Have you ever found yourself longing to attend a live music event but can’t find anyone willing to tag along? Maybe your friends have emigrated, gotten married, or simply don’t share your impeccable musical taste? If your musical passion is lost on your peers, Dave Conway has just the solution.
He is the founder of Gigonometry, an online group which organises meet-ups for fans of live music. Once registered, you simply suggest an upcoming event and, if it meets the quality control standards of Conway or his co-organisers, it will be added to a database. Anyone else who wishes to attend registers their interest, resulting in a merry band of music lovers who can attend the event together, share the experience, and maybe even become good friends in the process.
“By and large, a lot of our members are people who have not been going to live music for one reason or another,” Conway tells NewsFour.
Conway founded Gigonometry in 2009 after discovering meetup.com a website aimed at uniting people based on their interests. Inspired by a group called The Music Travellers, who organise meet-ups at international music festivals, Conway thought “why not do this on a local level?” Now the group is one of meetup.com’s most popular, with an average of three to four live music events added weekly, in venues ranging from the O2 to small pubs.
A musician himself, Conway saw a unique opportunity in Gigonometry’s popularity and established a monthly showcase for up-and-coming local bands in The Gypsy Rose on Aston Quay. “The bands often tell us it’s the best gig they’ve ever played,” says Conway, “and it’s simply because our members really love and appreciate live music.”
While the bulk of members are in their 20s and 30s, Conway tells us fifty-somethings and late-teens have been known to attend. He also notes an increasing amount of newcomers to Ireland joining the group.
“Everyone is welcome to join,” says Conway, “you just need to be a lover of live music.”
Gigonometry can be found online at
www.meetup.com/gigonometry
Pictured above: The Gypsy Rebel Rabble perform at one of Gigonometry’s monthly showcase events.
By Eric Hillis
