Billboard (10/06/21) Brandle, Lars
A pair of short film delves into the lives of Australian music professionals as they cope with the challenges of the pandemic. The first, Radical Hope, follows Western Australia-based promoter John Zaccaria as he staged SummerSalt and ByTheC early this year, which were two of the first national, COVID-safe tours following the worldwide lockdown. The second, Back To Live, chronicles the sacrifices, challenges and future of touring, with commentary by personages including You Am I frontman Tim Rogers, award-winning indigenous artist Emily Wurramara and Ticketmaster's Rob D'Orazio. The films were commissioned by Ticketmaster and directed by Graham Watson of Jam TV, and released to coincide with the announcement of the first leg of Zaccaria's SummerSalt 2022 tour. With Australia's vaccination rates increasing and governments preparing to ease restrictions, there is hope the live music industry will rebound next year at the latest. "No, I don't fear for the industry," says Live Nation Asia Pacific's Roger Field in Back To Live. "I'm not worried at all. Pretty early on, it became clear to all of us that we're not going anywhere. We might be treading water for a little while, but all that's going to come out of this is overwhelming improvement, whether it's the way we mobilize, the way we work together, or technology."
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