As many Australians can attest, the return of live music is one thing, but comfortably returning to live music is another. It’s a strange feeling being back in a room packed with humans, and it’s going to take a moment to regain muscle memory. Fortunately, the world’s number one bourbon and a small crowd of the world’s top-shelf musicians are leading by example, partaking in the Jim Beam: Welcome Sessions, a global live music mission to return iconic artists to the stages from which they first came.
Already tagged to feature in the series are Dublin’s favourite post-punk sons, Fontaines DC, the time tested brilliance of Sweden’s José González and UK crooner Jack Garratt, with further musicians to be announced, all of whom will be returning to the stages of the live music venues that first gave them their shot at doing what they now do in front of thousands. Their triumphant return to their stage of origin will be captured on camera, and accompanied with a documentary feature capturing the whirlwind of thoughts and feelings that must be going through their mind as they once again set up in the pokey warmth of pubs, clubs, and local live music venues.
“As live music returns to venues around the country, Jim Beam is here to celebrate with Aussies as they come together through a shared passion for live music,” says Trent Chapman, Marketing Director Beam Suntory Oceania. “This sense of community with others is something we as a brand have been firm believers in throughout our 226-year history. The Jim Beam Welcome Sessions are about creating connections between amazing global and local acts, iconic independent venues and the audiences who love their music. By launching the global partnership, we hope to create a unique shared experience that fans can relate with, over and over again. An experience that inspires, uplifts and instills a sense of community.”
The series couldn’t be more perfectly timed as the world once again seeks to remember life in the before-times of the pandemic. While many of us not only hear, but feel the call of live music once again pulling our souls towards our surrounding stages, the ever lingering concern of crowded spaces, and navigating new social norms (i.e. what do we do if we need to sneeze?) remains at the back of our minds. The Jim Beam: Welcome Sessions arrive just in time to not only remind us how good we were at live music, but also to remind us that it’s a space that we are always welcome in.
The special and close quarters performances will kick off with Jack Garratt in June before rolling on throughout the rest of 2021 and well into 2022, a period during which it’s set to explode beyond the clip and into full live stream and real life events.
For more info, get the skinny after the jump.
