WHO ARE WE
Your MC is the creator of Bring it Home Karen Davitt (Double Bass player, also well known as an actor on telly shows such as Blue Heelers) . The core house band for the show are “All Day Fritz” featuring: Karen Davitt , Steve Grant, Boris Conley and Pete Slipper. ALL DAY FRITZ have been challenging age barriers, and bringing great music to “humans of all ages” for over a decade, at festivals and venues all across the country including Port Fairy Folk Festival, Falls festival, Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Recital Centre Melbourne, Arts Centre Melbourne, Moomba, Spiegeltent, Artplay and the Victorian Seniors Festival. For the Bring it Home show we have expanded to form the The Bring it Home Orchestra, which features some extraordinary musicians including Patrick Cronin, Wilbur Wilde (Hey Hey its Saturday), the legendary Rebecca Barnard and the incredible singer/ songwriter Alison Ferrier. Special Guests! Our Bring it Home special guests include an ever changing and growing array of legends including: Valanga Khoza Wilbur Wilde Derek Guille and the Ugly Uncles Whistlin Paddy Cronin TRIPOD Brian Nankervis Robyn Archer and George Butrumlis Nina Ferro Alison Ferrier Rebecca Barnard Rina Saweya AnnA GoGo Maggie Beer and many more! 
BRING IT HOME is a new highly interactive and participatory live music extravaganza, that challenges ageism and celebrates community ,intergenerational music, and the diversity of older people, their work, their humour and their rich histories.
It delivers high quality, stylistically and culturally diverse music and invites the audience to get involved. Reminiscent of the old timey and long running U.S live variety show and radio broadcast A Prairie Home Companion, BRING IT HOME is a concert featuring both original tunes and old favourites from a range of genres and cultures, highlighting music from the 20s to th 60s. It is performed by an extended family of exceptional musicians and a rotating array of well known and beloved special guests, and features story-telling, comedy, sing-alongs, dancing, tasty snacks, belly- laughs, radio plays, interviews and more. Bring it Home is uniquely warm, social and friendly. It blurs the divide between audience and performers, to create the feeling of being part of a big raucous party, a celebration of life in which our audiences are encouraged to feel welcome, to sing, dance, heckle, and “be as badly behaved as possible”. We want our audiences to be as visible as they choose, or simply sit back and enjoy the social atmosphere and great music. We want our audiences to feel like they have come home. ... Bring it Home is a performer led initiative brought to you Creative producer Karen Davitt and her band ALL DAY FRITZ , who have been bringing highly successful musical and comedy shows that cross all age barriers to venues, festivals and large scale events for over a decade. Our expanding and rotational list of Performers include : Karen Davitt- Double bass- Blue Heelers Channel 7, All Day Fritz Boris Conley-Piano Steve Grant -Guitar Pete Slipper-Trombone Wilbur Wilde-Saxophone-hey hey its Saturday Rebecca Barnard-Vocals Patrick Cronin-Whistlin master/Percussion Alison Ferrier-Singer/songwriter plus appearances, interviews, and surprises with special guests Robyn Archer and George Butrumlis Tripod - Comedy Valanga Khoza-South African musician Derek Guille and the Ugly Uncles Alt Jug Band Tango teacher Rina Sawaya Go-Go teacher Anna Go-go Brian Nankervis-Quiz Master-Rockwiz Nina Ferro-Vocalist ‘Let music be the food of love’ a segment that matches nourishing recipes and favourite songs. Our first guest is beloved cook Maggie Beer. The appeal of Bring it Home is its modern reinvention of the old-timey “variety show”, its galaxy of beloved performers, its spontanaity, and its participatory and multicultural elements. Developed through extensive research, questionnaires and feedback the show makes meaningful, culturally appropriate connections with older Australians, including those with disabilities or suffering social/ physical isolation. Social and inclusive, the show also appeals to families, and the grandkids will love it too. Community engagement is central and we are often joined on stage by local dance groups, flash mobs, or cultural choirs in the places we perform. Come and join the "Bring it Home Orchestra" for a joyous, hilarious musical event where you can join in the singing and dancing, discover why the hardest part of a whistling masterclass is "showing up", learn to tango, join the band to play the famous pig-ophone, or just sit back and enjoy the friendly social atmosphere and hear a wonderful variety of live music . Bring it Home focuses on older people but is absolutely intergenerational and suitable for ages 0 to 148 . Humans of every age are invited to dress up to the nines and step out to join us for a huge musical party. "Its on for young and old " Recent HISTORY After a pilot version of