STACK #229 November 2023

FEATURE MUSIC

AUSMUSIC T-SHIRT DAY: LOOK COOL, DO GOOD

The front and back of the black ’Homegrown’ T-shirt available exclusively online at JB Hi-Fi, featuring an illustration of many Aussie musos designed by Creative Nomad.

official collab with Support Act was cemented. And who are Support Act? They’re best described as the music industry’s charity, providing crisis relief, mental health and wellbeing support to musicians, managers, crew, music workers and organisations across every genre of music. The body was launched in 1998 by an industry-led committee (which included luminaries such as Michael Chugg, Meryl Gross, and Glenn Shorrock) and has gone from strength to strength fuelled by the massive contingent of generous Oz music fans who commit to enthusiastic awareness- and fundraising on AusMusic T-shirt Day (and beyond!). The day has found its home in November of every year – coinciding with AusMusic Month and the ARIA Awards – except for 2020, when it was brought forward to April 17 in order to more quickly get funds to those horrifically affected by the blackout on touring during the COVID pandemic. This year, AusMusic T-shirt Day will be held on November 30. And if you’re struggling to find a music tee in your wardrobe that isn’t on its last legs – no drama! The easiest way to donate to Support Act is to purchase one of their official tees, all proceeds of which go to the charity. JB Hi-Fi are exclusively selling a limited number of the black ’Homegrown’ style shirts online – and if you’ll be in-store on the 30th, you’ll also have the opportunity to round up your purchase to the nearest dollar, with proceeds going to Support Act. If you’re wondering about the connection between JB and Support Act, it’s a neat story: As part of JB’s ’Helping Hands’ program (which focuses on workplace giving), JB team members can donate some bucks out of their weekly pay to support selected charities – and JB matches each donation, dollar for dollar. One of the coolest ways the program helps Support Act is to aid in implementation of their new First Nations projects, which include First Nations mental health first aid training, and the Yarning Strong panel

Below: Some of our fave snaps from AusMusic T-shirt Day 2022; The Wiggles’ Murray Cook repping Warumpi Band, Vika and Linda Bull repping CW Stoneking and Ben Salter, Kylie in an official merch shirt, and Silverchair’s Ben Gillies repping Methyl Ethel.

W hether it’s the love-worn Kylie shirt you bought at Sydney’s Capitol Theatre during the Impossible Princess tour of ’98, or a brand-spankin’ Last Stand tee recently nabbed from a JB store to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Cold Chisel’s seminal ’83 album, donning a music T-shirt has become more than just a symbol of the wearer’s perennial cool. It’s also a way to support workers in the music industry, whose job structures often fall outside the kinds of mental health and financial safety nets that the rest of us enjoy (and sometimes take for granted). But first, a bit of history! The tradition of AusMusic T-shirt Day kicked off in 2013, thanks to triple j. The radio broadcaster encouraged music fans to show their love for the medium by wearing a music tee to work, and two years later ARIA got on board, awarding prizes (like apparel and ARIA Awards tickets) to those who sported the coolest and most creative music merch. From there, charitable partnerships sprung up before the The day to don your fave music duds is just around the corner! Here’s how it happened, why it’s awesome, and how you can get involved. Words Zoë Radas

AusMusic T-Shirt Day is on November 30, 2023.

discussion series, which explores the mental health and wellbeing of First Nations people working in the music industry. So seize the day: get online and get yourself a ’Homegrown’ shirt, get in store and donate, or get to the official AusMusic T-Shirt Day site to see the

rest of the shirt range and register your individual, team, or workplace fundaiser. Look cool, do good. ZKR

Above: Last year’s AusMusic T-shirt Day ambassadors, actor Chris Hemsworth (repping The Teskey Brothers) and musician Jess Mauboy (repping Baker Boy).

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