Rodney Stevens
When Pam Hata linked with Brushgrove Pub to hold the venues first ‘Open Mic’ for 2023 she never anticipated a finalist from reality TV show The Voice would turn up and rock the house.
But that’s exactly what happened on Thursday February 23, when Maybelle Galuvao showed up at ‘The Brushy’ and put on an impromptu performance.
Ms Hata said after losing her home in the 2022 floods, she relocated to Woodford Island and when she approached the hotel about holding open microphone nights for local musicians, they couldn’t have been more accommodating.
As she doesn’t work on Thursday’s, Ms Hata said the stars aligned and it was decided to hold Open Mic nights fortnightly on Thursdays at the Brushgrove Hotel from 4pm.
“The pub is the heart of the community, it’s how I got to meet everybody from the area and the publican was very supportive of activities, especially live music regionally,” she said.
“I just released a song for the river and the people who live here, and they really loved it, so the pub booked me for New Years and a couple of shows.
“I said that I would donate my time on Thursdays to help grow their scene, because there’s so many really amazing musicians who live here and are based regionally, around here.
“Having it on a Thursday and at appropriate hours if you are a career musician or an active member of the local music scene you can actually go and support each other, as opposed to competing against each other.
“The first Open Mic night was a raging success; we played an hour overtime until 8pm and everyone inside the hotel came outside to watch.”
The Open Mic nights aren’t just for seasoned performers, Ms Hata said, the event provides the perfect stage for up-and-coming musicians to practice and perfect their performances, plus receive advice and learn from career musicians.
“Open Mic nights are how you transition from your bedroom to performing on stages,” she said.
“Being introduced to local artists, touring artists and full-time professional acts that can give you the gift of their experience in a setting that isn’t brutal provides the opportunity to grow.
“The Brushgrove Open Mic was really supportive for all the performers, it’s such a nice vibe and its for all ages and all genres.
“Everyone who rocked up played original music, which is really encouraging to see because that’s how you make a local scene grow, you need to give them fertile ground to be able to create in.”
Ms Hata said she never would have predicted the Voice singer Maybelle Galuvao, who was mentored by Kylie Minogue in season three, would turn up at the Brushgrove Hotel to perform at the Open Mic.
“She said this is great, its such a great vibe and when I’m driving through from Sydney to Brisbane they recommended this hotel,” she said.
“Towards the end of the night all of these musicians came out of the woodwork, we had people from New Italy, people from Port Macquarie and then the lady herself Maybelle from Team Kylie Minogue rocked up and gave us a really great show.”
Maybelle Galuvao has agreed to return on Thursday, March 2 to the Brushgrove Hotel for a free live performance, then the next Open Mic will be held the following Thursday, March 9.