Bring it Home was supported by Regional Arts Australia in Jn 2022, Yarra City Arts and Yarra Aged and Disability Services commissioned the Bring it Home team to present a full-scale version as part of the Leaps and Bounds Music Festival 2022 at the Collingwood Town Hall. The live event was then featured in a state wide tour in 2022 and was also recorded as radio broadcasts as part of the Victorian Seniors Festival 2022 enabling people from across Victoria and beyond to enjoy the show. These recording are available to stream for free on the SOUNDCOUD link at the top of this website MISSION and INSPIRATION Bring it Home is a performer led initiative that was inspired and developed through both personal experience and extensive research, we are passionate about the vital importance of music at every age. The show works to build interactive and social musical communities, challenge ageism and isolation, and respond to the deficit of high quality regular social musical nourishment that exists for many older Australians. Our mission is bring great live music to every older Australian who needs it. The show was inspired by Creative Director Karen Davitt’s personal experience : “The inspiration for this project stems from my experience of my mother’s ten-year journey with ageing and dementia and the profound effect digital and live music had on her happiness and well-being. Eventually unable to speak, she could still sing. I led impromptu live music sessions for her at her aged care home, often attracting large groups of other residents. Nurses and families of these residents consistently reported remarkable improvement in mood, behavior and communication in residents during and after the sessions, frequently reporting that they had “come to life”. In 2023 we will continue to forge relationships with venues, and co-producers and broaden our connection with new audiences and communities through live shows and audio broadcasts . We are keen to partner with organisations, performers and individuals with an interest in supporting this initiative to bring access to live music in a format that is affordable, regular and ongoing, and has social connection, high quality culturally appropriate music, and great fun at its heart. KEEP IN TOUCH WITH US Join our mail list below and come join us at a venue near you or tune into the radio broadcasts anytime and listen in at home with friends, family, and the grandkids! Its on for young and old! |
WATCH the Trailer and Promo here :
OUR LATEST 5 minute TRAILER VIDEO BELOW- Or our 20 minute full promo video underneath it. Audience vox pops below that. click arrow to view LISTEN to the free streams 4 FREE FULL SHOW AUDIO BROADCASTS/ RADIO SHOWS on SOUNDCLOUD (copy and paste url below) https://soundcloud.com/alldayfritz . 
MORE LINKS
NOURISHMENT
Watch our full BRING IT HOME interview with MAGGIE BEER about the dual nourishments of food and music. Tune into our segment "Let music be the food of love!!", where we talk to people about music and food and have them match a recipe to thier favourite song, which we then perform live. Then make the recipe yourself to enjoy as you listen.
Interview with Robyn Archer for Bring it hOMEInterview with South African musicianValanga Khoza
Interview with much loved broadcaster Derek GuilleTRIPOD rehearsing with the Bring it Home orchestra for our big St Kilda TOWN HALL show- Show sadly cancelled due to flood warnings , watch this space for reschedule date in 2023
https://youtu.be/v2P2Xn0wAhk
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SHOWS
Bring it Home 'The Yarra Show' (28 June 2022) was presented as part of the Leaps and Bounds Festival in the City of Yarra. From Olivia Allen at Yarra Council: ‘Bring it Home’ was a wonderfully inclusive, fun event for all. Karen Davitt brought together an exceptionally talented array of performers treating the audience to a variety of genres. The audience had the opportunity to dance, sing, and laugh… a lot. It provides a wonderful context to bring together experienced performers with local community performers in a celebration of life and music.’ Olivia Allen, Producer Leaps and Bounds Music Festival – Yarra City Council. Bring it Home was created by musician Karen Davitt and is inspired by her personal experience of her own mothers ageing journey and the profound role music both live and digital, played in her well being and happiness. Bring it Home acknowledges the deficits that exist in terms of high quality social musical interaction for many people. Years of research clearly show the benefits of music at every age, and the show aims to focus on touring and broadcasting to bring great interactive live and digital music home to everyone, especially those who may be suffering social or physical isolation. Bring it Home brings a lively mix of original songs, as well as some favourites from the likes of Doris Day, the Beatles, and Leonard Cohen performed by some of your favourite performers.
