10 things you need to know about The Regional Sessions

We're coming to five towns in Western Australia for The Regional Sessions songwriting event.

Open to beginners, emerging and mid-career songwriters and musicians.

Not sure what it's all about? Read on...and grab your ticket.

1. Where, when and who?

Five musical hubs in Western Australia, all days run 9:30am-4:30pm, with post-event networking from 5pm.

Albany
Wednesday 8 March
Kevin Mitchell (Bob Evans, Jebediah) (keynote), Blake Rhodes (Mr Rhodes), Jarred Wall (Boox Kid),
'Ofa Fotu (Odette Mercy), Riley Pearce, Siobhan Cotchin

Busselton
Friday 10 March
Darren Hanlon (keynote), Adrian Dzvuke, Blake Rhodes (Mr Rhodes), Elise Reitze-Swensen, Helen Shanahan, Joshua Eggington (Flewnt)

Kalgoorlie-Boulder
Monday 13 March
Anna Laverty (keynote), Blake Rhodes (Mr Rhodes), Bojesse Pigram, Drew Goddard (Karnivool), Natasha Shanks

Karratha
Thursday 16 March
Katy Steele (keynote), Bojesse Pigram, Candice Lorrae, Lincoln MacKinnon, Princess Khanya, Tanya Ransom

Broome
Monday 20 March
Petris Torres (keynote), Abbe May, Candice Lorrae, Delilah Rose, Glenn Sarangapany (Birds of Tokyo),
Kav Temperley (Eskimo Joe)

Our guest speakers are also top Australian songwriters (see above!) and they will be facilitating the workshops, as well. So it’s a lot of togetherness at The Regional Sessions.

Joining us at all locations is Cerisa Benjamin, Support Act's First Nations Community Engagement and Social Worker. She'll lead a session around applying for financial support if you are a musician, manager, crew or music worker in crisis and much more about the services that the organisation provides.

2. How it works

You arrive, check in, grab a coffee, and we kick off with a keynote ‘In Conversation,’ followed by a Songwriter Speaks panel, and then there will be two workshop sessions where you can get down to some honest to goodness songwriting. We learned heaps when we did the sessions in NSW and Victoria.

3. Why are we going regional with these sessions?

Let’s ask Kevin Mitchell, founding member of Jebediah and who performs as solo artist Bob Evans.

"In a country like Australia and a state like WA, the tyranny of vast distances can be a real hurdle for artists," Kevin said.

"I think it's great that APRA AMCOS is facilitating these kinds of opportunities for people living in regional centres far away from the capital cities. I'm sure we'll all learn a lot from each other!"

4. Are you writing songs but not ready to release or perform music quite yet, but kind of want to come?

Totally OK! This is an excellent chance to meet other songwriters and musicians and see what they are up to. You can share your ideas in a workshop or get insight on finishing a song or how to release it, or just listen and take it all in.

5. Or, maybe, you’ve been writing and playing music for awhile and want to get more serious about your career?

Fantastic, we encourage you to come – there will be helpful advice from our guest speakers covering topics like songwriting splits, production tips, touring and gigs, promo and much more.

6. We are offering Music Production workshops for the first time.

The NATSIMO is curating a new the opportunity for music creators to develop skills in Music Production.

Learn from SongMakers mentor and NATSIMO Abbey Road Institute Australia scholarship recipient Blake Rhodes (Mr Rhodes) in Albany and Busselton and from The Merinda's Candice Lorrae of Candy Suite studios in Kalgoorlie-Boulder, Karratha and Broome.

"Music production is more accessible than ever, but it can be frustrating or time consuming to figure it out ‘do-it-yourself’ style, so join me in these sessions to learn my process and ways that you can develop your own that suits at any level," said Candice.

7. Connection is key

A vital part of these events is getting songwriters into a room to network and find out what others from your area are up to. You never know what might come out of it – co-writing opportunities, a future collaboration, a new connection.

8. What the $35 ticket includes:

Don't pack a lunch, we're catering (let us know your dietary requirements when you register). And, attendees are invited to join for a post-event performance, with refreshments included.

9. Bring your mates

You don’t need to be an APRA AMCOS member to attend. Anyone making music can attend and they can speak to an APRA AMCOS Rep on the day to find out how to join.

10. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander musos: complimentary tickets are available from the NATSIMO.

Email the team at [email protected] to register. If you have a group that would like to attend, please ask us about how we can help arrange.

The Regional Sessions are presented by APRA AMCOS, in collaboration with the National Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander Music Office (NATSIMO), with support from the Western Australia's Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries.