Aus Music T-Shirt Day

Ok I am going to be brutally honest here. I really didn’t know too much about Aus Music T-Shirt Day. Which is a crying fucking shame because there’s more to it than just wearing a band t-shirt to work. Maybe my complacency arose because I pretty much wear a t-shirt (band or otherwise) every single day of the year and have done so for much of my life.

Today I noticed that there were many people jumping into the spirit of things and wearing an Aussie Music shirt.

I decided to investigate a little further…

Via the official website:

AusMusic T-Shirt Day is a massive nation-wide celebration of Australian music that reminds us how lucky we are to have such a strong local music scene, with some of the world’s best artists coming out of our own backyard.

But many people are doing it tough. Please join Support Act to raise funds for artists and music workers who are experiencing financial hardship, ill health, injury or mental health issues.

Whether you are an artist, music worker or music lover, we invite you to make a donation, and then post and share your best band t-shirt pics, using the hashtags #ausmusictshirtday, @supportact.

Ok – I knew NONE of this! I thought it was all just an annual little gimmick and didn’t delve into what really goes on behind this day. Well from here on – this is going to change.

As a Rock Photographer who has shot so many Australian bands, and a online record store owner who has invested so much time into music and the local scene – as of next year we will ramp things up a little and create a Rue Morgue Records team. My aim is for Rue Morgue Records to raise a good chunk of $$$ for the charity behind Aus Music T-Shirt Day – the Support Act charity.

Some info on Support Act:

For the past 20 years, Support Act has provided support to artists and musicians who are experiencing some form of crisis. This can be due to financial hardship, ill-health, injury or mental health issues.

Our goal is to provide breathing space to help people get back on track. We also provide support to pay for funerals; and we help service users and their friends to mobilise support from their networks through our Help a Mate program. If you are an artist or music worker who needs help, please visit https://supportact.org.au/get-help/.

The Support Act Wellbeing Helpline is a free, confidential 24/7 counselling service that is available to anyone working in Australian music who needs to talk to someone about any aspect of their wellbeing. It is available by calling 1800 959 500.

So yeah, now that there is a bit of depth to this event – the next one is going to be heavily backed by Rue Morgue Records. We’ve got the power to help and to make a change.

For example, I put the call out to some friends on Facebook an hour ago – they all sent me their pics with an Aussie shirt on. See below.

This is an amazing charity and I can’t wait to fully support it from here on…