Festivals & Venues: February 8

Photo: Dan Boud

LANEWAY ON THE ROAD

As always, St Jerome’s Laneway Festival launched some new stars as it wound up from Adelaide and up along the East Coast.

Crowds gave first-time visitors Slowdive, Dream Wife and Shame an appropriate welcome, although a woman had a seizure during one of Slowdive’s sets.

The band stopped and shone stage lights as audience members helped her. Once she recovered and was taken away in a wheelchair, guitarist Neil Halstead told the crowd, “She’s alright!” and the band finished off its set.

Laneway also took crowds back to its beginnings in Melbourne and Sydney with the addition of Block Party, a festival within a festival.

This year Laneway joined forces with Music With Mates in Melbourne, a project dedicated to connecting young new migrants in Melbourne with their music community.

Seven migrants from Syria, Pakistan, China and Malaysia joined the festivities – and for some, it was their first music festival.

Organisers reported, “One weekend in and it’s clear that the love between the artists is real.

“The Free Nationals formed a judging panel side of stage at Mac DeMarco in Adelaide, Mac DeMarco and Alex Cameron performed arm in arm in Melbourne and Anderson .Paak made a surprise guest appearance with TOKiMONSTA in Sydney.”

The festival winds up in Brisbane and Fremantle this weekend.

The Brisbane show hosts a special exhibition in Brisbane titled ‘Everybody Deserves A Home’ by Luke Henery of Violent Soho.It aims to highlight the plight of homeless people and refugees.

Festival pass-outs in Fremantle will also give punters access to Bather’s Beach and festival surrounds from 11am to 4pm.

PARTY IN THE PARK GOES INDOORS

After having to cancel last year due to wild weather, Party In The Park has announced a new indoor venue and date – Big Top Luna Park Sydney on March 24.

As promoter Paul Chesher told TMN, the move from North Sydney Oval (and closerto more public transport) also means that punters will be drawn from other areas of the city, especially the inner west and inner east.

The lineup over two stages is Art Vs Science, The Creases, Ebony, Joyride, Kingswood, Kuren, Maddy Jane, Marvell and Stonefield, as well as the Barney Cool DJs.

Chesher adds that a bonus for the expected 3,000 attendees is that for those wanting to get down early before the festival kicks off at 4 pm, there’ll be 20% off all rides all day.

ARTS SA WANTS A PARTNER FOR QUEEN’S THEATRE

Arts SA is looking to partner with a Venue Manager for the oldest existing theatre on mainland Australia – the Queen’s Theatre, at the corner of Gilles Arcade and Playhouse Lane in Adelaide’s West End.

Built in 1840, it is of national heritage significance and predated only by the Theatre Royal in Hobart, Tasmania.

The organisation said, “Our goals are to retain arts and culture as the main purpose of this historic theatre, curate locally-focused arts activities and events, and provide opportunities to increase hire activity including corporate and commercial use on otherwise ‘dark’ nights.”

The Venue Manager will benefit from low rental and running costs and retention of profits.

Expressions of interest close 4pm this Friday (February 9) with applications closing in April. You can find more details on the Arts SA website.

To register your interest in applying, contact Manager Capital Projects and Assets Magda Whiteman on (08) 8463 5425 or email magda.whiteman@sa.gov.au

30 NEW ACTS, COUNTRY RACE MEETING FOR WAY OUT WEST

Way Out West in the outback Queensland town of Winton will celebrate the re-opening of the Waltzing Matilda Centre (rebuilt for $23 million after being destroyed by fire in 2015) from April 19-22.

Already announced were Jessica Mauboy, John Williamson, The Living End, Kip Moore (US), Lee Brice (US) and Sheppard.

Just unveiled are 30 new acts including James Blundell and 2018 Golden Guitar winners Brad Butcher (Best New Talent) and Dean Perrett (Best Bush Ballad), plus bush balladeers, poets and storytellers.

Local outback venues like The Winton Club, The Winton Hotel, North Gregory Hotel (known for being the site of the first public recital of ‘Waltzing Matilda’ by Banjo Patterson himself), Tattersalls Hotel and even the Australian Age of Dinosaurs all become part of the extravaganza.

Included on the festival ticket is Saturday’s outback race meeting with five races, bookmakers and fashions on the field including $10,000 in prizes.

