Sunbury is the birthplace of cricket’s legendary The Ashes (1882) and Australia’s own ‘Woodstock’ in the 70’s – the Sunbury Music Festival. Continuing on in the spirit of the latter event, Live at the Chapel Sunbury is a live music event held in Bethany Lutheran Church (the corner of Brook & Jackson streets, Sunbury – Melways reference 382 F5) on the 4th Sunday evening of every second month (Febru
ary/April/June/August/October) that introduces the original music of one or two Australasian contemporary artists/bands (with the occasional artist/band from overseas) whose music is an expression of a Judeo-Christian faith & worldview. (Artists/bands are welcome to include 1 or 2 well-chosen covers or worship songs as part of their set.) The first event was held on the 25th of May 2014 and showcased the music of Melbourne's own singer-songwriter, Levi McGrath, accompanied by drummer/percussionist Andrew Horneman. Following a brief intro from the event coordinator at 6.30 pm, the artist/band has up to an hour to perform a set of their songs and, if they would like to, speak about the message of particular songs or what led them to write these songs. (When 2 artists/bands are involved, the opening artist/band performs a 20-30 minute set, followed by a 30-45 minute set by the headlining artist/band.) We then conclude with a brief interview of the artist/band followed by supper which gives people an opportunity to speak personally with the artist/band as well as purchase their music. There is no door charge as such, but an opportunity is made available for those who attend an event to donate towards the artist's/band's overall expenses and to purchase their music during the supper. Bethany Lutheran Church is a small, intimate venue (comfortably seats about 100 people) and therefore lends itself to a semi-acoustic or acoustic-style delivery. Data projection is also available for artists/bands that would like their lyrics or visuals projected. The artist/band would have to bring all of their own sound gear or make arrangements with the event coordinator to organize some gear. Interested artists/bands are requested to email the event coordinator links to current songs or mp3’s, or mail him an EP or CD of their current music. (An extra EP or CD is forwarded to radio presenter William Osagiede who plays selected tracks and promotes upcoming Live at the Chapel events on-air on Melton’s community radio station 979fm. All we can guarantee the artist/band by way of reimbursement is the total donations given as well as the offer of a night's accommodation with one of our event's supporters if required. Artists/bands are welcome to leave a number of their CDs with the event coordinator to make available for sale at future events. The coordinator’s appreciation to the artist/band also comes in the form of making reference to the artist's/band's songs in my comprehensive contemporary music resources - several of which are available free of charge online in the USA at www.newsongonline.org/ccm-resources-from-frank.htm . Leading up to the event, we promote it by putting flyers on community notice boards. We also submit a press release about the artist/band to the local newspapers, the interdenominational ministers network, as well as Sunbury’s local community radio station 3NRG 99.3 FM. Live at the Chapel Sunbury is a ministry of Bethany Lutheran Church with the support of Live at the Chapel Australasia, Aussie Christian Gigs, and Aussie Grown Radio. Our congregation’s mission statement is: -
Jesus used to visit Bethany and stay in the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. Bethany Church is a tranquil mudbrick house of worship where we meet with Jesus. You are invited to join us. Further enquiries or questions are welcome. Contact event coordinator Frank Rasenberger on mobile 0457 721 435 or email [email protected] .
