Editor’s Note
What my amicable co-editor didn’t tell me before leaving to go gallivant at Splendour In The Grass is that putting together a music magazine is much like conducting an orchestra; there are lots of moving parts that must work together. Some parts forget to come in on time. There are drums for some god-awful reason.
Of all the issues to tear my prize-winning curls out over, past or future, I’m so relieved it’s this one — Beat 1679. In our largest issue this year to date, we stand in the glow of the glorious Sampa The Great. Ahead of her newly-announced tour, Sampa will be heading to the Melbourne International Film Festival to perform a stunning reinterpretation of the soundtrack from Céline Sciamma’s touching film, Girlhood.
If films aren’t your forte, I understand and am willing to let that slide. Hopefully, our 24-page Melbourne Guitar Show special will be able to quench your thirst for non-stop music goodness. A bunch of local and international acts will be heading to the Caulfield Racecourse in addition to all the axe, pedal and gear vendors you could ever hope for.
Though we’re smack dab in the middle of a Melbourne winter, it hasn’t stopped the city’s passionate (and under-resourced) arts producers feeding the cultural beast. Programs from the just-revealed Melbourne International Arts Festival and Melbourne Writers Festival have promised jaw-dropping artists from around the globe, and when I think about that, it warms my automaton heart.
Grab some popcorn, dearest Beat readers, and enjoy the show.
