Page 4 The Moorabool News – 8 February, 2022
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Musicians, including (L-R) Vic Jones and Tony Warby, prepare to strum their way through the maize in Paul Blizzard will be tapping his drum along with eight other solo bands and the maze this Sunday. Photo – Helen Tatchell musicians at The Stage is Yours’ event. Photo – Jane Gardner
A-maize-ing music event
By Jane Gardner In the early days of the Covid-19 lockdowns, two friends, Sharyn Jury and Fiona Williams (both singers in bands) noticed a growing number of their musical friends posting videos of themselves on social media, playing and singing at home. Sharyn and Fiona realised how much everyone missed playing music together, so they decided to create an online platform for local musicians to perform and share their talents. Thus, ‘The Stage is Yours, Central Highlands’ was born. This Facebook page provided a much-needed place for like-minded musicians to connect with others, stay motivated, develop and expand their skills and importantly, provide an audience. Many months and 300 members later, lockdowns lifted and ‘The Stage is Yours, Central Highlands’ formed a Working Group, which was successful in securing a $3,000 community grant from Moorabool Shire Council to host a series of live gigs around Moorabool.
The first of these three events will be hosted by Donegan’s Farm in Wallace, as part of their ‘Graze in the Maize’ season. It kicks off this Sunday 13 February. For only $10 a ticket, patrons can wind their way through a maize-maze to a large clearing, where from 12 noon until 6pm, eight local bands and solo musicians will perform across two separate stages. The clearing also includes a food hut and a bar. (BYO chairs, rugs and shade, But no BYO food or drink.) This exciting afternoon of local live music, wine, beer and food, set amongst the towering maize, will feature Jen Hawley, Heartbeat, Wicked Grin, Rock ‘n Co, Crimson Haze, Five O’clock Charlie, Andrew Borg, and Sharyn Jury and the Mellowmen. So, from humble beginnings, Sharyn and Fiona have transformed their online platform into something even more wonderful. And by hosting the first live event in the maize, it seems it really is true that from little things, big things grow. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit the Facebook page at, The Stage is Yours, Central Highlands, or go to: Trybooking.com – The Stage is Yours @ Donegan’s Farm.