Scott Candlish

For local musician Scott Candlish, Hawthorn will always be home. Scott played his first-ever gig at the Hawthorn Hotel in 2010 when he was 18, launching a career playing music all over Melbourne including Glenferrie staples Nevermind Bar and Osteria 20.

Apart from a two-year stint in Edinburgh, Scotland with his fiancé, Scott has always lived with his family in Hawthorn at the top end of Glenferrie. He attended school at Carey Grammar on Barkers Road “just around the corner” in Kew, and later completed a Bachelor of Music at Box Hill Institute.

For Scott, music has been a lifelong passion. “I come from a musical family so I’ve always had the enthusiasm for it,” he said. A regular week for Scott consists of teaching music in schools and private lessons, which these days he is delivering to some of his students over online video-call service Zoom. In the evenings and on weekends, you can usually find Scott performing live shows around Melbourne either solo or with his band.

With public gatherings and venues shut down in the context of COVID-19, Scott felt he “had the opportunity to make something out of nothing” and “give back” to the community that has supported him in the one way he knows how. And so ‘Your Thursday Night’s Covid’ was born, a weekly online concert played by Scott from the comfort of his own home, delivered directly to yours through video live-streaming on social media. The event is linked to an online fundraising campaign where viewers can contribute donations to SupportAct, a charity supporting local artists suffering loss of income, and Beyond Blue, supporting individuals struggling with mental health. Scott hopes to bring some positivity to the local community “in what has obviously been a really dark time”.

Under regular circumstances, the Candlish family frequent Glenferrie Road “basically every day”. Scott is a huge fan of the local food joints, particularly Fat Boy Thai, Osteria 20 and Tao Tao House, as well as frequenting family staples D’Tandoor and Viet Star for a “cheap and cheerful meal”. He admits that COVID-19 has “been a good excuse to order a few more delivery meals” from local restaurants. Scott and his fiancé love Homing Instincts, considering it “a wonderful unique and quirky shop”, and enjoy getting to know all the staff in the local cafes. The family have always passionately supported local butcher Glenferrie Gourmet Meats, particularly during this time. “As long as they are still open, we are buying from them,” said Scott.

A life-long connection with Glenferrie has made the area “so familiar and homely” for Scott. “It’s such a local community. You can so easily bump into friends, neighbours, and people you know… it is really wonderful.”

You can tune in to ‘Your Thursday Night’s Covid’ at 7:30pm on a Thursday night by searching for Scott Candlish on Instagram or Facebook, or heading to www.scottcandlishmusic.com.