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CLICK ON THE PICS BELOW TO WATCH SLIDESHOWS
REVIEWS
Bring it Home Audience review from Diz Randal
When you are feeling a little overwhelmed by the dark energy on the planet you need to go and seek out the light, or as Barney McAll would have it… the precious energy! I found plenty today at the Collingwood Town Hall, who would have thunk it. The gorgeous BRING IT HOME concert, as part of the LEAPS AND BOUNDS FESTIVAL was simply glowing.
The show was designed more for the older folks, but open to all. This was a free event full of good old fashioned entertainment with a delightful old timey feel. The stage was filled with many known and loved musicians playing a repertoire from Doris Day to the Beatles. There were singalongs, whistling lessons, tap dancing, Choirs, tango lessons, cooking advice from MAGGIE BEER and much more.
ALL DAY FRITZ, WILBUR WILDE, ALISON FERRIER, REBECCA BARNARD, THE UGLY UNCLES and PATRICK CRONIN were all on board …There was also a great healthy and tasty afternoon tea included …what a bonus. But what really made this a lovely event was the joy in the room, the inclusiveness, the audience participation and that sense of coming together. My heart was full and grateful. Precious energy is about connection, sharing and caring. I was feeling it.
Some words from Ruth Schoenheimer
It was so joyous - being in amongst the audience you really get to feel how special it is to people, how delighted and energised they are by the music, the humour, the vibe. Both of my friends have a life-long love of music and have been keen concert goers in the past. As they have aged there have been fewer and fewer opportunities to enjoy live concerts, as accessibility, affordability, and travel and time restrictions have become more pressing for them.
They both remarked, as did many of the audience members with whom we chatted, that it was a joy to be easily able to participate in a live event of such quality - wonderful music, delightful and funny performances, interesting and thought provoking interviews, and great fun singing along and dancing.
In many such situations there’s a patronising quality to the participation items for our olders, but there was no such feeling in this case; people felt warmly and heartily included, and many remarked how quickly the time flew by, and how skilled and generous the performers were.
I’m not as old as most of those in the room, but I felt equally uplifted and refreshed by the event.
As someone who has worked for over thirty years in the field of community music, I know how transformative and important music and the arts are in making us feel connected and initiating all manner of positive cognitive, psychological and emotional processes. To lose that opportunity as we age and become more isolated and dependent can have a devastating effect on people. I hope Bring It Home can be made be available to many more people, not just our olders, but anyone who appreciates excellent music and a good yarn.
Ruth Schoenheimer
When you are feeling a little overwhelmed by the dark energy on the planet you need to go and seek out the light, or as Barney McAll would have it… the precious energy! I found plenty today at the Collingwood Town Hall, who would have thunk it. The gorgeous BRING IT HOME concert, as part of the LEAPS AND BOUNDS FESTIVAL was simply glowing.
The show was designed more for the older folks, but open to all. This was a free event full of good old fashioned entertainment with a delightful old timey feel. The stage was filled with many known and loved musicians playing a repertoire from Doris Day to the Beatles. There were singalongs, whistling lessons, tap dancing, Choirs, tango lessons, cooking advice from MAGGIE BEER and much more.
ALL DAY FRITZ, WILBUR WILDE, ALISON FERRIER, REBECCA BARNARD, THE UGLY UNCLES and PATRICK CRONIN were all on board …There was also a great healthy and tasty afternoon tea included …what a bonus. But what really made this a lovely event was the joy in the room, the inclusiveness, the audience participation and that sense of coming together. My heart was full and grateful. Precious energy is about connection, sharing and caring. I was feeling it.
Some words from Ruth Schoenheimer
It was so joyous - being in amongst the audience you really get to feel how special it is to people, how delighted and energised they are by the music, the humour, the vibe. Both of my friends have a life-long love of music and have been keen concert goers in the past. As they have aged there have been fewer and fewer opportunities to enjoy live concerts, as accessibility, affordability, and travel and time restrictions have become more pressing for them.
They both remarked, as did many of the audience members with whom we chatted, that it was a joy to be easily able to participate in a live event of such quality - wonderful music, delightful and funny performances, interesting and thought provoking interviews, and great fun singing along and dancing.
