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It's your time to pay tribute on a special day
WHEN a handful of Australia's best known artists and the people who represent them gathered to announce the historic Sound Relief concerts last month, it was Kasey Chambers who best explained why musicians rise to the occasion in times of tragedy.
"I can't put out fires, I can't rebuild houses, but I can use my position as a musician to help raise some money and hopefully inspire people to help find their thing that they can do," she said.
Too often those who work on stage and behind the scenes have been referred to as an "industry" but as the Sound Relief logo so simply states, they are in fact the Australian music community.
It was no surprise dozens of bands offered their services in the days after Black Saturday to the crew who pulled off the impressive WaveAid benefit at the SCG.
But they had much bigger plans than just one concert.
Enlisting Melbourne promoter Michael Gudinski to their ranks, the Sound Relief team - which also include Michael Chugg, Mark Pope, Joe Segreto, Amanda Pelman and their respective offices - began the task of staging two consecutive concerts in a matter of weeks.
Their spirits were buoyed by the willingness of major international acts touring Australia at the same time as the benefits to join the line-ups.
The late additions of Kylie, Barry Gibb, Olivia Newton-John and the secret appearance of John Farnham with Coldplay were the cherries on top.
Sound Relief will be a once-in-alifetime experience for Australian music fans but the funds raised may help to rebuild the lives of those affected by the Victorian bushfires and the Queensland floods.
Where it goes ...
For the Sydney concert, 50 per cent of the profits will be donated to the Red Cross Victorian Bushfire Appeal and 50 per cent will be...