Jazz’s journey through the music industry
Joining P!NK on tour was far from Jazz’s mind when she found herself returning home to Maitland in New South Wales after University.
Following her studies, finding her next step in the music industry seemed out of reach, and it felt like a lifelong dream of working in touring was slipping away.
“I was upset to move home, as I felt like the music industry was being stripped from under me. While there is a strong music scene in Maitland and Newcastle – it isn’t the large calibre I’ve always aspired to work in.”
Applying for the Music Industry Mentoring Program gave Jazz a chance to not only re-engage with music, but flourish within it. Through the program, Jazz (along with program compatriot Emma) joined the P!NK Summer Carnival Tour thanks to an Event Management opportunity with Live Nation.
“This experience allowed me to engage with Touring and Live Music hands on with industry professionals who taught me how and why we do what we do,” Jazz told The Push. “I was able to gain real experiences from real scenarios and had the pleasure assisting the delivery of 17 stadium shows across Australia.”
The willingness and openness of Jazz’s mentors to show her what it takes to put on these huge events provided an invaluable experience for her.
“Everyone on this tour was so willing and excited to show me their day-to-day and cool things they do. I felt so honoured to have the access to work with not only my mentor in event management but shadow the industry guns across all areas of the production. My mentor taught me not only how to tour manage, but why we do it.”
This sense of community wasn’t just from her mentors in the program, but her fellow mentees and coordinators from The Push.
“I really enjoyed The Push program because I had 8 people that were in the same boat as me. I regularly kept in touch with them through fortnightly catchups and we still connect now after the program. Having a sense of community, and our coordinators always being within touch through a screen or message was really reassuring.”
Jazz recalled a moment from her first day:
“After a long day of learning admin and being overwhelmed by the size of stadium productions a pinch me moment was when I walked onto the field at Allianz Stadium that night to watch the dress rehearsals of the show to a completely empty stadium. It felt like a show just for us and was incredible to see the beginning of the next two months. Definitely an ‘I made it’ moment”
“Definitely an ‘I made it’ moment.”
Other highlights for Jazz include the head of lighting teaching her how to operate lighting desk and playing a song to an empty Suncorp Stadium, taking on independent responsibilities and feeling a part of the bigger picture alongside the best crew members. An unbelievable experience with P!NK after one of the production days during the tour was playing a round of dodgem cars with her and her family at Luna Park.
So what’s next for Jazz?
“I have learnt many skills on this tour. I have been working towards a career in live music touring since I was 15. This experience allowed me to put my learnings from University into context and expand on the logistics of tour planning. I have gained soft skills from working in this environment and now know how touring works from a people perspective.
“[The Push Music Industry Mentoring Program] is also a great opportunity to gain confidence in the industry. One of the most valuable things that I got out of this program was my confidence and people skills, both inside working in a touring environment and in general life as well.
“My spark for touring was developed after my first concert at 15 years old. Since that night, I have had to work extra hard to make a large scale music career possible from a regional area. This experience with The Push has meant I have ticked off one of my bucket list goals early – touring on a stadium size tour.”
Since the program, Jazz has spoken at numerous industry events, including BigSound about young people and their access to live music and continued turning her passion into a successful career as a Music Agent Assistant at WME.
Music Industry Mentoring
With support from The Ian Potter Foundation, The Push launched its annual Music Industry Mentoring program in 2024, giving young people the opportunity to develop skills, confidence, and networks across the industry.
The Push Music Industry Mentoring Program will continue into 2025, providing young people with workplace learning to within some of Australia’s biggest music companies to develop their skills, confidence and networks.
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