In many such situations there’s a patronising quality to the participation items for our olders, but there was no such feeling in this case; people felt warmly and heartily included, and many remarked how quickly the time flew by, and how skilled and generous the performers were.
I’m not as old as most of those in the room, but I felt equally uplifted and refreshed by the event.
As someone who has worked for over thirty years in the field of community music, I know how transformative and important music and the arts are in making us feel connected and initiating all manner of positive cognitive, psychological and emotional processes. To lose that opportunity as we age and become more isolated and dependent can have a devastating effect on people. I hope Bring It Home can be made be available to many more people, not just our olders, but anyone who appreciates excellent music and a good yarn.
Ruth Schoenheimer
PHOTOS BY
Howard Aitken
Shawn Smits
Diz Randell
Laura May Groggon
BRING IT HOME
CREATIVE PRODUCER- Karen Davitt
Contact- [email protected]
Photos by Howard Aitken, Diz Randell, Shawn Smits and Laura May Grogan
Bring it Home has received generous support from
Regional Arts Victoria
City of Darebin Quick response grants
The Victorian Seniors Festival
The show premiered for Leaps and Bounds Festival 2022 with the generous support of Yarra City Council and City of Yarra Age and Disability services.
Howard Aitken
Shawn Smits
Diz Randell
Laura May Groggon
BRING IT HOME
CREATIVE PRODUCER- Karen Davitt
Contact- [email protected]
Photos by Howard Aitken, Diz Randell, Shawn Smits and Laura May Grogan
Bring it Home has received generous support from
Regional Arts Victoria
City of Darebin Quick response grants
The Victorian Seniors Festival
The show premiered for Leaps and Bounds Festival 2022 with the generous support of Yarra City Council and City of Yarra Age and Disability services.
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Find us on Facebook, or send us an email
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Special segments
Let music be the food of Love
In this segment we interview chefs and cooks about the impact music has had on their lives and ask them what song/music they would put into a time capsule to send into space.
We ask the cooks/chefs to match a very simple tasty recipe with no more than 3 ingredients to their favourite song. A recipe that can be quickly and easily prepared and enjoyed while listening to the song.
First cab off the rank for this segment at our show for City of Yarra's leaps n bounds festival in 2022, was much loved cook and nourishing food in age care advocate Maggie Beer.
For this special performance, Maggies' interview was beamed in, and the delicious tomato Bruschetta recipe she brought was served to the our audience by caterers as the wonderful Rebecca Barnard performed Maggie's favourite song, "SUMMERTIME," live.
For more info about Maggies programs or about training modules for chefs in age care visit Maggies website
https://maggiebeerfoundation.org.au/programs/customised-training-programs/
Tango warm up and dancing
Rina Saweya is a tango dance teacher who teachers elders of all abilities to tango. Rina was inspired by her dads journey with Parkinson's to work with people who suffered the disease, with truly incredible results.
This warm up can be done standing or seated .
https://www.tangoesencia.com.au/
GO- GO Dancing learn some moves with Australia's answer to Richard Simmons and Go-Go dancing legend Anna GoGo
https://www.gogoacademy.com.au/
Whistlin' Paddy
Meet "Whistling' Paddy Cronin from the Mallee" and allow him to "share his pucker" with you, as he gives us the unique opportunity to discover why the hardest part of a whistling masterclass is “showing up”, and then why it's “all downhill from there!”
Bring the Quiz -
Brian Nankervis- co host of music quiz show RocKwiz, and host of the Friday Review on the ABC. Brian loves a quiz and hopes you do too!
Sing me to sleep
We talk to well known performers and musicians about lullabies and songs from their childhoods, and share lullabies from different cultures.
SURPRISES
We love to have special appearances from local dance groups and choirs wherever we travel to, so if you would like to be part of the show get in touch at
[email protected]
Some of our guests have included:
Miss Isabellas tap dancing troupe
South of the River Chinese Choir
Cultures Together choir
The Anthem Choir do Leonard Cohen
The Rhythm Rockers
Special segments
Let music be the food of Love
In this segment we interview chefs and cooks about the impact music has had on their lives and ask them what song/music they would put into a time capsule to send into space.
