Following the success of its launch this last July, the Leaps And Bounds Festival, which threw the spotlight on local live music venues and bands, is returning for 2014 bigger, better, and with a more bulging budget.
Aimed at celebrating the local live music scene (and named after the iconic anthem by Paul Kelly), the inaugural Leaps And Bounds Festival combined a series of unique music events curated for Melbourne’s inner-north suburbs, organised by City of Yarra council, Music Victoria, PBS Fm, and local music figures: The Tote’s Jon Perring, The Standard Hotel’s Justin Rudge, and Yah Yahs booker, The Age’s Mary Mihelakos.
According to the results of a Yarra City council report issued last week, Leaps And Bounds was deemed a resounding success, and as a result will have its funding more than doubled, from its budgets of $35,000, for its 2014 return, as Herald Sun reports.
Taking place from 5th July to 21st July this year, the 293 live music events that attracted 80,000 punters to 34 different venues “exceeded expectations”, according to the report, which declares that Yarra Council voted to pump in $80,000 toward the event for next year’s edition.
Leaps And Bounds 2014, again to be held in July, is also likely to gain a funding kick from Arts Victoria and the Australia Council of the Arts, with a boost of $30,000 from each funding body towards the 2014 event’s total budget of $147,500. “Many other festivals bring in international headliners, but the purpose of Leaps and Bounds is to put the spotlight on local artists and where they play.”
Jon Perring, co-owner of Bar Open, Yah Yahs, and the legendary Collingwood venue The Tote, emphasises that the success of Leaps And Bounds was tied to profiling Yarra’s vibrant live music scene.
“Many other festivals bring in international headliners, but the purpose of Leaps and Bounds is to put the spotlight on local artists and where they play,” Mr Perring said.
The Tote was one of many local venues that played a key part in festival proceedings, hosting the reunion of influential punks The Powder Monkeys for a locally charged tribute concert to fallen frontman Tim Hemensley.
Other Leaps And Bounds features include the pedal-powered Muscycle gigs, a bus tour of Yarra’s musical landmarks with Bruce Milne and the Corner Hotel’s Presentation Night series, where Paul Kelly, Bob Murphy, and Francis Leach bonded over their passion for footy in a live gig-come-panel show.
All three events are set to continue for Leaps And Bounds Festival 2014, along with the return of seminars and Q&As on the local industry, FReeZA all-ages events, and expanded indigenous programming.
Proposals for new programming to commence for next year’s festival include live gigs on Yarra Trams, a dedicated psychedelic music showcase, an improv and experimental mini-fest, an exclusive Leaps And Bounds beer produced by Abbotsford brewery Mountain Goat, events at PBS studios, Richmond recording studio Bakehouse, an open house viewing of APRA, and other iconic Yarra industry sites.
Yarra Council’s meeting approving the budgeting boost for Leaps And Bounds also showed “in-principle support” for the push to establish a fund to help pay for costly soundproofing of live music venues, to help prevent noise complaints and legal tussles between residents, councils, and venues.
The proposal comes from Labor councillor Simon Huggins as a result of the recent battle over Collingwood’s Bendigo Hotel. In light of the threat to the venue, Cr Huggins says that council should be supporting Yarra’s live music scene; “I want to set up a program for established venues to assist them make necessary modifications.
Council will determine the amount of funding it can use to help offset the costs of expensive noise muffling measures as part of its 2014/15 budgeting process.
Speaking to Herald Sun, Mr Perring praised the soundproofing initiative as an important step in the right direction, but said that the live music sector was still pushing for the State Government to introduce the Agent of Change principal, where new residents to an area are responsible for noise controls and not the other way round as it currently.
The full Leaps And Bounds Festival 2014 proposal can be viewed here with venues and further information from the recent City Of Yarra council meeting available here.
