We’re thrilled to have received generous tax deductible donations from Siegrun Krauss, Dinah Cohen, Stephen Buckley, Tim Jorgensen and Elaine McCarthy.
Thank you all so much! We’re enormously grateful.
To donate to Lady Sings it Better and help send us to the Edinburgh Fringe, please visit our ABaF profile here.
Read more about the Australian Cultural Fund and our project here.
xxx the blackcat team
We’re thrilled to announce that Lady Sings it Better (our feisty, playful, feminist cabaret) is now an Artist Project for the Australian Cultural Fund, of the Australian Business Arts Foundation. And we couldn’t have done it without you! To be eligible, you need to have raised 50% of project funds and it’s thanks to your indiegogo donations, raffle tickets buys and show ticket sales that we were able to apply.
What this means is that you (or any rich, philanthropic sorts you might know) can donate to ABaF, preferencing Lady Sings it Better, and your donation is tax deductible!
What are we fundraising for?
In case you missed the 5,732 memos, Lady Sings it Better are Edinburgh Fringe bound! We will perform a 4 week season at Gilded Balloon, no doubt a career changing experience for us all. We are beyond excited about this opportunity, as we’ve been working towards this moment for the last three years!
Our tour’s budget is $50,000 and we have already raised 50% of funds through performances, crowdfunding, sponsorship, a Sydney Gay Lesbian Business Association grant and our own personal savings. We have fundraised enough to cover flights and accommodation for our 6 singers, 3 piece band, sound operator and commander in chief, Ms Phoebe Meredith.
But we still have another $25K to raise, for venue costs, Edinburgh Fringe registration, instrument and technical hires and, marketing expenses.
Lady Sings it Better intend to use the tour to establish important connections with UK and other international cabaret presenters, promoters and programmers. This networking is essential in developing the company into a resource for local women and queer cabaret artists and crew.
So what is the Australian Cultural Fund?
The fund was established to encourage people to donate to the arts and enable performers like us to benefit from this generosity. All donations are made to the Australia Business Arts Foundation (AbaF) which considers donor preferences when allocating grants. In the past eight years more than $9 million has been donated to AbaF and granted in full to more than 705 artists and cultural organisations – it is a great program for groups like ours.
How to donate
Check out our profile on the ABaF site: abaf.org.au/donors/artist-projects/maeve-marsden.html
All donations will make a difference, no matter how big or small. We have provided some examples of how your support can assist:
You can donate:
You can contact the Australian Business Arts Foundation for more information or to send in your form:
Manager NSW: John Godfrey | Coordinator NSW: Melinda Holcombe
A: Level 1, 372 Elizabeth Street, Surry Hills NSW 2010
T: 02 9215 9313
F: 02 9215 9075
E: nsw@abaf.org.au
Thank you for considering supporting Lady Sings it Better, blackcat productions and Australian queer and women’s cabaret. If a financial contribution is not possible for you, you can still help by passing on this information to others, coming along to a gig, or following us at facebook.com/LadySingsitBetterFans or twitter.com/lady_sings_it.
After a critically acclaimed run at the blackcat lounge for Mardi Gras, Lady Sings it Better are back, performing for one night only at Slide Lounge on May 17. The show is not to be missed, packed with tongue-in-cheek humour and musical twists. Book now!
Smashing expectations one soaring harmony at a time, five women reinvent well-loved tunes by the greatest male musicians. Soulful, sassy and surprising, the Ladies romp through popular culture. This is Michael Jackson, Leonard Cohen, Nine Inch Nails, Bon Jovi and Queen as you’ve never heard them before; masculinity mixed up with stellar female vocals and a little ridiculous dancing!
Described last year by the Adelaide Advertiser as “a sheer joyful explosion of sound,” Lady Sings it Better have been going from strength to strength as they prepare for their first international tour, to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival this August. The upcoming performance Slide presents the first run of the show they’ll tour to Scotland, with a few bonus Aussie tunes for a local crowd.
