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NEW FAVOURITE BAND: Jacob Barlow with Tim Firth, Rai Thistlethwayte and Matt Smith from Thirsty Merc.
Thirsty Merc had a solid core of Whyalla fans before last weekend’s uneARTh Festival … it’s now got many more including, arguably, its biggest ever.
Before Friday night’s performance, in Ada Ryan Gardens, Jacob Barlow’s favourite band was Queen. That all changed in a heartbeat when the eight-year-old Whyalla music fan heard Rai Thistlethwayte, Phil Stack, Matt Smith and Tim Firth belt out their first tune.
Jacob was hooked and Queen will have to take a back seat for now.
Jacob was born with Down Syndrome and endured open-heart surgery when he was just four months old. Apart from that, he is your regular, happy-go-lucky Whyalla boy who attends Memorial Oval Primary School, loves music and wants to be a drummer or roadie when he grows up.
GREAT GIG: Thirsty Merc lead singer Rai Thistlethwayte at the uneARTh Festival.
Mum Rachel said his love of music borders on the obsessive and he simply wasn’t going home on Friday night without meeting his new, favourite band.
“Music has been his obsession since he was little,” Rachel said.
“It is the thing in his life that makes him feel he’s like everyone else, he can just fit in and he pours his little heart out with music.
“Friday was all about his innocence and the connection he instantly struck up with them (Thirsty Merc). He just wasn’t going to leave until he could see them, get up close to them and tell them how wonderful they were.”
Jacob was front and centre to the stage, with his protective earphones, and gained a fist-pump from lead guitarist Matt during the concert. It was then Jacob’s wildest dream come true when the band invited him back stage where Matt gave him his guitar pick, Tim presented him with signed drumsticks and he had his picture taken with the band.
FIST PUMP: Jacob Barlow and Matt Smith at the uneARTh Festival. Picture: Bronwen Caple Photography
“He’d already made a drum kit at the YAC craft tent and he’d been playing it all day,” Rachel said.
“Then he got the drumsticks from the band and drummed all the way home, on the grass, on the dirt, even the neighbour’s fence when we got home … so sorry to them for that.
“He just loved them (Thirsty Merc) and they were so wonderful to him.
“He especially loves their song Someday so we had to sing that over and over again as his bedtime song that night.”
Jacob wasn’t the only one won over by Thirsty Merc as the headline act for the City of Whyalla’s 2019 uneARTh Festival. The Thirsty Merc boys arrived in town the night before, frequented a few Whyalla establishments to celebrate Rai’s birthday and were accessible and generous with their time for the two days they were here.
Manager of the Middleback Arts Centre and uneARTh Festival committee member, Ryan Sutherland looked after the bands backstage and instigated the donut birthday cake for Rai during the concert that was then handed out by the band to young fans in the crowd.
“It was a pleasure having Thirsty Merc in Whyalla, they were lovely, down-to-earth guys,” Ryan said.
“They were happy to talk to so many people and I think they genuinely enjoyed being here and playing in Whyalla.
“They said they’d love to come back and I know Whyalla would love to have them back.”
MUSICAL FUTURE: Jacob Barlow tests out his new drumsticks with mum Rachel and Thirsty Merc drummer Tim Firth.