It’s Wayne’s World on our tiny rock

Those who know me are aware that I have been involved in the local music since I started hitting the old red drums at the legendary Bourbon Street. Ever since those good old days I have been tagging alongside people like Jonathan Sacramento, Alex Zapata and my brother Jason who formed the real Gibraltar Live Music Society. Back then it was the first movement of local musicians working exclusively for us musicians and opening opportunities for all.

Much has evolved since and as Chairman of the Musicians Association of Gibraltar I am extremely happy with the work done we’ve done in two years, and, in the middle of a pandemic! There is live music everywhere, however, even though we have acoustic performers and singers gigging weekly, we have seen a problem with live bands and that is something we are working hard to fix. Rehearsal rooms, Band Competitions, working with venues and productions is key.

Fortunately for Gibraltar and hence the title of my piece, we have a man with a vision under his brand Futuresoundz. Wayne Meenagh arrived in Gibraltar around 8 years ago and his love for Indie Music is known to all, especially young, upcoming bands. For the past few years he has brought over bands like The Luka State, Make Friends, Cavalcade, Clockworks, Bryde, with many of these boasting astronomical numbers on the streaming platform, Spotify. These bands have been touring UK frequently and are doing extremely well. If you’ve ever been to a Futuresoundz concert, you will have seen the quality of these bands and if you enjoy music as much as I do, you will not have been disappointed with the quality of these live shows.

How is this good for Gibraltar? For starters, in order to improve the quality of local musicians, we need to see the competition out there, firsthand. It is difficult to compete with bands that dedicate most of their time to their music. In Gibraltar if it isnt school, its work or priorities as a parent. However, if you really want to make it you need to work hard and with the talent we see in Gibraltar, I am sure many bands will reach that level as seen in past Music Festivals. Now with Wayne investing in music, our bands have a chance to perform with these bands under the working conditions all musicians hope for. Last summer we had The Views performing an outstanding show in Sotogrande to a huge crowd. Wayne’s commitment to local music means that bands performing original material will get a spot in his shows. Last week we saw Nicolai Celecia and The Broken Arrows support Make Friends at The Ivys. These coming weeks In Static Lights and Dead City Radio will also be providing supporting roles for these British Bands. You never know if there will be an opportunity to build a relationship with these bands and get local bands to perform with them on a UK tour.

Now that things seem to be back to normal, we are starting to see Wayne back in action again with plenty of gigs happening in April and more to come this summer. As a community and especially as musicians I urge my peers to embrace these opportunities as Futuresoundz invests in local music. Support comes from attending these concerts, sharing a video or simply by talking to your friends and family about any bands you may have seen at his shows. This man has invested in equipment, in getting the right sound for each event, getting bands over and marketing, it is time for us to do our bit and support this fantastic iniciative.

On behalf of MAG, we fully endorse Futuresoundz and give Wayne and his wife all the support needed from us.