The Black Sorrows Sunday 7.30 pm 26 April 2020 Renée Geyer 7.30 pm Saturday 2 May 2020

St Kilda’s MEMO Music Hall continues its transition from Dance Hall to Digital Venue with two more Live Stream concerts announced today. The Black Sorrows will perform for the fourth time at MEMO at 7.30 pm on Sunday 26 April, followed by Australia’s First Lady of Soul Renée Geyer, in her sixth MEMO appearance at 7.30 pm on Saturday 2 May.

MEMO’s management has partnered with Renegade Films, the makers of RocKwiz, to live-stream music events from the iconic St Kilda venue. The first on 5 April featured Kate Ceberano & Co. attracting a large online audience both nationally and internationally.

The Live Stream concerts were already in the pipeline as a new venture for MEMO and Renegade Films, expedited in reaction to the closure of indoor entertainment venues due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Given the size of MEMO Music Hall, which is 750 metres square, musicians are be able to perform on the grand Art Deco Proscenium Arch stage the required 2 metres apart, meeting current Government indoor workplace social distancing guidelines.

MEMO’s Digital Producer Rod Gilbert said that the debut concert had received overwhelmingly positive feedback due to the talent of Kate Ceberano and her band, and the production quality of the live stream provided by the expert camera and sound team.

“Any technical issues with ticket purchases and logging in to the online stream have been rectified and we are thrilled to bring two more revered Australian acts to the MEMO stage, and to be able to share with their fans anywhere in the world,“ Rod said.

The cost has been deliberately kept at a low $12 for these shows, and the fees are split between MEMO, Renegade Films and the artists.

“Remember music is a healer,” says Black Sorrows’ Joe Camilleri, the man who was playing 160 shows a year, from his home base in country Victoria to the music halls of Europe, until COVID-19 came on the scene. Joe will be joined onstage with Claude Carranza (guitar),

James Black (keys), Mark Gray (bass) and Tony Floyd (drums) playing a selection of classic Sorrows hits and favourites with a taste of a few new things to come.

In a personal note about the Livestream he said, “Hello Everybody, Joe Camilleri here. The band and I have been invited to play MEMO Music Hall on 26 April. It’s a wonderful place to play. Every musician on the planet stopped working in March. So I hope you’re able to sit back, forget about the craziness that’s upon us and tune into something else. Spend an hour with us while we all wait for the world to change again. Stay healthy, Pal Joey.”

Tickets for the digitally streamed concerts are available at www.memomusichall.com.au, just follow the links the shows you wish to purchase. A special Mother’s Day Concert on Sunday 10 May will be announced next week.

MEMO has an iconic place in the Australian entertainment industry from its beginnings as a Dance Hall in 1924, to a cinema, the home of Telefil Recording studios where Normie Rowe recorded his 1965 hit It Ain’t Necessarily So, headquarters of the Pan Pacific film company (Heath Ledger’s Ned Kelly) and in the last five years one of the country’s leading music venues. In that time it has presented almost 600 shows featuring international acts and legends of the Australian music industry including, Paul Kelly, Deborah Conway and Willy Zygier, Kate Ceberano, The Sports, Mental As Anything, The Black Sorrows, Dragon, Vika & Linda, Renée Geyer, Shane Nicholson, Diesel, Boom Crash Opera, Spectrum, Chain, Ross Wilson, Vince Jones, Normie Rowe, and the Australian Chamber Orchestra.

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Website: www.memomusichall.com.au