No Phones, No Phascists - feat. Rivermouth - Counter-cultural convergence in Holland Park West (FREE ENTRY)

Once, not so long ago, we connected with each other directly, without relying on ad-saturated apps controlled by authoritarian billionaires.

Life was a little less intense. A person’s attention wasn’t endlessly carved up into 5-second chunks to be exploited and commodified.

There was more time to breathe, listen and reflect.

We want to reclaim that feeling.

So we’re gathering in person to share music, art, radical ideas and good company.

Join us for a free community event organised outside the confines of technocapitalism in a backyard in Holland Park West.

Meet new people. Catch up with old friends. Soak up some poetry. Maybe even dance a little.

At a time of rising fascism, it’s crucial we create and maintain free spaces where we can converge face-to-face and build community.

The ‘no phones’ theme isn’t a hard-and-fast rule (it’s ok to have a phone on you – just leave it in your pocket or bag as much as possible), but we encourage everyone to be present in the space and resist getting sucked into your device.

Rough program:
4pm – open jam – musicians feel free to bring your instruments
5pm to 5:40ish – open mic for solo acts, duets, comedians and poets – maximum 5 minutes for spoken word and 8 minutes for musicians (including setup time) – capped list, so please arrive by 4:15 to guarantee a slot (poets if you haven’t memorised your work, we encourage you to read out of a notebook rather than off your phone screen)
5:45pm community announcements – anyone can promote local community events/projects/protests
6pmish – Saro and Andrew (of Midnight Sound Machine) – funk/soul duo
7pm – Rivermouth – 4-piece hip-hop/folk band

This is a free, all-ages event held in a private backyard (that backs onto a public park).

As well as performances, we’ll set up an art-making space, and we’re inviting a few zine makers to come along and share their work. We’ll also have plenty of balls/toys available for kids who want to play in the park.

We’ll be serving either vegan soup or vegan dahl and rice for dinner from around 5:30pm (gold coin donation to cover costs, please BYO bowl and spoon if you can). We may run out of food – first come, first served.

Please note that street parking is very limited, so we encourage public/active transport if you can.

The nearest bus stop is the Birdwood Rd Wellers Hill stop, just 300m walk through Joachim St Park (direct buses from the city during peak hour, plus the 179 runs regularly from Garden City and from UQ/Boggo Rd/Buranda). Or you can walk 700m to high-frequency bus stops on Logan Rd, or 1km to the Holland Park West busway station.

Cycling access is super safe and easy – you can ride all the way from the city/South Bank/Woolloongabba on fully separated bikeways via the Veloway without having to mix with traffic.

BYO food and drinks is fine, but no hard drugs or smoking on the property + please don’t overdo the alcohol – this is not a piss-up.
Importantly, this is a zero-waste event – it would be great if you can take all your own rubbish home with you.

Quiet, comfy spaces for breastfeeding available.

We apologise that the venue is not fully disability accessible, but wheelchair users can access the upper level of the back courtyard (where you can view the stage area and perform in the open mic) via the gently sloped driveway from Joachim St (minimum access width is a 75cm doorway). Wheelchair users please note that the toilet doorway is 65cm wide (sliding door) but transition space inside the toilet cubicle is only 55cm wide. Email office@jonathansri.com if you have any questions about accessibility – we’ll do whatever we can to accommodate you!

We strongly encourage mask-wearing if you’ve recently been exposed to anyone with cold/flu symptoms, and to stay home if you have a runny nose/sore throat.

If there’s something else you’d like to contribute to this event – e.g. fire-twirling, live art – please email office@jonathansri.com and we’ll see if we can make space for you.

This event is proudly anti-racist and queer-friendly. Everyone’s welcome except TERFs/fascists/genocide-apologists.

This event is being held on Jagera land. We acknowledge and pay respects to First Nations elders and stand in solidarity with Aboriginal calls for justice and land rights – sovereignty was never ceded.