We ask the cooks/chefs to match a very simple tasty recipe with no more than 3 ingredients to their favourite song. A recipe that can be quickly and easily prepared and enjoyed while listening to the song.
First cab off the rank for this segment at our show for City of Yarra's leaps n bounds festival in 2022, was much loved cook and nourishing food in age care advocate Maggie Beer.
For this special performance, Maggies' interview was beamed in, and the delicious tomato Bruschetta recipe she brought was served to the our audience by caterers as the wonderful Rebecca Barnard performed Maggie's favourite song, "SUMMERTIME," live.
For more info about Maggies programs or about training modules for chefs in age care visit Maggies website
https://maggiebeerfoundation.org.au/programs/customised-training-programs/
Tango warm up and dancing
Rina Saweya is a tango dance teacher who teachers elders of all abilities to tango. Rina was inspired by her dads journey with Parkinson's to work with people who suffered the disease, with truly incredible results.
This warm up can be done standing or seated .
https://www.tangoesencia.com.au/
GO- GO Dancing learn some moves with Australia's answer to Richard Simmons and Go-Go dancing legend Anna GoGo
https://www.gogoacademy.com.au/
Whistlin' Paddy
Meet "Whistling' Paddy Cronin from the Mallee" and allow him to "share his pucker" with you, as he gives us the unique opportunity to discover why the hardest part of a whistling masterclass is “showing up”, and then why it's “all downhill from there!”
Bring the Quiz -
Brian Nankervis- co host of music quiz show RocKwiz, and host of the Friday Review on the ABC. Brian loves a quiz and hopes you do too!
Sing me to sleep
We talk to well known performers and musicians about lullabies and songs from their childhoods, and share lullabies from different cultures.
SURPRISES
We love to have special appearances from local dance groups and choirs wherever we travel to, so if you would like to be part of the show get in touch at
[email protected]
Some of our guests have included:
Miss Isabellas tap dancing troupe
South of the River Chinese Choir
Cultures Together choir
The Anthem Choir do Leonard Cohen
The Rhythm Rockers
More about Bring it Home
The project was inspired by creative producer Karen Davitt's ongoing love of creating music that all age groups could enjoy together.
With her band ALL DAY FRITZ , Karen has been creating shows for all ends of the age spectrum for over a decade.
Another important inspiration was our experience playing concerts for older people in age care as part of the Recital Centre Music Always tour. This was an incredibly rewarding experience for the performers but also highlighted how much more was needed .
The Bring it Home show was developed by extensive research and inspired by documentary films such as "Alive inside" and by the work of neurologist Oliver Sacks wonderful book Musicology that explores the powerful effect music has on our minds and our bodies as we age, and throughout our lives.
The aim of this show is to bring regular high quality interactive musical nourishment, laughter, singing, dancing, interaction, stories, and a sense of a musical community, especially to those who may be suffering isolation.
.
Our live shows tour in metro and regional areas and our
audio broadcasts available to stream for free make the show accessible to every isolated senior and age care home regardless of budgets or regional location.
Research over 20 years has clearly proven the benefits of engaging with music at every age, and so we to want to collaborate on building musical connections that effectively bring high quality, culturally appropriate, and interactive music to all older Australians who need it.
With her band ALL DAY FRITZ , Karen has been creating shows for all ends of the age spectrum for over a decade.
Another important inspiration was our experience playing concerts for older people in age care as part of the Recital Centre Music Always tour. This was an incredibly rewarding experience for the performers but also highlighted how much more was needed .
The Bring it Home show was developed by extensive research and inspired by documentary films such as "Alive inside" and by the work of neurologist Oliver Sacks wonderful book Musicology that explores the powerful effect music has on our minds and our bodies as we age, and throughout our lives.
The aim of this show is to bring regular high quality interactive musical nourishment, laughter, singing, dancing, interaction, stories, and a sense of a musical community, especially to those who may be suffering isolation.
.
Our live shows tour in metro and regional areas and our
audio broadcasts available to stream for free make the show accessible to every isolated senior and age care home regardless of budgets or regional location.
Research over 20 years has clearly proven the benefits of engaging with music at every age, and so we to want to collaborate on building musical connections that effectively bring high quality, culturally appropriate, and interactive music to all older Australians who need it.
