Beat Entertainment (BEAT) is a BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, First Nations led and focussed entertainment company renowned for truly original, bespoke entertainment concepts of deep heart. Over the past 8 years BEAT has consistently grown as a creative company helping clients reimagine events, engagement and activations through a broad range of creative support including choreography, costuming, set design, production, casting, direction, and music production. Run by partners in life and business Samuel Gaskin & Johnny Hamilton, BEAT have worked with the likes of Katy Perry, Moët Chandon, Belvedere Vodka, Kitsune and many more. BEAT also plan & execute large-scale creative projects. One of their large-scale projects was FORMATION Dance series for the Hit Network, which ran simultaneously in 6 states over 3 months in partnership with Fox FM and Austereo. BEAT has built a strong network of highly skilled artists, creatives, and professionals that ensure their projects are supported by some of the best in the business and cover all areas of expertise, creating a village of Queer, BIPOC & Indigenous excellence. RECKŌNING is their first theatre piece and it is their experience in all aspects of events and entertainment delivery that has supported its award winning successes. It premiered at Melbourne Fringe in 2020 winning four awards including:
- Best Emerging Indigenous Artist Supported by Wilin Centre (VCA & MCM)
- Market Ready Award Supported by Regional Arts Victoria
- Emerging Company Incubator Award Supported by Monash Centre for Theatre and
- Performance & Space Cadet Award Supported by RISING Melbourne.
The music of RECKŌNING was released throughout 2021 & 2022 garnering love from Triple J, Double J and RTR FM. It was added to the New Music Daily, New in Pop and Apple First playlists on Apple Music and the Blak Australia & Deadly Beats playlists on Spotify. BEAT ENTERTAINMENT managing director Samuel Gaskin won the Victorian Multicultral Excellence Arts award in 2022. In 2023 they were honoured to showcase work at the Sydney Opera House for World Pride and close the main stage for Victorias’ Pride with their new project HONŌUR. RECKŌNING was also taken on a national tour playing sold out shows in venues including Darwin Festival, Darlinghurst Theatre and Geelong Arts Centre. As current recipients of Creative Ventures funding they are developing 3 new works including AUNTY part Cabaret part party, THE FIZZ a work for young people around “Grief” & HŌNOUR celebrating Naarm’s most iconic Queer elders.
“Delights every one of the senses for those lucky enough to witness it” - Rolling Stone
Samuel Gaskin is the very definition of a cultural and creative renaissance man, with his myriad focuses spent furthering the advancement of music, theatre, advocacy, and even his own Beat Entertainment company. But even that barely scratches the surface of what one of this country’s most acclaimed creators is capable of. Channelling his Māori and Nigerian roots, the Melbourne-based singer, songwriter, and agent of change has been dubbed a “creative tour de force” by the likes of Rolling Stone Australia, while garnering critical acclaim for his recent efforts in music and theatre, including being named the 2022 Victorian Multicultural Award for Excellence Arts winner. Having flirted with success in 2010 with ‘GANK’ under his SaM-G moniker, Gaskin worked with the likes of Congo Tardis, before signing to Razor Recordings and issuing debut singles ‘Good Enough’ and ‘Love’. Since then, he’s collaborated with a dizzying list of the country’s most talented names, and recently, has focused on writing and performing almost exclusively with Indigenous artists in Australia, including the likes of Yothu Yindi & The Treaty Project, and The Merindas. This musical approach also transfers to his theatrical efforts as well. In 2020, Gaskin and partner Johnny Hamilton presented RECKŌNING: Te Waiata Paihere Wairua as part of the Melbourne Fringe Festival. Describing the work as a “intercultural exploration into indigeneity and ancestry”, it combined Gaskin’s numerous focuses as it created a multisensory celebration of Indigenous joy, all while elevating Indigenous songwriters and dismantling outdated ideas of identity.RECKŌNING was a major success, receiving widespread critical acclaim, taking out four Melbourne Fringe Awards including Best Emerging Indigenous Artist Supported by Wilin Centre (VCA & MCM), Market Ready Award Supported by Regional Arts Victoria, Emerging Company Incubator Award Supported by Monash Centre for Theatre, and Performance & Space Cadet Award Supported by RISING Melbourne. While lead single ‘RECKŌNING’ found itself added to Apple Music’s New Music Daily and New In Electronic playlists, follow-up singles ‘RĀIN’ & PRESSŪRE provided another look into Gaskin’s creative output, with the tracks going on to be added to Double J, RTR FM, MTV Upload, and both the Blak Australia and Deadly Beats Spotify playlists, while also receiving airplay from Triple J, Koori Radio, RRR, JOY FM, and SYN, and also being used in a promo video for the Yirramboi Festival. The new single and its accompanying accolades also arrived ahead of RECKŌNING being taken on a full national tour of the country in 2023, with the music and message being shared with as many hearts and minds as possible. Alongside his work in the studio and on stage, Gaskin spends much of his time as the Managing Director of Beat Entertainment, a BIPOC LGBTQI+ led and focussed entertainment company which has become renowned for its bespoke concepts and deep heart. And it’s through a position in a company like this that Gaskin continues his role as a passionate activist for diversity and inclusion in the entertainment industry, wholeheartedly campaigning to support as many talented people within the community as possible. Gaskin has been operating in the field of activism for some time, having been a speaker for Beyond Blue since 2016, and currently holds the role of Victorian Vice President for the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA).
2 JOOCEE is more than just a performer; they’re a beacon of joy and authenticity in the queer and First Nations communities. Our beloved Vic NAIDOC Pride recipient of 2023 has danced, sung, and hosted their way into our hearts, all while staying true to their roots and rocking those curves with pride. From Broome to the bustling city, they’re living their big-city dreams on the beautiful lands of the Kulin Nation, proving that no dream is too big and no stage too bright.