Live Review: Inaugural Victorian Music Crawl

First Stop: Ballarat, 16 Feb

As the Music Victoria Regional Bus Crawl rolls into Ballarat we pass Apollo's Fish & Chips shop, where Nick Cave and Ballarat-raised Bad Seed Warren Ellis recently dined ahead of their local show at the North Gardens, where they wowed 5,000 revellers.

Our first stop is Art Gallery Of Ballarat where musician bus-mates/'crawlers' Benny Walker, Dallas Frasca and Lachlan Davidson (Davidson Brothers) jam for the first time ever. Could this be a potential new supergroup? We're already excited.

We then visit Rediscovery music store on Sturt Street, which we're told started its life as a Sunday school, then a morgue before becoming the multi-room treasure trove of musical delights it is today. In the back room, The Age's Chris Johnston facilitates a panel comprised of Samantha McIntosh (Ballarat City Council Mayor), Shaun Adams (Karova Lounge band booker) plus local artists Demi Louise and Freya Josephine Hollick who discuss a range of subjects including Ballarat's music strategy, which was introduced to boost live entertainment in the region.

Inside The George Hotel's Lane Cafe, 16-year-old singer-songwriter Anna Oliphant Wright performs a short set of original songs in front of a captive audience. Her between-song banter charms and these songs are very much inspired by her own teenage experiences. Wright's encore song, which was inspired by a teacher who repeatedly called her out on breaking school uniform rules is a classic. It's based around her comeback to said teacher, "I know what you do on Snapchat," which saved her from copping a pink slip and this earworm resonates. We sing the chorus long after she's left the stage and Wright might just have a hit on her hands.

Down at our dinner destination, Suttons House Of Music, Demi Louise is a calm presence up on stage and her voice is glorious. She recently wrapped up a tour supporting The McClymonts and years of extensive international touring have obviously paid off for this young artist, who is an absolute delight to watch. You can't imagine her ever missing a note and we look forward to watching Louise's musical career flourish.

Next up, Freya Josephine Hollick hits the stage with a talented five-piece backing band that features fiddle and double bass. She is authentic, which is something you absolutely can't teach. It's as if we've slipped through a portal and landed in Nashville's Bluebird Cafe. Hollick sports a suit that matches the tan hue of her guitar and her silky timbre calls to mind Clare Bowen. Sometimes Hollick's phrasing and subtle vibrato channel Dolly Parton. Totally captivating, Hollick looks like Agnetha Faltskog from ABBA and her performance is worth the trip alone. There's a lot of comparisons here, but Hollick brings something totally unique. Even her yodelling won't shit you, we promise. Hollick's cover of Parton's I Will Always Love You floors us and those impossibly high notes are effortlessly scaled. We would love to see Hollick share a stage with Marlon Williams - dream, swoon-worthy line-up.

We stagger around to Karova Lounge to see the delights this venue's booker has curated for us and, for our first course, we're served The Second Sex. This four-piece riot grrrl-inspired punk outfit are sheer power personified and they rock hard, make no mistake. Watching The Second Sex is an empowering experience and we'll definitely return for repeat doses. Girls to the front, please!

There's a Teal Avenue in Ballarat North and we wonder whether this inspired our next emerging act's band name: Teal AV. They're regulars on Karova Lounge line-ups and we can immediately see why. These young fellas bring a vibrant energy that's not dissimilar to Last Dinosaurs, which inspired postcode-sharers Hunting Grounds (who we still miss) back in the day.

He's a tough act to Google, but local producer/DJ Chapel totally packs out the dancefloor. You know that scene in Beetlejuice where Winona Ryder and co dance as if possessed to Jump In The Line (Shake, Senora)? This is the affect Chapel's tunes will have on you. He has a strong, memorable look to match the irresistible sounds and we're sure to see Chapel manning the decks on big festival stages in no time.

Adams has been been trying to lure Ecca Vandal down Ballarat way for yonks and tonight it's finally happening. We all squish down the front and reel around for the set's duration as Vandal gets right up in our grills, her daring eye contact draws us in and makes us all feel like the only one in the room. Vandal's vibrant platinum locks lash about as she caterwauls all over that stage; if you blink you'll lose sight of her for a second. It's dark, edgy and arresting. What Ecca Vandal brings is world class and easily translatable for arenas.