Series Synopsis

A band of thirty schoolgirls brave tensions, line-up changes and heartbreak to triumph at Europe’s top music festivals. Over the course of a year, the Sweethearts face the hardest lesson of all – when to let go.

Episode Synopses

Episode 4 – Should I Stay Or Should I Go

The band loses trumpet player, Kirsten. Elsbeth feels guilty for staying on. Jess is elected as new band captain. The girls remember their lost loved ones at a fundraising gig for cancer research. Rachel pulls out of the tour.

The band comes back from summer break to the news that graduate Kirsten has quit the band. She is their most experienced trumpet player and informal leader of the horn section. Kirsten already has travel plans for her gap year and she can’t afford the added expense of the tour with Sweethearts.

Sarah the drummer is also feeling the financial pinch. She now has a full time job to earn money for the tour. She can only come to rehearsals after work, which means she is absent for half of each session.

The band has its new mentors in place. Chloe will be a mentor for the lead vocalists and Georgia will act as vocal coach for the backing vocalists. There are no other trombone players so Elsbeth is staying on to train up “newbie” Sharni. Elsbeth feels guilty that she is taking away opportunities from younger members.

The song allocation for vocalists becomes an issue with their next gig: the Mordialloc Food and Wine Festival.

Vocal coach Georgia V evenly shares out the songs between backing vocalists but it’s a different story with the leads. Vocal mentor Chloe has six songs. Another graduate, Abbey, shares her one song with Rachel. In turn, Rachel - one of the more experienced vocalists – only has one other song.

At the next rehearsal, the girls have to elect a new band captain. It’s one of the closest ever contests, with drummer Jess the eventual winner.

The girls play the Geelong Relay for Life, to raise money for cancer. It holds a special place in their hearts as many band members have had a loved one with cancer. Both Chloe and Tilly have a lost a parent, Ross lost his brother, while Keely S’ father is a cancer survivor. The gig also marks the debut of Claudia, a “newbie” vocalist, who has to overcome the nerves of her first gig to perform “Tracks Of My Tears”.

Rachel has won the lead role in her school musical and is also in her final year at school. Her new commitments clash with Sweethearts rehearsals. She makes the hard call and pulls out of the tour to Europe. It’s a huge blow for the band and the backing vocalists in particular. And they will be reeling from it all the way to Europe.