House On Fire: four unmissable gigs in July at UTS Loft

This July, a multi-talented media and events production team of lifelong live music fans will take over The Loft at UTS to present four electrifying gigs featuring some of Sydney’s most promising and diverse emerging artists. 

House On Fire at The Loft UTS launches this Saturday night 6 July with a showcase of Inner West Hip Hop with Yawdoesitall, MungMung, Justina, Charbel, Ruby Jackson, Awa and other special guests. On 13 July it's indie rock night with Possum Pants, The Stellas, and Packing Dhaka. 20 July is pop music night with Bobby Uncle and others, and on 27 July the House presents Femmes to the Front! a celebration of female-identifying artists and musicians. 

Dedicated to revitalising Sydney’s music scene, House On Fire has partnered with UTS and The Loft in July to bring audiences a taste of the vibrant diversity of local music while offering career networking opportunities for UTS students and student societies. 

House On Fire consists of videographers, editors, audio engineers, and production crew members who combine their professional expertise with a deep-rooted passion for music. As artists already involved in Sydney's live music scene, they deliver media content that resonates on a personal and individual level. As core House members Max Kaesshaefer and Tom Lonsdale explain;

House On Fire is a melting pot of all the different Sydney music cultures even within our team. One member is in a hardcore metal band, another a part of a jazz outfit, another is a DJ. To truly be innovative and creative, we selected members that come from these different artistic backgrounds. 

The House seeks to provide what artists and fans want most – exciting and expertly delivered live events captured with high quality videography, editing, and sound mixing. 

Both Max and Tom have significant industry experience and are also deeply acquainted with the university live music scene as current UTS students. Max, studies the Bachelor of Music and Sound Design as an international student. He is an avid concert goer, who sought an education through UTS to fulfill his lifelong ambition of tearing up the music scene with his vision of hosting community-centric event productions. Hailing from a background in Michelin Star venue operations in the United States, Max has applied his management training and knowledge of logistics to assemble the House On Fire team. 

Tom is a media producer, consultant and content strategist. Networking through his degree Tom launched his own freelance media productions producing content for a range of Sydney brands, events, and musicians. Strategically juggling multiple part-time jobs, content creation work, and his studies, Tom partnered with Max to establish House On Fire with four other industry connections. Tom has a passion for creative consultancy and visually innovative media production, and is doing a combined degree in Bachelor of Communication (Media Arts and Production) Bachelor of Creative Intelligence and Innovation with a second major in Strategic Communication.

As Max and Tom tell it:

Our vision is dedicated to providing quality productions where the aspirations of artists, fans and the team align and have fun, creating a sense of community. With the musicians, fans, and the production team members aspirations all fired in the same direction, House On Fire exists as the music community’s ‘love letter’ to the joy and passion behind Sydney’s live events scene. Ultimately all that music is about is putting on a good show, we seek to do that. To give the artists and the fans what they want most, and creating an ethical and sustainable practice. 

Building the House

Founded in the summer of 2024 by a group of ardent music lovers, House On Fire is committed to showcasing emerging artists and raising the bar for event production and media coverage. Their mission is to cultivate a music scene by inspiring music fans to engage enthusiastically with live performances through initiatives such as intimate concert videography and meticulous audio capture. For House On Fire it is about ‘building a scene’ to deliver what they see artists and fans needing most - empowerment through marketing content to connect fans through shows. 

The House On Fire team know what it is to experience a music lover's ‘milestone moment’ - a key life experience for artists and fans that first triggers their curiosity and enthusiasm for music and live events culture. Max says;

We want to give students their own milestone moment. I witnessed Sydney artist Flume win a high school Battle of the Bands competition hosted in a basement and it sparked curiosity and drove me to start putting on shows. We hope concert goers have similar experiences, sparking desires to contribute to the greater Sydney music culture. This has a exponential effect- moments that inspire future artists will encourage others to get involved. This is how bands are formed, and careers are made. House On Fire ultimately symbolises a collective hope – hope for a better future of engaging live performances, confidence for the artist to explore their talent and worth, and appreciation for the fan to feel part of a community that deeply respects their support.

Opportunities for students

House On Fire is built upon great cross-disciplinary collaborations with each core member providing unique skills in visual media, music audio capture, event operations, graphic design, content marketing and strategic consultancy. House On Fire also collaborates with upcoming videographers keen to practice their craft through our local artist showcases, and have built key commercial partnerships across multiple industries including event operations, graphic design, public relations, audio engineering to bring the House to life. 

Promoting the event with UTS student societies like Reverb, these partnerships provide invaluable networking opportunities for music and sound design students. By participating in these events, students can connect with industry professionals, gain practical experience, and build relationships that will be crucial for their future careers in the music industry.

We hope UTS students that come will leave the night energised to pursue their own artist endeavours and entrepreneurial ideas with each other.

A Night With…’ video series

For fans at home, House On Fire’s ‘A Night With…’ video series celebrates Sydney’s music scene by featuring diverse talents like psychedelic rockers Battlesnake, jazz virtuoso Sylent, and metalcore heavyweights Vilify. The videos capture the essence of the live music experience, providing high-quality content with live capture audio for the music enthusiasts which for Max emulates a spirit of "Anthony Bourdain discovering the music scene.”

July at UTS Loft: House on Fire presents

• Saturday, 6 July 2024 7pm - InnerWest Hop featuring Yawdoesitall, MungMung, Justina, Charbel, Ruby Jackson, Awa, Marley (@marleytupou) and River (@river_langford) - TIX

• Saturday, 13 July 2024 7pm - Possum Pants, The Stellas, Packing Dhaka - TIX

• Sat 20 July - Pop X House on Fire (A night of Pop Music with Bobby Uncle, Rage Flower and Kyle Charles Hall) - TIX

• 27 July 2024 - Femmes to the Font! X House on Fire (A celebration of female identifying musicians) - check back on HoF linktree here

Follow House On Fire as they continue to ignite enthusiasm and celebrate Sydney’s vibrant music scene, creating unforgettable experiences for all involved. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to be a part of this exciting journey and witness the future of Sydney’s music culture. For more information, visit House On Fire's linktree or follow them on social media @thisishouseonfire.