MBC Chats: Neighbourhood Xmas (Iain T. McKelvey & The Midnight Tangos)

Homelessness affects over 116,000 Australians daily, and frankly that sucks. Neighbourhood Xmas is about giving back to a community that cares for us. Velvet Futon are throwing a Christmas bash to showcase the local Sydney music scene, strengthen community and raise a bit of dosh on the side for a neighbourhood institution.

100% of profits raised from this event will go to supporting the Newtown Neighbourhood Centre to help continue their amazing work in creating a more vibrant, connected and equitable community.

We were lucky enough to chat with the man spearheading the whole thing, an event we’re very luck to be a part of.

1. What’s the story behind Neighbourhood X-Mas? Give us a little insight into what it means to you..

Neighbourhood X-Mas is kind of born from these events called Shake It Up that I used to put on. They were in collaboration with Shake It Up Foundation and was all about raising funds and awareness towards Parkinson’s Research. Something that is close to my family. We attempted to pull one off in between lockdowns but we unfortunately fell foul of the pandemic.

I think it’s really important to support, promote and acknowledge the community around you and all its different facets. Homelessness affects some 116,000 people in Australia daily and this can be particularly prevalent and tough around the Christmas/holiday period. Newtown Neighbourhood Centre do such incredible work in helping to create a vibrant and equitable community, so Neighbourhood Xmas spawned out of wanting to look a bit closer to home, whilst raising awareness for something that affects a wider scope.

I wanted it to be about the all-encompassing factors of mental health, substance/alcohol abuse, domestic violence and the many contributing factors that may lead to people sleeping rough. We organised it and chose the NNC as the beneficiary for this event, it just seemed like a perfect fit.

Neighbourhood Xmas’ line-up is absolutely stacked full of some of our favourite local acts, including Big Wheels, Organs and more.

2. The line-up is absolutely amazing, what were your thoughts whilst curating this one?

Thanks! We’re really stoked with this line-up. Curating this was a wish list of bands we’d love to see, love to play with and have just generally been loving their output. It can be hard because that wish list is full of bands who are keeping busy and having their own run, which in itself is amazing, so locking down a line-up is tumultuous.  I can’t thank the bands who have agreed to play enough.

I think that it’s easy to be really tough on the Sydney music scene. To point out the many reasons why it’s hard or the powers that be that push back on a vibrant culture. We’ve almost been formatted to think that way. It may take a moment to deconstruct the negative, but we have a very active music scene with some INCREDIBLE bands.

3. How can people support the Newtown Neighbourhood Centre outside of coming to the show? And what do you hope people take away from the event?

Our event is one of many ways. We are fundraising on behalf of the Newtown Neighbourhood Centre. The NNC themselves are consistently putting on great neighbourhood events or discussions, not to mention their work with the Newtown Festival. Best bet is visit https://www.newtowncentre.org/ where you can check out the Support Us page which has options to donate or volunteer. They also keep their campaigns & events updated there too.

My hope for people attending this event is that they have a really, really fun time. That they respect the beauty of a safe space in which to let yourself go. But I also hope they might recognise the privilege we have in being able to attend these events actively and support the community this way. That it’s important to pause and respect the many different situations we are all in.

4. What’s on the horizon for your band, Iain T. McKelvey and the Midnight Tangos next year?

I’m both excited and daunted about the prospect of next year. I tend to get wrapped up in the what ifs as opposed to the right nows. We have been putting in A LOT of work as a band to build something we are really proud of. We’ve got some recordings & studio time on the horizon for a set of new songs, an EP,  that will hopefully open up some exciting paths for us. We’re kind of nodding to what we’ve released but looking to take the safety restraints off a bit and explore. It also looks like we’ll be taking the Midnight Tangos show on the road with some interstate shows that we’re really excited about – but I might keep those cards close for now 😉 We’re also looking to make Neighbourhood Xmas a continuing thing.

Make sure to grab your tickets for Neighbourhood Xmas now, before they run out!