Today being a Tasmanian broke my heart…..
As most of the people in my life would know, there is little that will hold me back from trying to chase my dreams. The last thing that I would have ever thought would be my kryptonite is the state that I live in.
When it comes to going to concerts, I’ve accepted that if I want to see someone live, I need to spend the money and fly to Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide or Perth. So that’s exactly what I did, at 1.01pm on Monday 29th September, I booked my tickets to see one of my all time favourite “singer – songwriter” the ginger genius himself, Ed Sheeran!!
6 months passed incredibly slowly but I was ready, flights booked, accommodation ready and paid for in advance and tickets to Qantas Credit Union Arena printed and waiting patiently….
We got to the airport at 8:50am on Monday 23rd March and met a broken plane who just couldn’t get us there safely, so more waiting began… 6.5 hours later, we get to board, nothing was raining on my parade, we had a babysitter and I was on my way to see Ed… Secretly I was hoping the delay was fate delaying me so that I would cross paths with him at the airport but that wasn’t meant to be!
Tuesday night couldn’t come quick enough, we warmed up listening to young Aussie Conrad Sewell and “Gingerbread’s” number one/first signed artist Jamie Lawson….
Then it was finally time, Ed hit the stage, struck down with man flu but it was STILL the most incredible show and performance I’ve ever seen, bugger all of the bells and whistles that most artists now tour with, just Ed, a guitar and a loop pedal = #Perfection.
I was hooked, I have re-lived the moment again and again and again in my head and thankfully through Ed’s YouTube channel I haven’t suffered any physical withdrawals.
It’s been a week and I would be lying if I hadn’t wished I was able to book more than one show’s tickets but the joys of being an adult with a job and two little people at home waiting, one show was going to have to do.
Then it happened… I was listening to Smally’s Surgery on the Nova app (yes, because I’m Tasmanian) and heard about the competition to win tickets to Ed’s end of tour party, without hesitation I jumped online and started brainstorming the best answer to “Why do you want to hang out with Ed Sheeran at his end of tour party?”
I knew I would have to be creative… answering, “Because I’m awesome or do you even need to ask?” was not going to cut it this time!
So even though the description said “Don’t worry if you’re from out of town, Smallzy will hook you up with flights, accommodation and transfers to boot” I thought to myself, I better read the T&C’s JUST in case (I can’t help myself… stems from my job to be honest).
And BOOM there it was… Tassie was not eligible…. No Tasmanian’s allowed, or Nothern Territory or ACT.
See as I said before, there’s a lot of things I accept and almost expect living on the beautiful apple isle but today my heart was broken, my spirit crushed and my hopes washed away.
I listen to Nova because there are Nova shows played here on a local station, Fitzy and Wippa are part of my every day commute in the car and I join Smallzy through the wonderful World Wide Web weekdays. So it baffles me why Tasmania would be excluded.
If I had the opportunity to meet Ed himself, what would I say? I would actually love to ask how as a Fan I can help with the promoting and spreading the word for Gingerbread music and Jamie Lawson with their upcoming venture together.
I would ask his advice for any young person who has a dream in the entertainment industry and for him, what is the biggest lesson he has learned.
If I was able to meet Ed Sheeran, I would simply like to buy him a beer…
I know that my little vent today isn’t going to change a damn thing, but at the same time, who knows, maybe one day there will be a touring company just like Frontier or a radio network like Nova who realise that the little states matter, the fans in these places matter and being that we already have to spend a fortune to see the people we love perform live, it might be nice to not get looked over every now and then!!!
For now, sadly it’s back to YouTube I go, hit repeat on Multiply live in Dublin and hope that one day, I will get to have a drink with & thank Ed Sheeran personally for sharing his incredible talent with the world and being what seems to be one of the most down to earth guys in the “A List” music business….
Someone wise once said “So you can keep me, Inside the pocket, Of your ripped jeans, Holdin’ me closer, Til our eyes meet, You won’t ever be alone, Wait for me to come home…”
Til next time,
MrsJRad xxx
mrsjrad 