Port Macquarie music star Blake O'Connor is putting in hard yards to refine his skills during the isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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The young performer made a splash last year after being crowned 2019 Toyota Star Maker winner. He also collected a Golden Guitar after winning the New Talent Of the Year award with song 'Worth A Little More' at the 48th Country Music Awards in January this year.
Scheduled tours and music gigs have been cancelled for many musical artists this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
"It has affected me massively. I haven't played a show since the middle of March this year and it was a bit of a shock to the system for me," he said.
"It's a huge step backwards for our industry. Now that music shows are opening again they are open to a quarter capacity for 30 or 40 people maximum.
"The positive side of it is that I've gotten to spend some more time at home and had time to practice with my guitar. I've been writing about 50 or 60 songs and am in the works of making a new album in Byron Bay."
The budding musician was due to perform at two festivals in Manchester and London in May. He's also had to postpone plans to travel to Nashville in America.
O'Connor said he's seen other musicians take the music to the fans with Facebook Live performances and fundraisers.
"You can do the facetime songwrites over the computer with friends which is nice, it does the job at this point in time," he said.
"I've had a great response from Facebook Live videos but it does wear off eventually. I don't think it's possible to live off because it's more of a short term fix than a long term soluation.
"For an hour or two it's good fun and you still get some crowd interaction."
O'Connor said he'd also taken time out to go camping at Double Island Point in Queensland before the borders closed.
"When you're used to touring on the road 24/7 and now you're not doing anything. It's a bit of a shock to the system," he said.
"The novelty of the break has worn off but I view it as a bit of a reset. You can be sad about it or you can practice hard and make sure when this is over you're ready in pole position."
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