Reported by Delight Ng and Geraldine Lee
The first day of Music Matters Live 2013 kicked off with an amazing line-up of local and international artists performing at 6 venues around Clarke Quay. The music festival held in conjunction with the Digital & Music Matters 2013 conference was broadcasted live globally on YouTube from 22 May – 24 May 2013.
In the cosy setting of Beer Market, fans of Australian artists such as – At Sunset, Monks of Mellonwah, FAIRCHILD, Gurrumul and Katie Noonan – gathered for the Aussie BBQ segment of Music Matters Live 2013.
Three-man pop rock band, At Sunset, played to an excited crowd of Sunsetters (as fans of the band are known as). Hailing from Adelaide, the band comprising of brothers and vocalists – Harrison and Andrew Kantarias, as well as guitarist/drummer Jae Curtis, had the girls singing along to their hit songs such as – Heartbreak and Fly. The boys even found time to interact with the fans after their set, taking pictures and signing autographs.
Monks of Mellonwah brought their brand of alternative rock to the audiences right after. The four-piece band – Vikram Kaushik (vocals/guitar), Joe de la Hoyde (Lead Guitar), John de la Hoyde (Bass) and Joshua Baissari (Drums) – attracted an older audience with their bass-heavy tunes and rock ballads such as Pulse and Afraid to Die.
Keeping the energy up was six-member indie pop band, FAIRCHILD, who took the stage after.
The next act, Gurrumul, was no doubt one of the favourites of the night. There was an air of reverence, respect and support as Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu was guided to a chair and handed his guitar. Despite being born blind, his skill with the guitar was no small feat. He had the audience laughing and joining in with animal imitations as he sang songs and folk tales of his homeland. Katie Noonan joined him in a fun duet for one of the songs.
Australian singer-songwriter Katie Noonan took the stage next in her bright red hair and colourful clothes. Together with the NUS Aurora String Quartet, she transported listeners into a completely different world with her ethereal voice. Those who were familiar with her songs were pleasantly surprised as she performed a set of her old songs completely rewritten for strings and piano.
It was a night of great music, food, beer and company as the audience came together (with bands even staying behind to support the other artists) in the spirit of music. Even those who were unfamiliar with the artists found themselves smiling and clapping along. Indeed it did not matter that Australia was at least 8 hours away because these talented musicians brought Down Under right to our doorstep that night.
