Who we are: Josh Morphett Space Jams

WHO WE ARE: Josh Morphett

Over the past two years, the notion of ‘space’ has significantly evolved in meaning. As I sit and write in the midst of a period of mandated isolation, space has come to represent a challenging separation from some basic pleasures: interaction, freedom, dancing and connection.

Space Jams

Story by Poppy Fitzpatrick. Photograph by Jason Porter.

In the early stages of the pandemic, local musician Josh Morphett saw this ‘space’ not as a void, but instead as an opportunity for creativity and collaboration.

The sudden shut down of all so-called non-essential businesses in March 2020 meant Josh found himself completely out of gigs to play for the foreseeable future. Josh filled the extra time with live-streamed solo sets from various isolated locations – the inside of his kids’ wardrobe even making its public debut. Audiences tuned in online for his ‘House Tours’ and ‘Front Yard Sessions’ from the comfort of their homes, while Josh’s partner, kids and neighbours got to enjoy some open-air tunes on their street in Maslins.

With most of the country stuck at home, Josh decided to rally together a bunch of South Australian artists to run a festival based entirely on Instagram Live. For nine-and-a-half hours on a Saturday in late March 2020, people were able to bring live entertainment into their living rooms, along with a small sense of togetherness and normalcy.

Its popularity with performers and audiences alike led to the first official Space Jams online festival on 25 April 2020, with an impressive lineup of musicians jumping on board to help promote one another and stay connected. Space Jams Volume Two streamed the following month, with Volume Three in June even bringing some interstate and international acts on board.

With the gradual easing of restrictions, the novelty of the live stream began to subside and it seemed the perfect time to trial the festival in a physical space. Space Jams Volume 4 took the stage at Jive in Adelaide for its first-ever live version of the festival in August 2020; a sell-out show with an enthusiastic crowd grooving from their seats. Volumes 5 and 6 followed the same trajectory.

The pandemic created a rare space for Josh to test out each new iteration of Space Jams as it simmered to the surface. With interstate and international acts largely absent, there was suddenly oxygen for local musicians to breathe. And breathe they did, shifting their focus to their more immediate community – like local five-piece band Lilac Cove, who Josh joined as lead guitarist amid the chaos – and embracing the more local, more sustainable model of ‘touring’ that Space Jams embodied.

With a few mini-fests under his belt, Josh powered ahead with the next evolution: Space Jams South Coast Tour, which took the festival to six regional SA towns, before ending with a bang at Adelaide UniBar. The tour injected life into some quieter corners of the state across March and April 2021, with a couple of stops here on the Fleurieu at Wharf Barrel Shed in Goolwa and Valley of Yore in Myponga. The Wanderers, who headlined all but one show in Myponga, along with Fleurieu-based musicians Rob Edwards and Lilac Cove formed the core touring family.

Having come from a background in engineering, festival planning was a steep learning curve for Josh. But while discovering his own process along the way, Space Jams began to attract its own collaborative ecosystem around him. What was originally born from a period of disconnection only amplified the symbiosis that exists between fellow artists and surrounding industries of all kinds; where one thrives, others also reap rewards. Where venues and artists benefited directly, so too did the less obvious supporters like locally-owned Adelaide Marquees and Events, run by one half of Goodness Coffee Co’s sibling duo, Jojo Krause.

From the seed of the original idea, to each set up and pack down, equipment move and coffee run, Space Jams was a collaborative effort. Josh’s passion for the Space Jams community and lifelong friendships it’s created is tangible, even through the computer screen that separates us. It’s no surprise then, that Josh says winning ‘Best Small Festival’ at the 2021 South Australian Music Awards was a collective success. ‘When we got that award, so many people said “It feels like we all won it”,’ Josh says.

Starting a music festival in a pandemic has been no small feat, but Josh says that by thinking smaller, he’s learned to find a new perspective on the industry. Looking inward and drawing from the local community has been a huge factor in the success of Space Jams.

‘Living down here, I’ve never experienced anything like it,’ Josh says of the Fleurieu. ‘The community is so tight and so cool and that has definitely been an aid to the Space Jams community.’

Josh remains optimistic as he heads into 2022 with a jam-packed, two-day Space Jams festival in Robe on 16 and 17 April. While we may have temporarily lost large-scale live music as we know it, a whole new space has opened up in its place; one that allows local artists and small communities to thrive.