The 19-year-old indie-pop singer-songwriter had a five-week trip to the US planned where she'd visit Los Angeles, Nashville and New York, and she was even contemplating a more permanent move.

The COVID-19 pandemic ensured that US trip never occurred, but even before that Crane's natural indecisiveness meant a permanent relocation was unlikely. She channelled her mixed feelings into her latest single Gemini, which also happens to be Crane's star sign.

"I was thinking about how indecisive I am," Crane said. "I wanted to leave Newcastle, but it has some good things. I was going through this point where I was not sick of Newcastle, but of where I was and my direction, but I couldn't decide where that was."

Gemini was originally written in 2019 when Crane was recording her 2020 EP In My Head with producer Gareth Hudson at Hazy Cosmic Jive Studio. However, the song wasn't finished and it wasn't until the COVID lockdown that Crane returned to song.

Gemini was inspired by late 2000s pop, including Katy Perry's One Of The Boys album.

"I was listening to that all the time during the peak of quarantine and I guess it was just my way of wishing I was back in those times, rather than where I was," Crane said.

"I started thinking about Gemini again and it has been 12 months since I'd put it down and I thought it would be really cool to fix up the lyrics more with this [COVID] in mind and record it with an early 2000s vibe."

Lili Crane will launch Gemini at the Hamilton Station Hotel on March 19.

Josh Leeson

The Music Biz Is? kicks off a workshop series in Newcastle this week to educate people about the music industry.

Ben Steer, co-director of livestream show Music People, is organising the workshops with Continuous Music and Newcastle online music publication and booking company, Temporary Dreamer, run by Steer's former JMC Academy student Tara Campbell.

Today's workshop at Woodriver Studios is Music Industry 101 and features special guest Campbell Burns from Newcastle band Vacations, which Steer is "chuffed" about. The remaining workshops are as follows:

A final networking night will take place at the Hamilton Station Hotel on April 1. For more information go to continuousmusic.com.au.

Time is running out to apply for the Young Gums Youth Mentorship program, a music-based learning experience for 10 regional high school students aged 14 to 18 who are interested in music festival production and events.

The program is the brainchild of The Gum Ball Music and Arts Festival organisers and is funded by Festivals Australia. The five-night experience consists of one-on-one training, workshops and tutoring where students participate in daily rehearsals with a music director for a live performance on the last day of the festival.

Qualified professional artists, event managers and musicians are paired with regional youth interested in festival production, staging, lighting, recording, song writing, vocal training, music production and performance.

A parent or guardian is required to attend the festival to supervise their Young Gum while not at the workshops. Discounts are offered to caregivers to supervise and enjoy the festival as The Gum Ball is a family-friendly event. Applications require parental consent and close this Sunday, February 28. Students apply with a short video and story showcasing their musical ability and passion. Contact Dashville via younggums@dashville.com.au for any questions regarding the Young Gums Youth Mentorship.

Amy Vee is in final rehearsals for Chess: The Musical at Newcastle's Civic Theatre this week (February 26 to 28). The singer, songwriter and classically trained multi-instrumentalist plays the role of Svetlana Sergievsky.

"It's been a really intense few days as our two leads, David Harris and Silvie Paladino, only arrived late last week," Vee said. "It's not an easy show to stage, either. It's quite complex, and musically it's very challenging. There are a lot of moving pieces, if you pardon the pun, but it's coming together beautifully."

Tickets are on sale now.

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