To assist in their fundraising for the tour, producers, blackcat productions, have secured an exciting new partnership with Barefoot Wine. Barefoot’s delicious range of wines will be available for purchase at the show. Eager to support Australian talent, Barefoot Wines and Slide Lounge have agreed that a portion of all profits made from wine sales will go towards helping Lady Sings it Better get to Edinburgh.
Said Director, Maeve Marsden, “we’re hugely grateful for Barefoot’s support and encourage our guests to drink up and support independent cabaret.”
Accompanied by a highly skilled three-piece band, the five ladies – Maeve Marsden, Anna Martin, Chandra Franken, Libby Wood and Belinda Crawford – offer diverse style and energy on stage. Said Time Out magazine, “The strength of the show lies in the diverse range of voices. With the contrast between the Billie Holiday-vibrato of Libby Wood, the charisma of Chandra Franken and the raw power of Maeve Marsden, each of the five women has her own unique charm which is balanced with the others.”
Feminist and fun, by turns hilarious, moving and completely absurd, Lady Sings it Better are Sydney’s cabaret act to watch.
“Proud of their sexual independence and not afraid to show it, they definitely showed the crowd that without a doubt, a Lady Sings It Better.” – ripitup.com
“The voices have just the right blend and timbre to them – all very different but in combination, perfect. The arrangements are tight and can turn a run of the mill rock song into a full tilt showstopper.” – aussietheatre.com
Join the Ladies for a night of food, wine and fabulous cabaret…
RSVP on Facebook and invite all your friends!
Slide Lounge
May 17
7pm Dinner, 9pm Show
Dinner and show: $65
Show only: $30
Tickets on sale at slide.com.au
41 Oxford St Darlinghurst
Ph: 02 8915 1899
photography by Viv McGregor, Design by Shell Horn
So, this little cabaret season we’ve produced is pretty fucking enormous. We’re excited, and you should be too. We love an advanced booking, so make a bunch of queer cabaret singers happy and head straight (gaily forward) to the Sidetrack website to BOOK YOUR TICKETS.
If you need extra convincing, I’ve compiled this handy list of 10 Top Reasons to Book Tickets to the blackcat lounge:
Anyone else got any top ten reasons…?
Last year, 55 people united for a common cause. They had a beautiful dream: to raise $1000 in order to select a song for Lady Sings it Better to sing at our upcoming blackcat lounge gig (a perk we offered on our indiegogo fundraising for Edinburgh Fringe).
Such power they wielded, such a beautiful opportunity to contribute to the artistic integrity of our little cabaret, to choose a song that spread a message of hope, of peace, of love; in this moment, all 55 of them were inextricably linked to our creative process, our identity as performers, the very core of our collective artistry.
They chose this:
To see Lady Sings it Better perform this song, live and fabulous, book now for Lady at the blackcat lounge.
blackcat lounge tickets from sidetrack.com.au
All Gimme Head Collective donators can book concession price:
Finlay Long, Geri Lloyd, Nic Gleeson, Amy Coopes, Peta Reeves, Kathy Hutton, Beck Fawcett, Tanya Fox, Teresa Savage, Sadhana & Seema, Fiona Morthorpe, Siobhan Towner, Alex Wallace, Cameron Power, Kylie B-C, Lisa Bowen, Kate Duffy, Jen Peden, Val Phipps, Megan Baiocchi, Natalie Martins, Amanda Galea, Ant Hillis, Brett Every, Shelley Mulhern, Tish & Jo, Tania & Jai Reid, Ingrid Potgieter, Jess, Nat, Annette, Simone Gallo & Julz Arden, Rae Griffin, Sarah, Anna, Ange, Kylie, Vanessa, Ciara Paramore, Nicky Breen, Gboy, Koen, Molly & Penny, Haydn, Felicity & Joe, Emily Spencer, Fruzsina Korosy, Maya and Suzy!
