Supergroup

When All Our Exes Live In Texas singer Georgia Mooney first envisioned the Supergroup concept it was meant to be a short-lived show. Originally debuting in April as part of an Artist In Residence program at Giant Dwarf Theatre the Supergroup saw a range of guests take to one stage together and combine their talents. However, the show quickly evolved into a much more conversational experience, which Mooney actually enjoyed and has further developed for this upcoming run of shows.

When speaking about how the show has evolved Mooney said, “It’s become more or less half chatting and half concert… It’s almost like a ‘late show’ style where I ask everyone questions about their creative process, their challenges with songwriting and their experiences as musicians. It’s quite an insightful and intimate experience.”

With the show moving more in this conversational direction Mooney has had to refine how she approaches each event.

“For this run, I’m really thinking a little bit more about what specifically I can ask each individual. I’m going back into each of their careers so that we can all glean some interesting things that we can then put into our own songwriting.”

Bearing this in mind though Mooney was quick to dispel the idea that this is a show purely for songwriters. 

“It’s definitely not specifically aimed at songwriters. It’s really just about people who love songs and stories, which I think is most people. You might learn something about creativity that will interest you. Or you could just purely listen and enjoy the show.”

As the show has gone on Mooney has also come to realise that the artists are enjoying this opportunity to speak and play with each other just as much as the audiences.

“It feels like a big catch-up session, which is really nice,” said Mooney as she reflected on the first run of Supergroup events. “In many cases, people were already fans of one another but hadn’t played together before. So there was some genuine fanning out happening. You could really feel the emotions as the artists performed together and spoke about the impact they’d each had on one another. Tim Rogers even said it inspired him to return home and write songs.”

Ahead of this upcoming run of shows, Mooney has continued to rely on her instincts to choose artists she believes would be interesting to see perform together. A process which she feels “a bit selfish” about because “at the end of this series I’ll have gotten to play with 24 of my favourite songwriters and gotten deep inside their songs. I’m learning so much about writing and constantly being inspired by all of them.” However, it is also a process which has allowed for a very diverse cast of characters to come together. 

In November Mooney will bring together Bob Evans, Sally Seltmann and Lisa Mitchell. Then in December Supergroup will feature a rocking lineup of Davey Lane (You Am I), Olympia and Phil Jamieson (Grinspoon).

“It’s not strictly a pop, folk, hip-hop or rock concert. We’ve got all different artists coming together which allows for the audience to be really diverse, so they’re probably going to hear someone they’ve never heard before,” said Mooney excitedly in closing.

Nov 24 & Dec 21. The Giant Dwarf, 199 Cleveland St, Redfern. $35+b.f. Tickets & Info: www.giantdwarf.com.au