About Us
About the Gig Buddies project
Gig Buddies Sydney is an initiative of ACL Disability Services which is a registered Not For Profit organisation committed to promoting the rights of people with learning disabilities to live the lifestyle of their choosing.
Going out to see bands, clubbing, or seeing friends is part of everyday life for many people. However, if you have a learning disability you may need support to do this. We have found many people with learning disabilities aren’t able to lead full and active social lives because their support workers finish at 10pm and therefore need to leave events at 9pm.
We believe that people with learning disabilities in Sydney have the right to stay up late, meet new people, go to events and have some fun.
Gig Buddies has "hubs" in Sydney, Inner West Sydney, Western Sydney, Southern Sydney, Northern Beaches, Greater Western Sydney, and on the Central Coast, NSW.
(all of the Sydney and Central Coast region)
click below to watch a video about the Gig buddies project
Meet the team
Carol Smail
CEO
Favourite Music: Trip Hop, Acoustic Folk
Favourite Venue: The Royal Albert Hall
Favourite artist: Everything but the Girl
First live music experience: At school in New Zealand I saw a band called The Fourmyula
What is the best band you have seen: Paul Simon - Graceland tour / Carlos Santana - Abraxas tour
Rebecca McIntosh
Project Officer
Favourite Music: Pop , Rock and Electronic Dance
Favourite Venue: The Enmore , The Boiler room from Big Day Out back in the day
Favourite artist: Above and Beyond, Pink, The XX ,Queen and Linkin Park
First live music experience: When I was very young ...Girlfriend at the Sydney Entertainment Centre they were the Australian version of the Spice Girls.
What is the best band you have seen: The Rolling Stones at Sydney Olympic Stadium
Tony Giles
Funding & Sponsorship Coordinator - Inner West Hub Coordinator
Favourite Music: Alt rock, Americana, Blues, Indie, Aussie, Brit Pop
Favourite Venues: Factory Theatre and The Enmore
Favourite band: The Milk Carton Kids
First live music experience: Midnight Oil at the Apollo Stadium
What is the best band you have seen: Blur/Feist
Matthew Collins
Central Coast Hub Coordinator
Favourite Music: House, Electronica, Indie, Jazz
Favourite Venue: Timbuk2, Bristol
Favourite band: Ame
First live music experience: Carl Cox playing in a grungy warehouse in Exeter
What is the best band you have seen: Underworld, during my first ever festival (Creamfields, UK) was pretty special
Chelsea Deeley
NDIS Coordinator
Favourite Music: A bit of everything – but at the moment I’m big on soul, jazz, world, and alt-rock
Favourite Venue: The Tote (Melbourne) or The Vanguard (Sydney)
Favourite artist: At the moment – 30/70 Collective
First live music experience: Madness at the Birmingham NEC.
What is the best band you have seen: Paul McCartney at QUDOS Arena in Sydney, but Underoath at Enmore Theatre playing their first two albums in full was also pretty great.
Lara Wilson
GWS (and temp West Sydney) Hub Coordinator
Favourite Music: A bit of everything!
Favourite Artist: Currently its Lizzo
First Live Music Experience: I went to the Vans Warped Tour when I was in my mid-teens, The Big Day Out and my first concerts were Robbie Williams, Coldplay and the Black-Eyed Peas.
Favourite Venue: The Factory Theatre and Enmore Theatre.
What is the best band you have ever seen? Muse were fantastic! Also U2 with Jay-Z as a special guest.
Charlotte Labrie
Northern Beaches Hub Coordinator
Favourite music: Country, soul and acoustic
Favourite venue: Rogers Arena in Vancouver and Madison Square Garden in New York
Favourite artist: Bayker Blankenship, Colter Wall, Johnny Cash, Zach Bryan
First live music experience: Nathan Hawes
What is the best artist you have seen: Nathan Hawes as there weren’t many people and therefore was really special
The Soul Fly Buddies
User-led Advisory Team
We are an advisory group of participants set up to oversee and advise the Gig Buddies project. We catch up monthly and help shape the Gig Buddies project going forward.
CLICK LINK BELOW FOR MORE
https://www.gigbuddiessydney.org/soul-fly-band-buddy-group
Where is the Gig Buddies project?
Click on markers on the map below to see places and links to project websites
(Australia and the UK)
