RAV - Regional Arts Victoria - The peak body for regional arts activity in Victoria

Lyrebird Arts Council - The Mouse that Roared

By Roderick Poole, Manager of Regional Arts Victoria's Arts Across Victoria Program

Just before Christmas I caught up with Suzanne Henderson, co-founder of Lyrebird Arts Council, to hear about Lyrebird's beginnings and its amazing growth. Suzanne still sounded a little breathless after their latest presentation just days ago. Lyrebird had presented Martha Wainwright in the Meeniyan Town Hall. Martha's international profile is extraordinarily high; her Australian tour consisted of concerts in six Australian capital cities and... Meeniyan. Two nights before the Lyrebird date, Martha and band had played to an audience of 3,000 at Melbourne's Forum Theatre. Next stop, Meeniyan Town Hall, and an audience of 250!

This not-for-profit, volunteer-run arts council is clearly punching above its weight and I was keen to know more.

Suzanne describes the beginnings of Lyrebird as coming from a simple desire to hear great live music in an intimate setting. "My partner, Ian Bevington, and I had moved to Nerrena and were sick of having to travel all the way to Melbourne to see good music performed. We were also unimpressed with many venues' lack of sensitivity towards the music, with the focus on drinking and talking rather than listening."

"We enjoyed a couple of gigs hosted by the Mirboo North Arts Council as part of the Café Concerts Series. Around about the same time we found out about RAV. Then one day Ian walked in and said, ‘We're going to start an arts council'. RAV was like a bridge that helped us cross the gap between wanting and doing.

"Our first gig was in the local pub, presenting Dave Steele. It wasn't a huge success. The venue wasn't right for us and we didn't get a good audience. We moved to the Nerrena Hall and presented Texacali Rose and 120 people turned up. In the meantime we incorporated and had a few local friends with similar likes and dislikes as members. After Nerrena we moved to the Meeniyan Town Hall. The hall committee there were generally very supportive of what we were doing and we began to work with them to improve the amenities.

"We never had a business plan. I just thought we would do 2 or 3 gigs a year, but I think Ian had a much bigger vision. Our focus was always the music. Ian was the dreamer, I was the doer."

After a number of successful gigs with Australian acts, Lyrebird booked its first international act, the Irish band Flook, through the Café Concerts Series. "Suddenly our horizons widened. Harry Manx was the first international act that we booked directly with a promoter. At first, promoters had no idea who we were. Ian would contact them and mention Meeniyan, and of course the reaction was always, ‘Where?!'

"Ian persisted, and our reputation grew. The big promoters now contact us regularly when they are in the planning stages of bringing acts to Australia."

I asked Suzanne what made a Meeniyan gig unique. "As well as providing an intimate and casual ambience for our audiences, we try hard to make the musicians feel as comfortable as possible. When we booked Paul Kelly for the first time, we took the trouble to find out what his loves were. It turned out he loved his footy, his cricket and, of all things, corned beef! When Paul first walked into the hall, he saw the football we'd put there and immediately took it out the back and played kick to kick with his bandmates. Meanwhile our cook prepared corned beef and Paul came back for more several times! That night, as well as playing his standard one and a half hour set, he did an encore that lasted another hour and a half! It was a wonderful night."

And Martha Wainwright's secret loves? "She demolished a platter of fresh fruit and at the end of the gig was very grateful for tea with honey and fresh ginger. I'm not sure if it was the tea, but in Meeniyan she seemed much more at ease with her audience and stayed behind and chatted to people afterwards."

Lyrebird has been working its magic for nearly 10 years now, but surely it doesn't run itself? "We have an enthusiastic army of 80 to 100 volunteers to help make it happen. People help with setting up the hall, distributing publicity, cleaning... We have a wonderful cook who prepares superb meals for the bands. We have a local woman who is an absolute whiz with looking after our membership lists and a local artist who does stunning flower installations on stage that constantly ‘wow' visiting artists. As well as the volunteers we have a membership of around 2,000 people. Most of them are contactable via email and they get first call on tickets for upcoming acts."

Audiences come all the way from Melbourne? "From Melbourne, yes, but sometimes much further away. We presented Patty Griffin last year, a wonderful singer from Texas on her first Australian tour. A guy in Perth whose girlfriend adored Patty's music bought her a ticket. Without saying where they were going, he picked her up one morning, took her to the airport, flew with her to Melbourne, drove from Melbourne to Meeniyan all without her having any idea where they were going or why. She was of course ecstatic when she realised what was in store." Boyfriends, take note: this guy has set the bar very high!

Since its inception, Lyrebird has presented a wonderfully diverse range of acts, including Sharon Shannon, Ash Grunwald, Shane Howard, Rodrigo e Gabriela, Michelle Shocked, Renee Geyer and has ‘discovered' many up-and-coming Australian artists such as CW Stoneking, Jordie Lane, The Audreys and Mia Dyson.

 

Michelle Shocked

 

This year Lyrebird will celebrate its 10^th anniversary with a wonderful line-up, including Joe Henry (producer for Bob Dylan, Tom Waits, Elvis Costello), Old Crow Medicine Show, Paul Kelly, Preston Reed, Doug McLeod and Van Walker, who Suzanne describes as the next big thing.

Lyrebird Arts Council is a wonderful example of what can be done with a locally organised group of enthusiastic, committed people with a vision. Happy 10^th Birthday Lyrebird!

 

Lyrebird Arts Council's next event is the Mossvale Park Music Festival on 14 March. The festival program features Paul Kelly, Old Crow Medecine Show, Ash Grunwald, Jeff Lang and Preston Reed.

For more information...