NEIGHBOURS were treated to a pop-up concert in Ocean Grove by songstress Kim Cooper earlier this month, and while a subsequent performance was shut down by police on Good Friday, the community applauded her efforts.
\n\u201cI\u2019m a local singer and I saw a lot of musicians were going live online, I didn\u2019t feel like doing that. I thought \u2018What could I do that\u2019s a bit more local and community based?\u2019,\u201d she said.
\n\u201cI was driving around and saw families walking together, every afternoon has a Sunday afternoon feel about it, and I\u2019ve been thinking how lovely that is.
\n\u201cI think that\u2019s been a silver living in this situation. So, I thought it would be nice for my neighbours and people walking by, if I sang for them. I wrote a little note introducing myself and put it in their mailboxes, letting them know I\u2019d be singing between 4-5pm.\u201d
\nMs Cooper said as she was setting up, she was surprised by the neighbours\u2019 reactions, who were ready and waiting for her to start.
\n\u201cPeople were in their driveways with their chairs and a bottle of wine, it was just beautiful, really heartwarming. The next day people dropped notes and chocolates in my letterbox thanking me, someone tied a balloon to it asking me when I\u2019d be doing it again.
\n\u201cI didn\u2019t think that many were listening, as a singer I know how special live music is, it carries a certain magic, but you never know if other people feel the same way\u2026it was lovely to see that
\nthey do.\u201d
\nThe online Ocean Grove Barwon Heads Noticeboard was inundated with posts searching for the mysterious singer, celebrating the performance which amassed more than 700 likes and hundreds of comments.
\n\u201cThis was hands down one of the most
\nbeautiful performances and experiences I\u2019ll remember for the rest of my life. I felt really privileged as a singer to be able to create a little bit of magic.\u201d
\nMs Cooper said as a full-time, live-in carer for her dad John, she performs on weekends for her job, but as venues shut down, work ceased to exist.
\n\u201cRegardless of your trade, we\u2019re all just trying to do our bit for the community, and I saw this as a way for me to make a positive
\ndifference.\u201d
\nA secondary performance on Good Friday at a Minerva Close address was cut short after Sergeant Greg Taylor responded to a noise complaint.
\n\u201cWe received a noise complaint – the amplified music is a breach of the EPA act in a public place; if music can be heard from a habitable room, then it\u2019s an offence,\u201d Sgt Taylor said.
\n\u201cSecondly, it wasn\u2019t at her home address and didn\u2019t meet the criteria for being out and about. The performance doesn\u2019t classify as essential or comply with the four criteria for being out, our job is to keep the community safe and enforce the laws of the state of Victoria.
\n\u201cIt was a lovely thing to do if she did it when we weren\u2019t under these restrictions, but under the new laws, it can be up to a $10,000 fine for a commercial event and $1,652 for a private individual.\u201d
\nIf you would like to see Kim\u2019s future performances, find her on Instagram @kimelisecooper.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
NEIGHBOURS were treated to a pop-up concert in Ocean Grove by songstress Kim Cooper earlier this month, and while a subsequent performance was shut down by police on Good Friday, the community applauded her efforts. \u201cI\u2019m a local singer and I saw a lot of musicians were going live online, I didn\u2019t feel like doing […]<\/p>\n