I lost a gig ‘pero ok lang’: Filipino migrant musicians in Australia during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the entertainment industry globally, yet little is known about the experiences of migrant musicians during this crisis. Drawing from interviews with Filipino musicians in Australia, this article considers the pandemic’s impacts on this migrant group and the ways in which they demonstrate resilience through their social and cultural capital. Their physical and virtual networks as well as skills in music and other ventures allow them to respond to the precarity connected with their translocal experiences as migrant musicians and skilled labour migrants during the pandemic. Nonetheless, this resilience is dependent on individuals’ particular economic, social and personal circumstances. Recognizing the case of Filipino musicians in Australia leads to a rethinking of potential policy implications on particular struggles facing migrant musicians in Australia during the pandemic crisis.