What makes a good friendship? Robert Forster and Zan Rowe aim to find out this September in Sydney

September will see Robert Forster, of iconic Australian band The Go-Betweens, in conversation with Triple J’s Zan Rowe as part of a special in-conversation event for The School of Life Sydney; the topic of discussion? Friendship.

On September 7th, Forster and Rowe will be attempting to get to the bottom of what makes a good friendship, especially in a modern world that has become saturated with status updates, snapchat and social media.

Over the course of the evening Forster will explore his own friendship with long time creative collaborator, the late Grant McLennan, in a bid to come to terms with the core values that formed the basis of their creative, complex and occasionally fraught friendship.

For some the songwriting duo of Forster and McLennan was Australia’s answer to Lennon & McCartney, with the pair writing all of the Go-Between’s original material, sharing the writing credits, and alternated on lead vocals. But how did they get to that point?

One way to find out is to head along, as Forster will be sharing stories from his friendship with McLennan, as he and Rowe unpick notions of friendship, and how best to sustain the loyalty and vulnerability needed to preserve a creative partnership and friendship.

In case you weren’t already aware, Robert Forster is a Brisbane musician and writer, best known perhaps as co-founder of the acclaimed Australian rock band The Go-Betweens. In 2015, Forster released his first solo album in seven years, and next month will release Grant and I, a memoir of his and McLennan’s friendship. Whilst meanwhile, Zan Rowe is best known as the host and producer of Triple J’s Mornings program, and that’s without mentioning the litany of other radio work she’s involved in.

Robert Forster and Zan Rowe: On Friendship, presented by The School of Life Sydney, takes place Wednesday September 7th at The Lighthouse Gallery, Australian National Maritime Museum. Tickets cost $40 ($30 Concession) and are available now from HERE

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Simon Clark

Books Editor. An admirer of songs and reader of books. Simon has a PhD in English and Comparative Literature. All errant apostrophes are his own.