Just as Australia’s music scene is thriving, so too are its queer party-starters, who regularly kick-start some of the country’s best events week in, week out.
One such outfit are the expert party champions at Heaps Gay, who are are teaming up with avant-garde drag crew Yummy for a massive bash as part of Melbourne Music Week on November 16 at the MMW Hub venue, the State Library of Victoria, packing a huge lineup of acts like Donny Benet, HABITS, Broadway Sounds, Brooke Powers and heaps more.
Ahead of next week’s show, we caught up with the organisers at Heaps Gay to chat about the strength of Australia’s queer artistic community, the government, and throwing the biggest gay night of the year.
“Pelvis-pumpin’ lady killa” Donny Benet will be heading a huge lineup of local talent
Heaps Gay, Heaps Yummy
Tell us a little about Heaps Gay and Yummy – what each group is about, and how you came to collaborate?
Heaps Gay started as a small charity gig in a dodgy old pub in Sydney’s Inner West three years ago. It’s all about creating all-inclusive spaces, blurring gender & sexuality lines and incorporating music, art and dance. We run events in Sydney and Melbourne and are about to embark on a travelling gap year which means we’re visiting 12 country pubs in 12 months to spread the Heaps Gay love!
At Heaps Gay, we are constantly seeking collabs that allow us to explore the diversity of queer culture and celebrate the incredible creativity of the community in new ways. When we set our sights on Melbourne Music Week, we knew we had to make the event exceptional and the only way to do that was to find a collaborator who loved to explore the boundaries as much as we do.
Then we found Yummy – a drag cabaret collective who collide high fashion, avant-garde drag, and kooky pop with dance, circus and music. As soon as we saw them we knew it was a perfect match! I mean, who wouldn’t want to see avant-garde drag circus in the State Library reading room?! The Queen’s hall was MADE FOR THIS!
What made you look to Melbourne Music Week for this event?
One of the biggest challenges is finding an accessible way to do so, one that isn’t limited to the fringes. Big festival events such as MMW are so important in this respect. We’re no strangers to great Aussie festivals and have had the Heaps Gay festival featured on the Vivid Sydney music lineup for the past two years, while Yummy have featured on Midsummer and Melbourne Fringe.
We love that MMW is all about showcasing diversity – we are also so bloody proud that this will be the first ever LGBTQ+/inclusive event to be included in the MMW hub program.
How did you go about selecting this roster of artists – what makes them fit the bill?
Heaps Gay & Yummy events shares the same philosophy: 1) celebrate the community, 2) make it accessible and all-inclusive, and 3) push the boundaries. The bill for this Heaps Gay x Yummy event was put together with this in mind.
Firstly, we wanted to bring together as many elements of the Melbourne community as possible, so there are DJ’s/performers from Gaytimes, Unicorns, Poof Doof, Thursgay, and Honcho Disco. Second, we wanted to make sure our lineup celebrates all kinds of diversity not just LGBTIQA+. One of our headliners, Donny Benet, is a smooth-talking, pelvis-pumpin’ lady killa and we wouldn’t have him any other way!
Who are some of the acts on the lineup pushing boundaries, artistically or otherwise?
Habits are seriously the ones to watch – incredible. Think sad goth party jams. Channeling the likes of Bjork and FKA Twigs with both their amazing vocals and by turns fluid and aggressive dance moves.
The incredible HABITS are “seriously the ones to watch”
What are some of the defining characteristics of the queer communities in Melbourne and Australia, especially where artists are concerned?
We have a healthy thriving scene here that reacts to the conservative government, but reflects our famously easy-going nature. From the singlet and thongs crowd to the glitter punks to the art bears to everything in between, there’s a space and a place for everyone. We still don’t have same-sex marriage laws legislated for Australia, and there are a many other discriminatory practices we have to deal with on a daily basis.
That said, things are better off here than in many parts of the world, so the way we come together is simultaneously political and accepted. Australians are famously relaxed, that rings true for the queer scene as well – though our identities are probably more creative, more visual, and more punk that our straight contemporaries. The drag scene in Melbourne is explosively good, and would give any other city a run for it’s money.
Have lockout laws in Sydney impacted its gay nightlife, and how does Melbourne fare?
Definitely, the Sydney lockout laws have negatively effected all kinds of night life.
We’ve seen the closure of a huge number of live music and club venues which could not continue to operate under the imposed restrictions. Making ends meet in Sydney as a DJ or musician is much harder. Sydney’s iconic Oxford Street is a shadow of it’s former self and the previously queer safe zone of the inner west has seen a spate of violent attacks on LGBTIQ+ persons at the hands of people who are being funneled into the area looking for a late night venue. As an event producer, its getting harder and harder to create spaces to celebrate Sydney music, arts and culture.
Thankfully, we have legends like the folks at Keep Sydney Open who continue to fight to save Sydney from further losses! As for Melbourne, the much fantasised alternative for many Sydney Siders, we have 24hr booze laws, City of Melbourne activating unique spaces, passionate promoters and a thriving cultural city.
What are some of the other MMW events you’re keen to check out?
The MMW lineup is stellar ad we would happily go to everything on offer, but here are a couple that we are looking forward to:
Morning Ritual: Kira Puru and Morning Ritual: Nai Palm – both women have more soul than my platform Dr Martens and I couldn’t imagine a more beautiful morning in the state Library forecourt.
Her Sound, Her Story: Film Screening – This sounds like an incredible chance to hear the experiences of some of Australia’s most inspiring female musicians, from every lesbians teen crush, Missy Higgins, to 2016 powerhouse Sampha the Great.
Women in electronic music: GL + BUOY + CORIN + Linying – we think the recent push to recognize women in electronic music is fantastic and this lineup is seriously strong! It’s particularly exciting to see Singaporean artist Linying included on the lineup!
Valve Sounds: Elliphant +Yeo ++ – Valve sounds have put together one of the biggest line-ups of any event on the program and we think this event is going to be packed to the brim with vibe!
Closing Party: HVOB + Seekae ++ – what better way to end the week then dancing the night way with Melbourne’s favourite party crew!
What can we expect from the show?
An all immersive experience in one of the most iconic buildings in the state. Fast paced, colourful, energetic! I can’t believe they are letting Heaps Gay and Yummy run riot for one night only! Haha, crazy… Thanks MMW!