“Winton’s Way Out West Fest is more than just a music festival,” said Winton mayor Gavin Baskett.

“This event is about celebrating everything that’s great about life in the outback from our songs and poems like Waltzing Matilda, through to our iconic Winton Races, our friendly locals and of course our iconic pubs.

“If you haven’t yet sat in an outback pub for a beer with a local, Winton’s Way Out West Fest is the best opportunity to tick it off your bucket list.”

NAME CHANGE FOR NEWCASTLE VENUE, MORE LIVE MUSIC

The new management of Newcastle’s Gateway Hotel in Islington is changing its name to Newcastle Hotel.

“The Newcastle Hotel will be an all-inclusive venue, catering for local residents, the wider community and music lovers,” licensee Paul Curtis said.

He plans to host more live acts in its The Small Ballroom, and expand its showcase of electronic dance music.

The venue will close from February 17 until early Marchfor a revamp.

DEADLINE FOR SPLENDOUR/ FALLS SITE

The deadline for public submissions for North Byron Parklands to become a permanent home for Splendour in the Grass and Falls Byron is 5pm on Friday February 16.

The submission to the NSW Government takes two minutes and can be found here.

NT’S WIDE OPEN UNVEILS PROGRAM

The music bill for the tenth Wide Open Space in the Northern Territory includes Regurgitator, Les Hôtesses d’Hilaire (Canada), Resin Moon, Haiku Hands, Daddy Longlegs, Katie Harder & The Artful Dodgers, Faggot Mafia, Pinch (UK), Jamie MacDowell & Tom Thum and Apakatjah.

There’s also mind, body and soul workshops and panels, forums and presentations – all held at Ross River Resort, nestled in the ancient East MacDonnell Ranges at the mouth of N’Dhala Gorge, 80kms out from Alice Springs.

Promoters say, “The land has been waiting 300 million years for you to visit.”

ROUND 2 ACTS FOR GUMBALL

The second round for Gumball (April 27-29, Dashville, NSW) includes: The Bamboos, The Cribs (UK), Rocket Science, Ben Salter, Les Hôtesses d’Hilaire (Can), The Resignators, Thunder Fox, V Tribe, Letters to Lions, Baghead, Hana & Jessie-Lee, Dave Wells, Nicholas Connors, Lennie Tranter & The Bagism Revelation and Dashville Progress Society.

The all-age camping, music and arts festival features 30 live performances, gourmet food and market stalls, licensed bar precinct, late night silent disco, a night-time kids crèche, workshops and activities, roaming performers, morning yoga, pro skater demos and live artworks.

FIRST SEVEN FOR 7TH MITCHELL CREEK ROCK’N’BLUES

The seventh Mitchell Creek Rock’n’Blues on the Sunshine Coast (September 21-23) will drip feed its bill seven acts at a time.

Recently announced are Renee Geyer, Ross Wilson, Gerry Joe Weise, The Fumes, Jesse Redwing, The Backsliders, Cass Eager and The Velvet Rope.

The event is held on 100 hectares of private property nestled in the lush woodlands of the Mary Valley in the Noosa Hinterlands, with beautiful landscape, and mineral-rich waterways hosting a plethora of native plants and wildlife.

NEW ADELAIDE LIVE MUSIC SPACE

The combination of a $50,000 grant and a $1 million loan from the State Government sees Adelaide craft brewery Big Shed move to a bigger 3500sqm warehouse-style site so it can quadruple production to a million litres.

The Lead reported that as part of the $2.5 million expansion, it will also open a larger front-of-house 200- to 300-seat venue with a live music stage and beer garden.

Its 50-seat venue at its original Brandwood Street site in Royal Park was a success.

“We’re planning on putting in a stage to encourage a bit of live music maybe once a month so that will be pretty unique to be sitting in the brewery listening to live music every now and then,” co-founder Jason Harris told the paper.

MOUNTAIN GOAT VALLEY CRAWL DROPS TIMETABLE

The Mountain Goat Valley Crawl (Saturday February 17) has 35 acts playing from 5pm in seven Brisbane venues, all within three blocks of each other.

The headliners are Philadelphia Grand Jury (The Flying Cock), Gooch Palms (The Zoo), Camouflage Rose (The Brightside), Hatchie (The Foundry), Hollow Coves (Crowbar), Bugs (Black Bear Lodge) and May Lyn (Barbara).