Curated by writer and musician Ria Andriani, Backstage Music’s Trace was more ambitious in scope and innovative in its approach than its 2022 predecessor, Shift – a credit to two years of growth and perseverance as an emerging concert platform.

Trace platforms performers and composers with disability, and for this performance, incredible effort went into creating an accessible concert environment for all – quiet rooms, attention to lighting and staging, descriptive social media posts.

Ria Andriani (left) and Jen Hankin (right) performing at Trace. Photo © Ollie Miller

Surveying the performance from a regal high chair, Elias Wilson (operatic tenor and audio describer) was Trace‘s charming host. He provided audio description for on-stage movements and changes for audience members with vision impairment. His presence uplifted the concert atmosphere. Noting shifts between performances and engaging in banter with stagehands, his descriptions found a humour that’s quite rare (and refreshing) to see at a performance.

Tony Gorman’s quintet The Monday Club was the first of the night, offering a winding 20-minute improvisation.

Gorman, who lives with multiple sclerosis, read out a poem before the set, Used to Couldn’t. The Monday Club builds...