Many industries have taken a hit over COVID-19 restrictions; the music industry being no exception, but Music SA is launching an initiative to get musicians to the next stage.

Umbrella Festival presents: GO LIVE is a major marketing campaign encouraging audiences to safely attend South Australian live music from 18 September to December 31 2020.

After the annual winter music event Umbrella Festival couldn’t go ahead in its traditional format due to COVID-19, GO LIVE was created to give SA’s music industry a much-needed boost.

Promoted across radio, print, online, and traditional advertising channels, with an online weekly gig guide as the centrepiece, GO LIVE is backed up by steps to safely support SA’s live music industry through this tough time.

Minister for Innovation and Skills David Pisoni said the Marshall Liberal Government is proud to be a major supporter of this initiative and that Music SA’s GO LIVE will shine a light on the local live music scene.

“GO LIVE will help get people along to gigs and support a sector that has been significantly affected by COVID-19. We encourage people to safely enjoy performances in venues across the state, which will help the music industry as it begins to recover,” Minister Pisoni said.

Music SA General Manager Kim Roberts is looking forward to South Australian music being promoted across the state, encouraging people to get involved.

“GO LIVE is a wonderful initiative to encourage people to go to gigs and support our invaluable industry. We are proud to be a UNESCO City of Music, so championing the Adelaide music scene is an important step towards rebuilding what has been lost over the last few months. GO LIVE will also highlight regional events across the state, supporting intrastate travel during what has been a difficult time.  It will be an inclusive and exciting period of live music for existing and new music lovers alike,” Ms Roberts said.

Several Umbrella Festival tentpole events throughout GO LIVE’s three and a half month campaign will be delivered by Music SA with COVID-19 compliant measures.

These key event offerings include a collection of three parkland picnics of live music called Parks and Rockreation, hosting the likes of SA rising stars Heaps Good Friends and Stellie.

Noise//Nature will be partnering with the Botanica Lumina program, with a twilight sonic and visual display of the Garden’s natural wonders, while NAIDOC week and Tandanya will play host to Blak Nite 2020, featuring key First Nations artists J-MILLA, and Katie Aspel.

The ilostmygig Australia site estimates that 65,000 job opportunities have been lost and over 380,000 people have been impacted, numbers that will only rise

The GO LIVE campaign seeks to celebrate SA’s existing live music scene as a community by highlighting the excitement, creativity and fun involved in local live music, and encouraging audiences to safely attend live music events at local venues with an aim to facilitate financial support to the industry.

Through a range of advertising, promotion and publicity, live gigs will be splashed across various platforms in SA, such as trams, buses, billboards, radio, and online.

Thanks to major sponsors the state government’s Music Development Office and South Australian Tourism Commission and partnerships with The City of Adelaide and the Australian Hotels Association (SA), GO LIVE exposure will offer countless opportunities, bringing our valued music scene to the fore.