Whether you're into Neil Diamond or black metal, your musical taste doesn't make you superior. It's time to kill the gatekeeping.
Look, we've all been there. You mention you're going to see a tribute act and someone wrinkles their nose like you've just told them you exclusively listen to hold music. Or you admit you love a bit of opera and suddenly you're pretending to sip wine from a goblet.
Gatekeeping music is exhausting. And it needs to stop.
The Myth of "Real" Music
Here's the truth: there's no hierarchy of authenticity in music. A crowd losing their minds at a Hot August Night – Neil Diamond show isn't having a less legitimate experience than someone at a Black Plague Festival. They're both there for the same reason—to feel something, to escape, to connect with a song that matters to them.
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Yet somehow we've created this mythology that certain genres, certain venues, certain artists are more "real" than others. That tribute bands aren't "proper music." That pop is disposable and metal is serious. That you can't enjoy The Lion King *and* Ed Kuepper in the same lifetime.
It's rubbish.
Music Is for Everyone
Walk through Australia's live music scene on any given weekend and you'll see the truth. Sunny Coast Rude Boys pulling crowds in Brisbane. The Yachtski Brothers drawing people to a Melbourne venue. Pseudo Echo still packing Gosnells Hotel in Perth. The History of British Rock playing to packed houses. London Calling doing its thing at Adelaide's Gov.
These aren't niche experiences. They're *live music*. Real people, real instruments, real connection. The venue size doesn't matter. The artist's chart position doesn't matter. What matters is that someone showed up, paid their money, and wanted to be transported for a few hours.
Your Taste Isn't Your Identity
The worst thing gatekeeping does is make people defensive about what they actually enjoy. You like a tribute act? Cool. You're into classical music? Brilliant. Rude boys or rock history or experimental Perth underground? All valid. All worthy of your time and money.
There's something deeply sad about the thought of someone *not* going to a gig because they're worried about being judged by people who don't matter. That's the gatekeeping tax we all pay—and it needs to end.
The Scene Is Stronger When We're Inclusive
Australia's live music thrives when people show up, full stop. The more diverse the audiences, the more venues stay open, the more artists get opportunities. When you gatekeep, you're not protecting some sacred standard—you're making the whole ecosystem smaller and meaner.
Go see what interests you. Drag a mate to something weird. Let yourself enjoy a tribute band without the internal debate. The music scene doesn't need your purity test. It needs your ticket money and your enthusiasm.
Stop gatekeeping. Start living.