On song: Aspiring musicians set to learn from country, indi, pop and hip-hop artists at a one-day workshop in Albury

Songwriters, musicians, producers and composers are being given a rare opportunity to learn from industry professionals when a one-day music workshop for local music makers comes to Albury on 27 February.

Jem Cassar-Daley will be joined by other songwriters Montaigne, Lachlan Stuckey (Surprise Chef), Dallas Frasca and L-FRESH the LION to deliver an immersive experience with interactive workshops, panel discussions and live performance.

Jem, 24, said the day was a great opportunity to delve into how the industry works and learn about “holding your ground and knowing your worth”.

“I have been releasing music for about four years now but I still feel as though I am learning something new every day about the industry,” said Jem.

“I’m very excited about working with inspiring musicians in Albury; I’ve been to the border before and I love it so I’m happy to be coming back.

“And as much as I’ll be speaking and being a part of these workshops, I feel like I’ll be learning new stuff as well.”

The Regional Sessions is hosted by APRA AMCOS (Australasian Performing Right Association and Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society) and it’s the first time this workshop has been brought to Albury.

The 124,000-member organisation looks after music creators and ensures royalties are paid when their music is played or copied, both locally and overseas.

They are also staging sessions, with support from Sound NSW, in other areas that have been identified as having a strong “music scene” including Lismore, Bellingen, Newcastle and Orange.

“As a young singer-songwriter, who is still kind of finding my own path, it’s going to be great to talk about the songwriting process or how we go about the co-writing set-up and talk about the roles that different people have in the industry,” said Jem, daughter of country music star Troy Cassar-Daley.

“There are many moving parts in this industry and it is important to make sure you are well versed on contracts and things like that; that is an area where I think a lot of people can get into trouble.

“I’m very fortunate I’ve had some great role models in my life, and being able to tour with Dad at a young age I was exposed to the touring life and that world.

“But there is so much to learn about the industry and what sort of artist you want to become and what world you want to be in.

“My dad has always told me to run my own race and just make sure that I’m on my own journey and my own path and from there you find your feet and exactly the style and genre that you want to be, and what sort of artist you want to become; that’s very important.

“I hope this workshop will help young, inspired musicians learn the ropes and help them to present themselves in a way that they want to.”

While Jem grew up surrounded by country music she admits she has never written country songs. Her ARIA Award-winning father has been singing and songwriting for 30 years and has produced 12 albums.

“Country music has been a huge part of my life but most of the stuff I listen to is indi-pop or folk.

“That’s where I wanted to establish myself, as my own artist.

“Of course, I’ve drawn so much inspiration from Dad as a country musician and I love what he does; I love country music, and I love how he writes.

“As creatives I feel we are constantly reinventing ourselves every day and you’re always inspired by so many different pieces of work.

“It’s exciting to be inspired and then do your own thing and discover who you are as an artist.”

She’s looking forward to the Albury collaboration which combines indi-pop with country (Dallas Frasca), hip-hop (L Fresh), instrumental/soul (Lachlan Stuckey) and pop-artist Montaigne, who won the ARIA breakthrough artist award in 2016 and was selected to represent Australia at Eurovision in 2020.

“It’s exciting to collaborate with artists who are in a variety of different genres.

“You get to step out of your own little box and the echo chamber of your genre and you realise there’s so much more out there and you can diversify as much as you want to; I love that process.”

Tickets range from $35 members to $60 non-members. APRA AMCOS is free to join. The workshop will be held at Mantra Albury and runs from 9 am to 5 pm. It is fully catered with a networking function held afterwards. More info and tickets can be found at APRA AMCOS.