Sooki Lounge
GERALD J. HOLMES | STRINGS ALBUM LAUNCH
The Hootie Tooties
Sooki Lounge (Belgrave, VIC)
Sunday, 15 November 2026 6:00 pm
Based in Melbourne’s Dandenong Ranges, Gerard J. Holmes is an alternative and indie rock songwriter whose music is grounded in honesty, emotion and connection.Drawing on influences from punk, emo, rock, blues, soul and Motown, Gerard’s music has grown through years of writing, performing, busking and connecting with Melbourne’s independent music community.His second album, Strings, is the culmination of a project years in the making, bringing together songs written between the ages of 18 and 32 and a collective of musicians who have become part of Gerard’s musical journey. Recorded with an organic, live-in-the-room approach, the album reflects the people, relationships and community that helped bring it to life.
Strings is the second album from Melbourne alternative and indie rock songwriter Gerard J. Holmesand the culmination of a project years in the making.The album brings together songs written between the ages of 18 and 32, capturing different stages of Gerard’s life and the ways his understanding of himself and the world around him has changed. But Stringsis also a record shaped by the people around him. Over time, musicians Gerard met through busking, performing and being part of Melbourne’s independent music community became collaborators, bringing their own interpretations to guitars, bass, vocals, classical guitar and strings.Recorded in the expansive bluestone space of Earthly Pleasures Cafe in Belgrave, the album was created with a deliberately organic approach, embracing the room’s natural acoustics rather than relying heavily on effects. Gerard wanted the record to feel as though the listener was in the room with the musicians, immersed in the performance.The result is a deeply collaborative album that has grown alongside the community that helped create it.
https://open.spotify.com/artist/0Yik60u7YBksp2YiesS5R8
Support by The Hootie Tooties.
https://thehootietooties.bandcamp.com/
Strings is the second album from Melbourne alternative and indie rock songwriter Gerard J. Holmesand the culmination of a project years in the making.The album brings together songs written between the ages of 18 and 32, capturing different stages of Gerard’s life and the ways his understanding of himself and the world around him has changed. But Stringsis also a record shaped by the people around him. Over time, musicians Gerard met through busking, performing and being part of Melbourne’s independent music community became collaborators, bringing their own interpretations to guitars, bass, vocals, classical guitar and strings.Recorded in the expansive bluestone space of Earthly Pleasures Cafe in Belgrave, the album was created with a deliberately organic approach, embracing the room’s natural acoustics rather than relying heavily on effects. Gerard wanted the record to feel as though the listener was in the room with the musicians, immersed in the performance.The result is a deeply collaborative album that has grown alongside the community that helped create it.
https://open.spotify.com/artist/0Yik60u7YBksp2YiesS5R8
Support by The Hootie Tooties.
https://thehootietooties.bandcamp.com/