flip side of that is I’m absolutely itching to get out and play.”

The showcase will take place at the Golden Vine Hotel on 21 August, which Petrie said is the “the home of original music in Bendigo.”

For more information on the showcase and to keep up to date with Bendigo’s alt-rock scene head to poppetheadrecords.com.au.