How you can support our artists during COVID-19

Hi everyone

As you know, many musicians are doing it tough as a result of the current COVID-19 situation and the restrictions to reduce it spreading to protect those most vulnerable in our community.

Below I’ve listed some of the Bird’s Robe acts most affected so far and some info as background – thanks to those of you who’ve reached out to ask about all this & your kind words.

If you’re in a position to help them out financially, please support in any way you can – buying merch, music or holding on to your concert ticket. If you can’t contribute financially, please consider helping them by sharing their music with people and streaming their music on Spotify or Youtube – this is the absolute best way to help them grow and even the tiny streaming royalties add up over time. I’ve included a Spotify playlist with some of these acts featured here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4LqZmlZZBL9mzoHdhAx4NA…

Most of all, keep looking after yourselves, your families and those around you. It’s times like these we’re reminded of the power of music, as it provides us with an escape, hope & inspiration when we need it most.

Toehider www.toehider.bandcamp.com & www.patreon.com/toehider – Mike is a single Dad and full-time musician. Many of his bread and butter gigs in the real world have been cancelled and he’s about to put a new album out. Any contributions to help this incredible, talented, kind-hearted legend of a dude get through the next several months will help immensely. In return you get some of the most exciting, fun & ridiculous music you’ll come across, all made by just one guy.

sleepmakeswaves www.sleepmakeswaves.bandcamp.com – these guys have put everything into their music and hundreds of shows for the better part of the past 9 years. The production on their new EP trilogy has been delayed (Otto is currently self-isolating) and their upcoming Australian tour has had to be rescheduled. They’ll survive, Alex is capable of living on baked beans for weeks & they’d be the first to tell you to give your money to someone who needs it more than them, but if you love this band, please support. They are currently running a sale on their back catalogue and tour merch too. But the new music rules, so check it out.

Solkyri www.solkyri.bandcamp.com – their upcoming tour of the UK & Europe is under a cloud right now and they’ve had to postpone their hometown album launch for their new record ‘Mount Pleasant.’ Lovely guys who make passionate, energetic music and just fulfilled a dream to put out their record on vinyl for the first time, with the hope of touring it to recoup on the investment.

We Lost The Sea www.welostthesea.bandcamp.com – the band will post more later but many of this year’s plans around touring their new album ‘Triumph & Disaster’ are significantly affected. We all know what they’ve been through, how poignant their music is and how much they’ve contributed to the soundtrack of our lives. Now is a great time to catch up on them if you’re not already aware.

SEIMS www.seims.bandcamp.com – on the cusp of fulfilling some mighty bucket list touring dreams, Sim’s band plans are also facing disruption with everything going on.

Furnace and the Fundamentals www.furnaceandthefundamentals.bandcamp.com – sure it’s not prog or post-rock, it’s a party, but this band also plays 20-min tracks & we’re all part of the extended family – the next 3-4 months (at least) of tours and shows have been postponed or cancelled, representing about 50% of annual income. A vinyl or shirt sale won’t solve that but every little bit helps towards paying the outstanding bills from the tour dates no longer happening. The band also regularly employs Bird’s Robe crew as their regular touring crew, all of whom are out of work for the foreseeable future.

All the above links go directly to the individual artist bank accounts and today (Friday/Saturday) Bandcamp is waiving their usual 10% service fee to help that little bit extra. However your support is always welcome at any time.

If you’d like to support the industry more generally, please also consider a donation to Support Act www.supportact.org.au who provide assistance for arts workers in crises. They are currently running a fundraiser specifically aimed at alleviating hardship.

I also want to shout out Cathy & the Sargent House crew who have had a huge amount of disruption during a year when many of their artists were about to embark on career years. Chelsea Wolfe, Deafheaven, Russian Circles, Emma Ruth Rundle & many more are being affected. You can support them over at https://sargenthouse.com/…/support-artists-via-bandcamp-fri…

Likewise to Caspian, And So I Watch Your From Afar, This Will Destroy You, Mew, Mono, John & all the guys from Maybeshewill, Rolo Tomassi, Jo Quail & more. Our extended family are all facing unique and difficult times ahead and are constantly in my thoughts.

Lastly, I’m doing OK for now. I don’t make my main source of income from Bird’s Robe, but it is a large source of income for many of my friends, the artists & the the regular crew I employ: tour managers, sound engineers, lighting operators & stage techs. I do make a living from working as a drummer, so the outlook on that is pretty bleak if this thing goes on for more than a few months.

Anyway, if you want to support generally, I’ve set up a pay what you want link here – just type in your favourite artists and I’ll put together a little package of music & merch for you that I think you’ll enjoy. Here’s the link https://birdsrobe.bandcamp.com/…/birds-robe-records-sampler…

I’m still working on rescheduling dates for a heap of tours so thank you all for your patience in the meantime. I’ll post more information as soon as I can.

Have a good weekend, stay safe & thanks as always for your support.

Mike