National Book Tour Puts Live Music’s Survival — and Its Hidden Health Toll — Centre Stage
Author Emily Rockit takes Louder Than Life into independent record stores and live music venues across Australia, pairing live music and panel discussion with a call to protect the venues and people who keep the industry alive
Northern Rivers, NSW — Author and music industry veteran Emily Rockit will launch an eleven-city Australian tour this September, taking her debut book, Louder Than Life: The Touring Musician’s Handbook, into independent record stores all over Australia.
The Louder Than Life Record Store Pop-Up Tour combines live performance, panel discussion and book signings with a pointed message: Australia’s live music culture, and the people who sustain it, are under real pressure, and something has to change.
The tour opens at Badlands Vinyl in Tweed Heads on 26 September and runs through to Sonic Sherpa in Brisbane on 28 November, stopping at record stores and music venues in Melbourne, Hobart, Adelaide, Gold Coast, Cairns, Sydney, Coffs Harbour, Sunshine Coast and Maleny along the way. Each event features a live performance from a local artist, a panel discussion, and book sales and signings.
“I’m genuinely worried about the state of live music, here and everywhere. So many venues didn’t survive the pandemic, and the ones still standing are up against rising insurance costs and red tape. Live music has been one of the great loves of my life, and this book is a love letter to life on the road. These events are an expression of that love, with live music, honest conversations about what touring artists are up against, and a chance to honour record stores as the cultural spaces that connect musicians and music lovers alike, ” Rockit said.
Each stop’s panel brings Rockit together with the performing artist and, at several dates, additional guests drawn from the book contributors or the music community — grounding the conversation in lived experience.
The tour also marks Rockit’s first public comments on a personal health diagnosis that emerged in the lead-up to the book’s release.
“When I was about to launch my book, I hit burnout and was diagnosed with Functional Neurological Disorder. Looking back, this had been creeping up for years. It’s the hidden cost for a lot of artists and industry workers — creative work rarely pays enough on its own, so we’re forced to juggle day jobs, creative pursuits, parenting and more until we literally break. I believe our brains weren’t built for this much screen time. I want to urge others to be super careful. Take regular breaks, use blue light filtering, build balance into your routine, and if you must work a day job, choose something low stress if you can. It has been so hard to recover, and it’s still a work in progress,” Rockit said.
Tour Dates
- 26 September — Badlands Vinyl, Tweed Heads, featuring uong-bo
- 2 October — Readings Bookstore, Carlton, Melbourne, featuring Tim Guy
- 8 October — Suffragette Records, Hobart, featuring EWAH
- 10 October — Clarity Records, Adelaide, featuring Naomi Keyte
- 24 October — Beatniks Records, Gold Coast, featuring Sunny Luwe
- 31 October — Elixir Music House, Cairns, featuring Phoebe Jacobs
- 7 November — Recordstore, Sydney, featuring Micke Morphingaz
- 14 November — Rage Music & Vinyl, Coffs Harbour, featuring Jesse Morris
- 21 November — The Old Ambulance Station, Sunshine Coast, featuring The Lyrical
- 22 November — Maleny Lane, Maleny, featuring Salt & Steel
- 28 November — Sonic Sherpa, Brisbane, featuring HaydenGoSeek (Weaving album launch)
All events are free to attend. Books will be available exclusively at each tour event, with online sales opening from early December at emilyrockit.com.
About Emily Rockit
Emily Rockit is an author, music industry creative and proudly outspoken Gen-X music obsessive with more than two decades immersed in touring, artist development, festivals and music culture across Australia, the UK and Europe. She is the founder of artist services company Mojobullet, and the author of Louder Than Life: The Touring Musician’s Handbook, with a memoir, Lighter Side of Darkness, currently in development. Based in the Northern Rivers of NSW, Emily continues to champion independent artists and spark conversations about the culture, cost and community of live music.