The Broken Spoke and South Australian Country Music

A while ago after a show, I was talking with the President of one of the country music clubs where Palomino Deluxe plays. He mentioned that the committee were meeting to discuss some ideas around attracting new members. Membership is a topic on the agenda for several of the clubs. Members and regular guests are not getting any younger, and some of the clubs have yet to fully bounce back from a recent drop in attendance because of COVID.

This got me thinking about the future of country music in South Australia, and what might support the sustainability of the clubs, who are the heart and soul of the more traditional styles of country music in our state. What follows are some ramblings and reflections on what people might look for in the experience of going to a country show, and some ideas for different things the clubs could explore or consider. I’ve no doubt that some of the suggestions below have already been tried or considered in the past. Nevertheless, I’ll throw out a few ideas in case something has enough merit to be picked up and run with. For specific suggestions, skip to the end. To take the meandering road, read on…

First, what does a great country music experience in a smaller club (i.e., something of up to- say- a couple of hundred people in the audience) look and feel like?

The Broken Spoke

In 2019 I was in Austin Texas for a conference. On a recommendation from former Deluxe guitarist Duncan, I headed with a couple of colleagues to the Broken Spoke, a traditional Texas dance hall. There are a few things that contributed to making it a night to remember. First, the band was excellent, which was no surprise as the Derailers have been internationally recognised for their quality blend of Texas and Bakersfield for many years. As a side note, I got talking to their steel guitar player (the oddballs need to stick together) and he mentioned that he played in another band with SA multi-instrumentalist Kym Warner. I let him know that we had played a gig with Kym’s Dad Trev just a couple of weeks prior- small world!

*With Brian Hofstedt from the Derailers*

Second, the atmosphere was just what you expect of an old-time country music venue. Timber-lined walls with western themed décor and American iconography. The owner James M. White was a welcoming presence decked out in full western wear, adding to the vibe. The look of the place just made you feel like kicking the dust off your boots and getting ready to honky-tonk. Third, dancing is a big part of the experience, with opportunities for newcomers to learn the ‘Texas two-step’ a simple but effective manoeuvre that gets everyone involved (they run an earlier class with an instructor before the band comes on). Finally, perhaps the most striking thing about the night was the mix of different age groups. People from their 20s upwards were all enjoying the dancing and music together in a relaxed and natural way. It just felt “right”- the best of what a country music experience could be.

Although Austin and Adelaide are sister cities, there are of course big differences between the long history of country music culture in Texas and the smaller scene in South Australia. Not to mention the fact that the Broken Spoke is a dedicated live music venue. It’s also true that the Broken Spoke seems to be unique even in the US. According to their website, Garth Brooks quipped that “If all the honky-tonks were like this one when I played them, I’d have never left”.

Even though we’re not in Texas, and even if the Spoke is an outlier, it never hurts to aim high and perhaps there are lessons we can take from their way of doing things that could help to attract new members to the South Australian clubs. We’ll come back to that later.

The Low-Hanging Fruit is Silver

Attracting a multi-generational audience is the dream, but right now it’s probably not a realistic one. The clubs are mostly set-up for the wants of a mature audience (e.g., daytime shows, a preference for music from the ‘classic’ country era of the 50s to the 70s), and to be fair, not many younger people are attracted to country music compared with other genres. Personally, I didn’t really get into it until my 30s and I’ve become gradually more immersed ever since. We’ve backed a number of talented younger guest artists in the clubs over the years, but I can’t remember any bringing along friends their own age. The legendary Marty Stuart pointed out:

The original themes of country music – love, drinking, rambling, gambling, heartache, divorce, mother, faith, home, sin, redemption, murder – are universal … so when traditional country music speaks to those life themes, to the human condition, I think it crosses borders and has universal appeal.

Although I agree with the universal appeal, it seems likely that the stories of love, loss, heartbreak, and life that Stuart talks about resonate more among people who have been around long enough to have had those experiences more than a few times themselves.

Should we be worried that only a small group of our younger folk are embracing traditional country music, and that these younger people are mostly absent from the clubs? Nope, for a couple of reasons. First, younger fans and performers are already finding their own way- just in different contexts. These kids would identify as fans of ‘Americana’ in its various forms, and can be found at venues like the Wheatsheaf Hotel or The Gov. Many would turn their noses up at the Nashville mainstream and would take Ray LaMontagne over Ray Price. Nevertheless, at their core, they are still country music lovers, just of a younger, slightly different variety. Perhaps the key question is how to design a pathway for the current younger fans and performers to transition into getting involved with the clubs when late nights in the city begin to lose their appeal.

