Adrian Anderson has worked in the Australian music industry since the 1960s helping musicians put on a great show.
Through the Heavy Lifting: vintage rock t-shirts and roadie reunions exhibition, Adrian offers an insight into the often-overlooked backbone of the music industry. The music industry relies on the expertise, innovation and labour of roadies.
The exhibition features a selection of vintage rock t-shirts from Adrian’s vast collection, collected while working with different bands.
When asked if there was a particular t-shirt that he had an emotional connection to, Adrian said “there’s an emotion with all of them.” Working with the ‘King of Blues’ BB King really stuck out to him as “he’d never seen anything like it in his life.”
The exhibition brings together two of Adrian’s passions, t-shirts, and the well-being of his colleagues, which contributed to his co-founding of The Australian Road Crew Association of Australia (ARCA), who provide financial, health, counselling and well-being services for roadies and crew in crisis.
Adrian says, “camaraderie is vital for roadies” and the exhibition tells an important story of commitment and the important connections those in the industry have made throughout their careers.
The hard work of roadies is often invisible to live music lovers but Adrian feels the exhibition is a great step in recognising the contribution they’ve made to the music industry, saying more needs to be done to continue to support roadies.
The exhibition also acknowledges the Sunbury Music Festival which ran between 1972 – 1975. Adrian was stage manager during this time and credits the impact the festival saying it “pushed Australian music so far” and “changed the way the [music] business worked.”
If you’re a music lover or simply interested in local history of Hume, be sure to check out the exhibition, open until Sunday 16 April 2023 at the Gallery at Sunbury Hume Global Learning Centre.
