Australia’s live entertainment sector has banded together to launch #VaxTheNation, a new campaign encouraging Aussies to get vaccinated against COVID-19 in order to stop the near-constant interruptions to performances across the county.
Powderfinger, Jimmy Barnes, Paul Kelly, Midnight Oil, Archie Roach, Amy Shark, Tim Minchin and Cub Sport are among the hundreds of artists who’ve backed the campaign alongside the industry heavyweights of the newly-formed LIVE Alliance (Live Industry Venues + Entertainment). The alliance includes representatives from the likes of ARIA, Live Nation, Frontier Touring, Mushroom Group, TEG, Live Performance Australia and more.
The campaign has kicked off today (September 6) with a national television campaign soundtracked by Powderfinger classic ‘My Happiness’, interspersing live performance footage with news of statewide lockdowns, concluding by asking viewers to help “stop the interruptions” by getting the jab.
The message is clear – Australia has one of the world’s best music and live entertainment sectors, and vaccination is essential not only for fighting the ongoing health crisis but for ending the devastating impact of lockdowns on the live entertainment industry and getting the show back on the road.
“For us it is pretty straightforward. Vaccination is the only way out of this for not just the live entertainment industry, but everyone,” says Powderfinger’s Bernard Fanning. “Back the science, back your community and especially its vulnerable members. Take control and get vaccinated.”
Over the last 18 months, thousands of performances have been cancelled or postponed in the wake of lockdowns, tens of thousands of industry workers have been unable to do their job, billions of dollars have been lost, and there’s been an enormous gap in the country’s social and cultural fabric. There’s only one gateway back – and it’s getting vaccination numbers up.
Gordi, Camp Cope, Frenzal Rhomb, WAAX, Amyl and the Sniffers, Alice Skye and Peking Duk are among the other artists included in the 225-strong list of performers who’ve thrown their support behind the campaign.
“We have some of the most beautiful music venues in the world here in Australia. Right now they’re empty,” said singer-songwriter Gordi. If you’re eligible to be vaccinated, please go get a jab. Then we can get back to filling these beautiful spaces again
Camp Cope singer and guitarist Georgia Maq, who is a qualified nurse vaccinator currently working on the COVID frontline reiterated that vaccination is about more than the individual – it’s about protecting the community and those vulnerable in it.
“I got vaccinated as soon as it was available to me without a moment of doubt or hesitation. I did it for my grandparents, for my sister who has a physical disability and 30% lung capacity, for my community, and for myself. There’s a one-way ticket to getting live music back, and it’s vaccination.”
Learn more about the campaign and how to get yourself vaccinated here.
