Meet The Sydney Rock Band That’s Using Tinder To Promote Its Gigs

Flicking through Tinder’s usual lineup of twentysomethings, all keen on travel, their dogs and ‘loving life’ with their generic gym selfies and pensive scenic shots, a profile photo of four smiling guys holding instruments catches my eye.

Meet Mabel, the “world’s greatest ever band”.

Hang on, Tinder is used for dating and hook-ups, right? So what’s a band doing on here?

Reading through their profile, Mabel list some of their collective interests, saying they’re just looking for friends… and to plug their upcoming gig at Brighton Up Bar.

Now, this might not be the first time a band has used a dating app to promote its shows, but it’s the first I’ve come across, so Mabel could be pioneers in their field. And let’s face it, it’s harder and harder to get people to come to live music gigs these days, so this can’t be a bad thing – right? Right?

I take a listen to their current EP Rachel, a ’60s pop-rock-influenced collection with a likeable twist. There’s got to be a catch – this is Tinder, after all – so I keep my expectations low as I swipe right.

It’s a match. Beginning our conversation, Mabel frontman Michael Votano introduces himself with a confident and light-hearted opening, easily putting a smile on my face as his seemingly bubbly personality bursts onto my screen. His character is infectious, and I’m so taken with Mabel’s idea of manipulating a dating platform to lift their band’s reputation, that I’m interested in meeting up with him.

Despite my hesitation that this will be just another failed Tinder meet-up, Michael enters our arranged venue with a bounce in his step, friendly as anything and excited to chat. There’s clearly no agenda here – as Michael explains, all he and the band want to do is make new friends and spread the love of music, and Tinder provides them with a good starting point to do just that.

“All we want is a conversation, to make new friends as a band,” he says. “For the hours we spend on Tinder, we might get two or three people come to our gigs, but they come regularly after that because they love to hang out.”

Maintaining the friendship is important to all the members of Mabel. “It’s rare someone comes to a gig without a prior connection,” Michael says, “but once they have, we’re introducing them to people we already know, they’re bringing their friends and it’s one big party.”

But how successful have their efforts been – and are their attentions only directed toward girls?

Laughing, Michael says, “We tried switching our Tinder settings to guys and girls but didn’t get as many matches. We have a theory that if the girls are coming to your gig, guys will want to come too and for the most part, that’s been true!”