By Jed Lanyon
Watts River Brewing has partnered with local artists to perform a virtual concert live from its Facebook page this Friday night.
Healesville’s Jeff Jenkins will be taking to the virtual stage in what he says will be his first live performance since March.
“It’s like a virtual Friday night drinks at 6pm for an hour, and it’s a great way for people to still feel connected and still be hearing live music, which is so scarce at the moment and people are missing it so much,” Mr Jenkins said.
Mr Jenkins admitted it’s going to be “a bit weird” for him to be performing without a live audience, but that it would come with the same anticipation and nerves as a live crowd.
“When you play to an audience, you’ve got that community and you’re feeding off of eachother. I put my energy out and the audience gives theirs back. I’m going to have to imagine that people are sitting at home and are loving it.”
Like many in the arts industry, Mr Jenkins said he’s feeling the frustrations of having his livelihood changed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“I have found it particularly frustrating and a little bit depressing at times. Before the lockdowns I had a lot of gigs planned. The band was all fired up to get out and play and now we can’t even get out together and rehearse.
“These guys I play with aren’t just hired musicians, they’re my friends and colleagues. You lose that camaraderie and companionship being not able to play. That’s what we live for.
“And when it’s taken away, you start to question the point of it and who you are in the scheme of things. Music helps bring joy to people and it’s a big part of who I am as a person, and when I’m not able to do that it’s an absolute killer.”
Mr Jenkins said he had spent time away creating new songs about his frustrations. Some of these songs will make up his virtual concert, while he promises a token Bob Dylan song too.
“It’s been a good thing to me to be able to open up and think about being a songwriter again. It’s been a good opportunity to get back into that. I put that (songwriting) on hold for a longtime while pretending to be Bob Dylan.
“We’re all trying to keep ourselves sane and positive in what we’re doing. We’ve all just got to hang in there and find whatever it is that makes us happy.”
To view Mr Jenkins’ live performance, visit the Watts River Brewing Facebook page on Friday 28 August at 6pm.
