Serendipitous Encounters

Serendipity is a funny word, because it really just takes chance, probability and randomness and applies a subjective positive mental framework to the results. Afterall, whether something is considered a good or bad outcome of a random occurrence is inherently subjective and personal.

The combination of doomscrolling, the influence of a band that broke up a couple of years ago and a cob loaf all came together to produce a magical night out. This is the real world story of serendipitous encounters within the Brisbane live music scene.

This week, the serendipitous culmination of the last couple of weeks is pretty much as close to objectively positive as you could get. It all started when a random Instagram ad popped up in my feed whilst doomscrolling, about Georgia Maq doing a show at Crow Bar on a Friday night in May. Normally, I check out the artist’s profile to see if it somewhat conforms with my music taste and whether I should go. I was on the fence, since I was already attending concerts in Brisbane on the day before, Aleksiah, and after, Maple Glider, (both excellent shows in their own right) and wasn’t sure whether I would like the music. I had a single connection who already followed Georgia Maq, so I sent a quick message:

Me: Hey, is Georgia Maq worth seeing live?

Friend: I LOVE camp cope her old band I would recommend

Me: You know she’s performing at Crow Bar in the valley this Friday?

Friend: Oooooooo

Me: You should definitely come along.

Friend: I think I’ll have to!

I had never heard of either Camp Cope or Georgia Maq before this and realistically, it was unlikely that I would have attended without such an enthusiastic response. So, I went along, and with that a butterfly flapped its wings. It was a very small crowd (which is criminal, considering just how crazily talented Georgia Maq is) however I prefer the descriptors of intimate, cozy and stripped back with people clustered around the stage. Really, Geogria’s stage presence, charismatic crowd interaction and raw vocal talent is worthy of its own article, but that is a different thread (and in any thread we don’t talk about the harmonica).

The wind that would be a gale in this scenario is the support act, who just wanted to twirl (she couldn’t because of the microphone set up) and was apologetic about the continued audio technical difficulties with the sound connections to her guitar. Regardless of these limitations, she managed to capture the crowd with sheer willpower, charming small talk and excellently written and performed songs. At the end she mentioned that she was launching her EP in a couple of weeks where she would be able to twirl and be performing with a full band. I was hooked, even if it was another five days before the EP was released and a couple of weeks till the event.

The music scene in Brisbane is interesting, in that there is surprising complexity and depth to the talented bands and singers developing in what is notionally quite a small pond whilst also impacted from the kinda fucked (new favorite catch phrase) economics of the emerging artist scene (lets be honest the economics for a small artist are completely fucked, but that’s a different topic).

There were a couple of interactions this week that really highlighted this. On Thursday, I was fortunate to attend the first volume of New Crushes at the Brightside (following another serendipitous Instagram ad). The Brightside really is pulling its weight in supporting the indie scene in Brisbane, offering free rehearsal slots and now this event where four small bands get showcased to an audience weekly to allow people to discover a new music crush. It was here that I came across a couple of cool bands including Stahr Band and Cherry Nova, both of whom I have early stage music crushes on (seriously, go check them out, it’ll be worth your time). It turned out that the keyboardist from Stahr Band who has a side project in a power girl trio called Dear Clementine who were opening for Serendipiti’s EP launch two days later.

The second interaction is that when you go to enough of these events, you start to recognize people, be it from a random drunk guy in the crowd from a Sydney Rose concert from March in Sydney who also was at the Serendipiti EP launch, through to familiar security guards, ticket inspectors and bar staff, through to the same artists popping up at concerts of various sizes, like seeing Lucky at Junk Bar on Friday night after seeing her open for May-a in April, Chloe Styler opening for both Lara Buchannan and then Charley only a week apart. It’s always fun to see how small interactions can create meaningful memories and threads which may be picked up again at a concert the following week or month.

These threads come together into Serendipiti’s EP Launch on Saturday, 13 June 2026 at the Black Bear Lodge in the Valley. The crowd was filled with good vibes, the venue had sold out and Serendipiti had prepped for the night by booking two excellent openers in Dear Clementine and Effie Isobel.

Dear Clementine opened the night and immediately got the crowd invested through descriptions of their own serendipitous encounters, namely the luring of a tiktok stranger to their house with promises of a cob loaf (apparently that’s the equivalent of offering candy to a child from a van for a twenty-something woman) only to convince them to instead start a band together. What a negatively minded person would compare to Ted Bundy, is changed with a positive outlook to a meet-cute band origin story, truly serendipitous.

Aside from their somewhat suspect luring tactics, Dear Clementine showed they were consummate professionals, with a good selection of original songs, lyrical mastery, and an enchanting stage presence. They are definitely a band to watch.

Next up was Effie Isobel, who had travelled from Radelaide to Brisbane for the first time (once again, the economics of the live music scene are suspect and kinda fucked – with a ticket price of $13.63 plus GST and booking fee and a capacity of 220, total ticket revenue would be in the range of $3,000, thus meaning that venues and artists are heavily reliant on drink sales and merchandise to make any meaningful amount from the night once all staff and the like get paid). Putting aside the questions of whether Effie made enough to pay for the trip from Adelaide, I was glad she performed. Her songs captured the vibes of the room and transported the listener through the roller coaster of emotions with a focus on crushes and relationships. Whilst an emerging artist, Effie deftly worked the crowd into her performance with professionalism and grace.

I was going to make a comment how Effie is likely to be the best thing that comes out of Radelaide, however, I have subsequently been informed that Adelaide has given us people like Sir Donald Bradman, Julia Gillard and Jimmy Barnes (maybe I should respect that city a little more). I have no doubt that Effie will get added to that list in the future.

Finally, we come to the star of the evening, Serendipiti. It was a first-class performance, with a well-developed and excellently drafted EP that tells the story of will they, won’t they of relationships and the difficulties of properly shutting the door on someone who perhaps isn’t the best for you. Turns out that door is always going to be left slightly ajar which is definitely kinda fucked. The EP songs were interposed with older and new unreleased songs and a couple of standout covers. And yes, she did get to twirl to her heart’s content whilst sharing the stage with a magic rock.

The effort that went into curating the show was immense and paid off in spades. From the atmospheric settings of sending bubbles through the crowd to create that perfect mix of whimsy and electrically charged, through to the great crowd participation of the crowd singing and dancing whilst performing a song sitting on the floor in the center of the crowd. The care that Serendipiti showed to the crowd was clear, from making sure the event was a safe space with a sensory corner, reasonable set start times and eco-friendliness of having wildflower seed infused business cards issued with each purchase being just a couple of things.

The above only happens when an artist cares about their fandom and is willing to but the effort into ensuring the customer experience is the best it can be. In this world of blatant commercialism, Serendipiti is a rare picture of authenticity who has the musical talent to dominate the industry. Whilst I love the cozy and vibrant shows, I can’t wait until she is performing arena and stadium tours.

Whilst the wind generated by that butterfly in May hasn’t reached a cyclone just yet, it’s definitely gaining momentum and who knows how it will change the world. Now that is what serendipity is meant to be.