Radical Hope: two-part doco explores Australia’s live music return

Ticketmaster has today unveiled a two-part films series, Radical Hope and Back To Live, a documentary exploring rebuilding Australia’s live music sector in the wake of the COVID pandemic.

The two films offer behind-the-scenes insight into Australian promoters, artists, production crews, ticketing agents, and all those fighting tooth and nail to get live music events back on the road.

The first film, Radical Hope, casts its lens on WA-based promoter John Zaccaria, who staged the first national tours in early 2021, SummerSalt and ByTheC, following the nationwide lockdown.

Radical Hope features cameos from the likes of artists Missy Higgins, John Butler, and Felix Riebl (The Cat Empire), and industry heavyhitters including Icehouse tour manager Larry Ponting, President, Live Nation Asia Pacific Roger Field, Ticketmaster Head of Strategic Partnerships, Rob D’Orazio and Event Health Management, Managing Director Hugh Singe.

Whilst the second film, Back To Live, explores the importance of touring for artists, fans, and the industry. Featuring appearances from Missy Higgins, John Butler, Tim Rogers (You Am I), Emily Wurramara, and British comedian Russell Howard.

“This is a critical time for our industry, and we wanted to put the spotlight on the incredible people working behind the scenes on the journey back to live, while shining a light on the huge benefits live entertainment brings to our society,” Gavin Taylor, Managing Director of Ticketmaster Australia, said of the project.

Taylor continued to note that fans’ hunger for live music is at an all-time high.  “We continue to see huge pent-up demand from fans, and with artists keen to get back on the road, we know live music will see a boom like never before – we just need to work with government on a solid roadmap for the path back to live.”

This series of films was commissioned by Ticketmaster Australia. It was produced, directed, filmed, and edited by the team at Jam TV Australia.

You can watch both films below.

This article originally appeared on The Industry Observer, which is now part of The Music Network.