The live music appThe act you liked on Sunday. Find out where they play next.
You caught the last three songs of a duo at a pub, loved it, and never got their name. Open Dawn is the app for that. Follow artists and venues, see who is playing near you, and be in the room when it happens. Free on iPhone, Android and in your browser.
On the Australian App Store and Google Play. Or open app.opendawn.com.au on anything.
What the app does
Four things, and all of them are about the gig that is actually on near you.
See who is playing near you
Type a suburb and see what is listed there. Open a venue to see what is coming up, not just today.
Follow artists and venues
Their next gig lands in your feed instead of on a flyer you never saw. Unfollow in a tap if the second gig was not as good as the first.
Be in the room
Every gig has a room on your phone. Read what is going on and ask for a song from the act's own list.
Make a gig of it
Message the people you met at the gig, start a group for the next one, and leave a review of a gig you actually went to.
Your first minute in it
Open it
Download it, or open app.opendawn.com.au in a browser. Nothing to sign up for before you look.
Pick your suburb
The feed shows what is listed there, and says so when nothing is yet. Try the suburb next door as well.
Follow two artists
Make an account when you find somebody worth following. It takes under a minute.
Turn up
The gig is in a real room in Perth. The room on your phone is for the song request and the people beside you, not instead of them.
What it does not do, yet
Will it show you every gig in Perth this weekend? Not yet.
Open Dawn lists the artists and venues who have added themselves, and today that is a short list in some suburbs. It grows every time a venue or an artist adds themselves, and it says so when a suburb has nothing listed yet rather than padding the list. For the long list across the whole city on one date, the Perth gig guides are still the place, and we link to them rather than pretending to be one.
It does not sell tickets, and it is not a streaming app. It is for the gig that is on near you, played by somebody you can follow, in a room you can walk into. If you are after that, here is how to find live music near you in the order that actually works.
Why it exists
Built from the stage side of the room.
Open Dawn is built in Perth by Yannai Goldberg, a working musician with more than 500 gigs behind him. Most of what the app does comes from that side of the microphone: a way for the people who liked a set to find the act again, and a way for the act to find out who they were.
The same app is where musicians and DJs keep their profile and take gig offers, and where venues book live music. Fans, artists and venues in the same place, which is the only way the gig near you ends up on your phone at all.
Questions about the live music app
Is the live music app free?
Yes. Looking around, following, the gig room and asking for a song are all free. There is nothing to pay for as a fan.
Can I ask for a song at a gig?
Yes, when the act has requests switched on for that gig. You choose from their own list, so you are asking for something they actually play, and asking is free.
Does it cover all of Perth?
It covers wherever an artist or a venue has added themselves, which is Perth first and grows every time a venue or an artist adds themselves. Type a suburb and it tells you plainly when nothing is listed there yet, rather than padding the list.