My Big Canberra Weekend of Gigs

October 25–26 was one of those weekends that reminded me why I love performing. Two gigs, two great venues, and a chance to connect with audiences in completely different settings.

Friday Night at To All My Friends – Cook, ACT

Friday evening I played my solo acoustic set at To All My Friends in Cook — a buzzing, friendly local craft brewery and pizzeria that’s become a real hub for live music. It was a little chilly outside, so the heater was working overtime, but the small crowd that gathered was engaged and full of energy.

I set up my full rig — the JBL EON MK2 tower PA, cordless guitar and mic, PAR can stage lights, and my glowing Richard Ings Music neon sign, with fairy lights spiralling up the tower like a Christmas tree. It made for quite a sight (I’ve added a photo below).

To All My Friends - Cook ACT

This time I paced the night carefully — a 60-minute opening set, then a 15-minute break, followed by a series of 45-minute sets through to 8:30 pm. It’s a schedule I’ve found keeps my vocals strong and fresh throughout the night — a lesson learned from my Cypher Brewing gig earlier in the month. Everything clicked beautifully, and I can’t thank Paul and the team enough for their support of local live music. I’m already looking forward to coming back.

Sunday Afternoon at Rosa’s on the Lawns – Barton

On Sunday I headed over to Rosa’s on the Lawns, opposite Old Parliament House. Normally it’s an outdoor courtyard show, but with rain on the radar, we moved inside — and honestly, it worked perfectly.

For this one I used my new JBL EON Compact system — the baby brother to my tower PA — and it performed brilliantly. It uses the same control app, so the setup felt familiar and smooth.

My new JBL EON Compact PA on the left

The room filled with energy and enthusiasm as the afternoon went on. Songs like Piano Man (Billy Joel) and Sweet Child O’ Mine (Guns N’ Roses) landed perfectly, and during Hallelujah (Leonard Cohen) I noticed one lovely lady shed a tear — she came over later to say it's her favourite song and she loved my rendition of it. It's a hard song to sing and do justice to but I've got it down now. It's a favourite song to sing in my sets now.

I wrapped up with a high energy singalong of Pink Pony Club by Chappell Roan. Thats such a banging song to sing. I use it now to close my gigs where the crowd is really high energy and engaged.

Oh, and I nearly forgot — I took a leap of faith mid-show when someone requested Space Oddity by David Bowie. I’d never played it live before — hadn’t even rehearsed it — but during the break I looked up the chords, tweaked the key and capo, and went for it. It worked! The crowd loved it, and I learned that sometimes the best moments happen when you just say yes.

What’s Next

My next show is Sunday, 2 November, from 2–5 pm at Walt & Burley, Kingston Foreshore — my first time performing there. I can’t wait to bring my growing list of popular covers to one of Canberra’s most iconic waterfront venues.