By Pam Kiriakidis
Live mic nights will return to Wallan next Friday after a three-year hiatus, promoting regional artists and inviting residents to appreciate young talent across the Mitchell Shire.
BGGROUPAU founder Benjamin Gregory is bringing the event back to where he first spread his wings, developing his own company that caters for Victorian artists.
The event will be at Vento Cafe and Restaurant, where it originally started.
Mr Gregory said residents could expect a ‘plethora of talent’ as artists from Wallan and Kilmore played a range of genres from pop to country, including Kaitlin Thomas, twin girl group FLAXXON, TikTok sensation Grace Frost, Brianna Borg, Tilly Bosworth and many more.
He said some of the artists were the live night’s original artists, adding to the nostalgia that Mr Gregory was looking forward to.
“It’s a night of entertainment, it’s a night of incredible food and good company, but more than anything it’s a night about celebrating the community that we’re part of, what live music does, and how it brings people together,” he said.
Staff that Mr Gregory used to work with to run the events will return, operating the show in its true original form.
Mr Gregory said Mitchell Shire lacked live music events, giving more reason to host his next live night in his home town.
“We found that recently there’s been a lack of live music and culture within the Mitchell Shire, and after having a discussion with Rohet and Lauren at Cafe Vento, we decided enough is enough, it’s time to bring it back to where these events originated,” he said.
“It’s amazing to see already as we’ve started to advertise, there’s a bit of buzz around the town – lots of people are starting to get excited.”
Formerly known as Benny Gregs, BGGROUPAU, the creative agency behind the events evolved from Mr Gregory’s radio days, showcasing artists on his OKRFM show ‘Turn it Up’.
Since then, he has hosted performance galas at Kilmore’s Trackside, produced ‘Couch Sessions’ through BGGROUPAU to help performers during the pandemic, and appeared on Channel 31 for his Christmas special ‘Coming Together Christmas’.
“Coming back to Wallan is a real good moment, firstly to ground ourselves and ground the team. A young kid at 16 can have a dream, and to see it all come around 360 is really special,” Mr Gregory said.
“We live in a world where there are still uncertain times, and we don’t know what tomorrow is going to look like. To be able to celebrate every moment we have, and celebrate live music is crucial to Mitchell Shire.”
To book tickets to the Vento ‘OG Live Mic’ on Friday, August 19, people can visit events.humanitix.com/vento-og-music-live-mic-19th-august.
