A few nights ago, my friend took me to a show at the Melbourne Recital Centre. Neither of us knew anything about it, but we knew that Julia Jacklin was set to make an appearance, and that was enough to draw us in. The show was Derrick Gee’s Radio Hour, advertised as “part music talk show, part communal listening experience”, and it was honestly unlike anything I’d experienced before. 

Derrick Gee is the host of Solid Air, an online interview show that invites artists to converse, share their own music, and share the music that inspires them. Radio Hour is essentially a live extension of this, staged like a contemporary living room filled with lush plants and large couches. The show is centred around sharing music and culture in a way that unites music lovers in a common purpose, and the intimate, warm space of the Recital Centre was the perfect venue for this. 

As the show began, Derrick played some tracks from the middle of the stage, allowing the songs to play through and let the audience just listen to the music, before beginning to introduce segments that prompted audience engagement. Through the use of throwable microphones, the room was ablaze with intelligent discussions over the future of music, and how past genres can influence the current landscape of artists. These moments gave the audience an active and unpredictable role in shaping the show, making the experience feel less like a traditional performance and more like a joint effort. Throughout the show, Melbourne-based autoharpist Georgia Knight remained onstage and played musical interludes between segments, singing into an old telephone and adding witty commentary. Through the combination of these elements, Derrick Gee was able to create a show that simultaneously felt like a concert, radio show, and group project, allowing for a collaborative space through which to spread and develop ideas. 

This sense of exchange carried naturally into his guests, each person providing a different relationship to the world of music. The first guest, Michael Kucyk from Efficient Space, detailed the journey of founding his record label that fosters both archival releases and new artists, and brought in a unique pressing of a new song from one of his signed artists. It was interesting to hear from someone in the industry, and offered a different perspective on this discussion of how music can change and continue to connect different people. On the other hand, Julia Jacklin’s involvement in the show was more personal, singing three songs and discussing one that inspires her. Her stage presence was incredible. As soon as she walked out, the entire room seemed to be on the edge of their seats. In addition to a debut performance of “The Hardest Thing” off her upcoming album The Gem, she sang “to Perth, before the border closes”, and finished with a deeply emotional rendition of “I Will Always Love You” by Dolly Parton. As a long-time fan of Julia’s music, seeing her perform in such an intimate setting was a highlight of the night. In her conversation with Derrick, she spoke about the obstacles of releasing an album, and the unapologetic perspective through which she viewed the process this time around. This culminated in her choice of song, “You Get What You Give” by New Radicals, prefaced by her love of music that is inherently positive and uplifting. 

Derrick Gee’s Radio Hour is an incredible live experience, made even better by such talented and thoughtful guests. As my first exposure to his work, I was impressed by the breadth of his knowledge of music, as well as the relaxed, engaging way through which he communicated it. I walked away with an introduction to new songs that I probably never would have heard otherwise, and a renewed sense of confidence in the future of live music and performance.