When singer and songwriter Mezz Coleman moved to Footscray aged 19, she had no idea what to expect. Twelve years on she can’t imagine living anywhere else.
Coleman and her partner, Byron Siren, are just two of the Footscray and Seddon area’s growing number of singer-songwriters.
Figures released by music copyright collecting agency APRA AMCOS – in its second annual songwriting postcode rankings – show the 3011 postcode has the fastest-growing number of songwriters in Australia.
“There is just something about the place that has made us stay,” Coleman said. “There were always creative types here, but more and more have moved here.”
APRA AMCOS principal analyst Andrew Harris said the figures supported Coleman’s belief about the area’s drawing power for songwriters.
“Footscray’s nation-leading growth over the past year suggests Melbourne’s west is firmly establishing itself as a key national music hub,” he said.
Coleman credits the area with being a vibrant inspiration for her songwriting.
“As a songwriter I’m very much looking for beauty in the mundane, in the broken. That’s been the theme that has always gone through my work,” she said. “It’s what I’m looking for in my day to day life and I find Footscray an incredible place to do that.”
Across the dozen years she has called Footscray home, Coleman has noticed new opportunities opening for musicians to play in the west rather than have to constantly travel across town to be heard.
“It’s great for someone who writes about what’s happening around them to play in those places,” she said.
