YOU know what? After many months of planning and staring down a possibility state health authority guidelines, aimed at protecting South Australians from coronavirus infections, could see Gawler’s CHANGE Original Music Festival added to the list of scrapped public events, it wasn’t until at around eight o’clock on Saturday night that I began to fully realise tomorrow (Sunday, October 4) the mics would be on, the guitars tuned and the courtyard of Gawler’s Kingsford Hotel would be filled with the sound of musicians singing their own original songs.

As a sense of relief gave way to a sense of excitement, I gave thumbs up to the bands, hotel, Gawler Council, local businesses, sound engineer and stage crew who stuck by me through a fast-moving past six months, making the event possible.

Then came the moment and its forecast of umbrellas and rain. Pfft! As the warm sunshine fell through the west facing windows the courtyard was soon filled to capacity as Gawler’s Mayor Karen Redman took to the stage to launch the festival on its unique and inspirational way.

To my mind, Gawler deserves congratulations in providing this much-appreciated platform for artists to present their own works.

Always well-received, the afternoon was filled with happiness and applause as a grateful audience sat back and enjoyed the first of the two-day show.

Monday, a public holiday celebrating SA’s Labour Day, began with a hum of expectation. As with Sunday, people from out of the district travelled down to visit Gawler and join locals to hear new music and enjoy the atmosphere and comradery the festival evokes.

No one was disappointed and as the shadows lengthened and the last band left the stage, thoughts turned to 2021 and who might be performing when CHANGE returns to celebrate our state’s original artists.

Cheers for now.

Martin Johnson