The second reason for optimism ties in directly with the clubs’ current audience: There are more middle-aged and older people around than ever before, and they represent a larger proportion of the population than has ever been the case in human history (for example see the Figure below from the Australian Institute of health and Welfare). Furthermore, we are living longer, healthier lives than ever before. There is no reason to think that someone getting involved at aged 50 won’t enjoy another 30 to 40 years of country music fandom. Until we have another Garth Brooks or Shania Twain, or until Taylor Swift returns to her roots to release a hugely successful country album, the best value for recruitment-focused efforts is likely to be come from middle-aged and older people. The grey nomads who will happily load the van and travel vast distances to attend a country music festival, or the recent retirees who have always loved music and are looking for a new way to get involved in their community. The questions are: (1) How to get the message out to the right people? and (2) once the right people come to a club, what will make them keep coming back?

Population Agieng in Australia. www.aihw.gov.au/reports/australias-welfare/australias-welfare-2017-in-brief/contents/ageing-and-aged-care

The Road Ahead

Here, in no particular order are some ideas. Some might be good, some probably aren’t. Some will have already been tried, others won’t have been. In any case, I hope these suggestions can contribute in a useful way to the conversation.

1. Find out what the people want. Perhaps it would be worth supplementing the informal discussions that already take place with some more targeted market research?

2. Ensure the bands are good. This is about booking good bands (and I know the entertainment officers choose carefully), but also about us as musicians continuing to work at our craft to continually improve and consistently provide a quality show.

3. Radio support. Community stations like Coast FM would seem a good bet with an audience in the right demographic. I’m not sure about cost, but the stations would probably do a good deal to support other not-for-profit community organisations like the country clubs. As far as producing ads go, I would be happy to record a radio ad for no charge for any of the clubs- I would only need the details to be included and information on how many seconds the ad should run for. Then you could decide to use it or not, no strings attached.

4. Link in with local dance groups. Dance classes for adults are becoming more popular, and of course we already have some line dancers who are welcome regulars at the club shows. Could there be other connections to be made with local dance groups that will give people an opportunity to put their lessons into practice with live country music?

5. Link in with local choirs. I would like to hear a good choir do a version of ‘El Paso’, or ‘Ghost Riders in the Sky’. Inviting a choir to sing a couple of songs (but keep it to one or two) might help to make others with an interest in music aware of the activities of the clubs.

6. Invest in quality promotion. People are attracted to events that have a professional look. This might mean paying a graphic designer to make up great looking flyers, promotional materials etc.

7. Get onto some merchandise. I know that this is already happening to various degrees, but part of the quality design mentioned above (point 6) might involve a ‘re-branding’ with a great looking club logo that can be put on a shirt or a stubby holder. These could be sold at club days, added to the raffle table, and will help get the word out as members are spotted about town in their cool threads. Clubs could even have a presence at local markets or car boot sales to help get the word out and ask people what would attract them to be involved with the country music scene (see point 1).

8. Word of mouth is a powerful recruitment tool. Maybe membership should come with one or two free tickets a year that can be used to bring along non-members for a free trial?

9. Broaden the Search for Committee Members. Volunteering SA and NT offer a service where people looking to become a volunteer are matched with a suitable volunteer role. It might be possible to advertise committee positions through these channels to recruit some new blood?

10. Provide opportunities for work experience. People pay to be trained in careers such as event management and social media marketing. Those doing such courses might be interested in volunteer opportunities that will help them to strengthen their resume.

11. Plan for succession. Every club has one or two key people who take responsibility for a lot of the tasks that need to be done to keep everything up and running. Have a plan in place to train up replacements for when the key people are ready to step down or even just take a break for a few months.

12. Share the load. As noted above, the bulk of the work often falls to a small group of people on the committees. Following up everything suggested here would be a full-time job. Having multiple committee members willing and available to put extra time into activities not otherwise seen as core business (e.g., extra promotional work) could help share the load.

13. Be flexible. New members will come with new ideas and new committee members may have different ideas for how things should be done. Be willing to listen. Don’t let go of the values and practices that have made the clubs successful, but do be willing to try new things.

14. Think about ways to work together. Perhaps the clubs could work together to organise a bigger theatre show once a year, or support a tour across some regional centres that could act as a showcase for country music in the state?

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