Pub Choir


Pub Choir is a musical act founded in Brisbane, Australia in 2017 by Astrid Jorgensen and Megan Bartholomew.
At each Pub Choir event Jorgensen arranges a popular song and teaches it to the audience in three-part harmony, concluding with a performance which is filmed and shared on social media. There is no formal recurring membership and participants purchase tickets to attend each show, which is usually held at a licensed venue.

Background

The first Pub Choir event was held in West End, Brisbane in March 2017. Pub Choir gained international attention in November 2017 when their rendition of Zombie by The Cranberries went viral on the internet, and was shared by the band themselves shortly after the death of lead singer, Dolores O’Riordan. Pub Choir has since held events widely around Australia, as well as in New Zealand, the United States and England. On 5 April 2018 Pub Choir performed at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. On 20 July 2019 Pub Choir performed at Splendour In The Grass.

Special guests

Pub Choir has featured guest appearances by several notable musicians and celebrities. The first guest appearance in March 2018 by John Collins of Powderfinger for a performance of "My Happiness " received significant media attention, with a three-page feature in The Australian by journalist Andrew McMillen and a long-form radio piece on ABC’s Radio National Breakfast program, hosted by Fran Kelly.
In 2018 other notable musical guests included:
In 2019 musical guests included:
In 2020 musical guests included:
In 2018 Pub Choir was featured in Hit Network's national advertising campaign, with multiple presenters appearing at shows including Grant Denyer, Dave Hughes, Kate Langbroek, and Ed Kavalee.

Philanthropy

Pub Choir has regularly partnered with local charities, often donating a portion of ticket sales and raising money at events.
In 2018 Pub Choir raised over $19,000 for the charity MND and Me in honour of Pub Choir regular attendee, John Hanley. Subsequently, John Hanley’s involvement with Pub Choir caught the attention of ABC TV producers for the show "The Recording Studio", in which Hanley was featured in the inaugural episode on 16 April 2019.
On 20 December 2018 Pub Choir sold out a Christmas event at Brisbane City Hall for a performance of "How to Make Gravy" by Paul Kelly. Samuel Johnson was the guest speaker, and the event raised over $108,000 for Samuel’s charity, "Love Your Sister". In 2019, their Christmas event raised over $134,000 for Women's Legal Service Queensland.
On 14 June 2019 Jorgensen was awarded the Queensland Community Foundation Emerging Philanthropist of the Year as a result of her charitable work with Pub Choir.

Couch Choir

During the 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic a virtual choir named the Couch Choir was created as an online equivalent of the Pub Choir. In July 2020 it created a video included 1,534 contributions from people in 40 countries.