Community Music Stories

In this episode you'll get the inside story on The Dept of Rock - an incredible music community that came together to participate in a battle of the bands. Apart from loving music, the common element here is that all the bands have a connection to the public service in Canberra. I can guarantee that you've never experienced public service gatherings like this though!I caught up with many of the 24 bands in the battle of the bands, some of them appearing in their global premiere performances for the comp, and found out how they formed, what kinda stuff they play and why they signed up. There are some incredible stories about the effort, commitment and passion people put into their music.You'll meet Leanne Thompson the secretary of the Dept of Rock, who has worked tirelessly to make everything work. You'll meet Nigel McCrae, owner of Smith's Alternative, the iconic Canberra venue that hosts the competition, and legendary sound engineer Bevan Noble. You'll meet some of the judges who have a fair bit of government experience - one is an MP and another is a Secretary of a Federal Public Service Department. You'll also hear from some of the audience members who were pretty stoked with what they were seeing.Everyone involved in this story seemed to be having the most wonderful experience. Enjoy!