Aussie Musicians Are Uniting to Keep Music Fans Safe on Our Roads

The road toll is up almost 10% from this time last year. At the date of publishing, we have lost 236 people in Victoria alone throughout 2022; people who won’t make it home for Christmas lunch, or to see their favourite band over the summer break. And this number will sadly increase before the year’s end.

Aussie musicians are coming together to highlight the importance of road safety as part of a newly-launched partnership between the Transport Accident Commission and Victoria’s state-wide celebration of live music, ALWAYS LIVE.

The holiday period is one of the most dangerous times on the roads. As the summer holidays and festival seasons swing into gear and more and more people get behind the wheel – sometimes fatigued, impaired by drugs or alcohol, distracted or speeding – the risk of accidents increases exponentially.

Due to the high risk nature of the holiday and summer period, a new campaign from the Transport Accident Commission and ALWAYS LIVE has launched to promote road safety through music – and it has seen some of the country’s biggest names join the good fight.

Announced at the end of October, the TAC has partnered with Victoria’s state-wide celebration of live music, ALWAYS LIVE, to reduce road trauma by finding new ways to reach high-priority groups, focusing on deterring behaviours like drink-driving and drug-driving. Together, the organisations hope to reduce the number of fatalities and serious injuries on the roads this summer and limit the grief felt by families and communities at a time when togetherness is the underlying theme.

Championing the tagline Keep The Band Together, the campaign urges music-lovers around the state to think of their loved ones, reconsider risky driving behaviours, and ultimately, make safe decisions to ensure that the summer period (and beyond) comes and goes without tragedy.

“Keep The Band Together is designed to speak directly to these audiences and in innovative ways,” explains ALWAYS LIVE CEO Steve Smith. “Being able to integrate this important community message into the ALWAYS LIVE program is an incredible opportunity for the live music industry and audiences to collectively raise road safety awareness.”

Presenting over 160 events and featuring 340+ artists across Melbourne and the regions, ALWAYS LIVE has endeavoured to spread the word far and wide, with key elements of the campaign featuring heavily through various live activations. This alongside a digital content series that leverages artist’s social media platforms to further amplify the message, has meant that the partnership with TAC will have promoted safe driving to millions of Victorians by the end of summer.

“Joining forces with ALWAYS LIVE gives us a unique opportunity to promote a variety of road safety messages in a targeted way that will resonate with audiences across all of Victoria,” TAC CEO Joe Calafiore said in a statement, highlighting the importance of engaging high-priority groups ahead of the festive season. “It has been a tragic year on our roads and the TAC is increasing its presence to ensure our road safety message is seen and heard everywhere – drive safely for everyone and keep your band together.”

Some of the musicians involved in the newly-launched campaign include Tones and I, Emma Donovan and Isaiah Firebrace, who will use their ALWAYS LIVE performances to kick-start the road safety movement, asking their audiences to think of their loved ones and make safe choices on the roads.

For Firebrace, an Aussie singer and former Eurovision contestant, road safety is a topic that is close to his heart, with safety, health, and well-being being a top priority for all of those around him.

“It’s the fans we get to perform in front of who make what we do so special, so it’s concerning that we’re seeing so many lives lost on our roads – we need to find a new way to get the messages out there,” he explains.

“We’ve teamed up with ALWAYS LIVE and the TAC to support the Keep The Band Together campaign and use our stage as a way of sharing a message of road safety,” he adds. “It’s our way of getting fans to realise the role they play in keeping their own band, their band of friends, safe this summer.”

For more information on the Keep The Band Together partnership between the Transport Accident Commission and ALWAYS LIVE, check out the official website.