Andy Golledge

Before this dreaded COVID-19 virus shutdown all entertainment venues Inner West musician Andy Golledge was excited to celebrate his debut EP, Namoi. The excitement levels were at an incredibly high level because after 15 years performing primarily in the Inner West Golledge was finally putting a collection of recorded music out into the world.

Sadly with entertainment venues now shutdown Golledge won’t be able to perform these songs live. However, when speaking to City Hub it was abundantly clear that simply achieving the milestone of releasing recorded music was something he was very proud of.

“I’ve been playing for about 15 years without recording a whole heap of music. So releasing this is a long time coming, but it feels like this is the right time.”

Namoi is filled with country music elements but with a modern city flourish which leads to a unique indie-folk, pop, country fusion. This is an EP filled with tracks which could easily become Inner West anthems.

To spend 15 years performing constantly and growing a fan base without recording is a very unusual scenario for a musician. As Golledge explained to us though there were a number of underlying reasons behind this choice, “There were a number of factors, but the biggest two were mental health and fear. While they could’ve stop me from performing they definitely held me back from recording and moving forwards faster.”

With entertainment venues now shutdown for an indeterminate period there is a fear musicians like Golledge may no longer have their creative outlet. Which is especially concerning given that Golledge beloved the scene was “flourishing” again.

“The Inner West has really been my only scene for the past 15 years. During that time I’ve seen it grow, die, and grow over and over. Since the lockout laws made people become more passionate about our live music scene it seemed to be flourishing again with so many great bands and venues.”

Until we can all go back to enjoying live music though we’ll have to make do with recordings like Namoi, which Golledge said will inspire “energy, laughter, tears and a whole range of emotions.”

Debut EP, Namoi, out now. Available at www.andygolledgemusic.com