This presentation will explore the potential opportunities that lie in wait for registered music therapists (RMTs) who may be open to re-locating beyond city limits, to regional towns further afield. It will be a sung performance of a lyric substitution to the song, 'Soul Singer in a Session Band' by Bright Eyes.

There are many rural and remote communities across the wide, beautiful expanse of so-called Australia which are unique from one another and cannot be painted with the same brush. However, there are some generalisable realities, such as the poorer social determinants of health, which disproportionately affects people living in these areas (National Rural Health Alliance, 2024). This means lower socio-economic status, educational attainment and greater housing challenges for rural folk, compared to their city counterparts. In addition to this, regional communities face further disadvantage in accessing critical services such as healthcare (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2024).

RMTs are flexible practitioners, equipped with the skills to adopt or draw from a range of theoretical perspectives, depending on the contexts in which they work and the participants' desired goals. To wit, they are skilled individuals who can simultaneously listen to the other performers in their ensemble, and adapt their own musicality, in order to achieve the desired collective sound. This quiet and unassuming quality helps RMTs to forge strong relationships with the people and organisations that they work with and rural communities are no different. Through taking the time to discover the community's strengths, challenges and direction, there are opportunities aplenty for RMTs to make a positive impact in rural communities.