Festivals & Venues Update: June 29
INAUGURAL LUNAR ELECTRIC SHINES ON PORT MACQUARIE
Port Macquarie on the NSW mid-coast will host the inaugural EDM festival Lunar Electric.
It will bestaged on the lawns of Cassegrains Winery on Saturday January 6 2018.
Organised by the team behind the city’s club nights, the first lineup includes Will Sparks, Tigerlily and Melbourne up-and-comer 18-year old Tyron Hapi … and they haven’t even announced the headliner.
BESTIVAL COMES TO BALI
Australian festival-goers have a reputation for going overseas to catch events. So we expect quite a few localsto be heading to Bali in two months.
That’s when the UK’s Bestival stages a regional version from September 30 to October 1 at Uluwatu’s Garuda Wisnu Kencana (GWK Cultural Park), with alt-J, Rudimental, De La Soul, George Clinton and The Cuban Brothers.
MORE FOR SENSATION
Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike and Gareth Emery are joining Deadmaus, Showtek and Oliver Heldens at Dance Nation Australia’s Sensation in November.
The first ever duo to win the World #1 DJ crown at the DJ Mag Top 100 DJs Poll in 2015, the twosome have continued to remain in the Top 2.
Emery has sold over 5 million records worldwide, celebrated 3 iTunes USA #1 albums and enjoys a social media following of over 4 million+, Emery is a certified dance music legend.
NEWCASTLE’S CAMBRIDGE HOTEL WILL RESISTCLOSURE
The Newcastle music community have expressed apprehension that it could lose the Cambridge Hotel. It was the venue that launched the careers of Screaming Jets and Silverchair, and recently relaunched its 350-capacity room The Small Ballroom.
It’s now on the market for the first time in 20 years, and plans have been drawn for 153 high-rise residential apartments.
However, the venue operators posted on Facebook: “From where we stand, we have six years remaining on our lease and have no intentions of going anywhere anytime soon.
“We have been in discussions with the current and potential new owners of The Cambo to do everything we can to keep Newcastle’s most iconic live music venue true to its name.”
Silverchair’s Chris Joannou told the Newcastle Herald, “It would be sad to see a venue of that status and history leave the landscape of Newcastle.
“To take a positive, perhaps there’s an opportunity to start another live music venue given that Newcastle has such a rich background and heritage in live music.”
60 VENUES FOR GUITARS IN BARS
60 venues have put their hands up to participate in Guitars In Bars (July 14—30), an event that grew out ofthe Adelaide Festival Centre’s biennial Adelaide Guitar Festival.
It allows every imaginable variety of guitar music to be celebrated in venuesincludingThe Grace Emily, The Wheatsheaf, The Railway, The Royal Oak, Mississippi Moon, Edinburgh Castle, 2KW and Horizons.
The full program is available at guitarsinbars.com.au.
Also announced were details for Resonance, another spinoffof the guitar festival.
From July 13–22, patients, residents, staff and community members will be entertained at the Women’s and Children’s Hospital, aged care facilities, community centres, SCOSA and at-risk homeless facilities.
A full list of participating venues and artists is at adelaideguitarfestival.com.au/resonance-2017.
OLD BAR CELEBRATES ITS 10TH
The Old Bar in Melbourne is celebrating its 10th year with a festival lovingly called A Decade Of Dickhead (August 14—20).
It has booked 30 acts, of all which are being kept under wraps–although we’re betting there’ll be hints on the venue’s Facebook page.
VOLUMES BACK FOR THIRD YEAR
Volumesreturns for itsthird instalmenton Saturday August 19. It is staged across Oxford Square and the surrounding area including Oxford Art Factory, The Cliff Dive and Brighton Up Bar.
This year it highlightssuch emerging talent as Jonti, Gold Class, Baro, The Ocean Party, Retiree, Fortunes., Lucy Cliche, Orion, World Champion, Mezko, RVG, Wallace, Ara Koufax, Willaris. K, Sam Weston, Love Deluxe, Body Type, Hatchie, Bus Vipers, The Goods, Genesis Owusu, Moaning Lisa, Party Dozen, GAUCI, Clypso, Tru, La Sape, Future Classic DJs, DCR DJs and Noisey DJs.
NSW BUSH DOOF STOPPED
An illegal NSW bush doof in Richmond Range State Forest, near Kyogle, was shut down before it got started.
Forestry Corporation of NSW staff spotted equipment being set up in the site and alerted local police. They took action against organisers and had to haul out cars abandoned on the site by ravers.
Forestry staff explained that such doofs scare wildlife, have no regard for the forest environment and very often have no evacuation or toilet facilities.
“In this case, about a hectare of native forest vegetation had been damaged to construct a dance area and stage.”
SMITH STREET DREAMING
Leaps and Bounds is again shedding light on Collingwood’s Koorie people andthe incredible history of Fitzroy with the 5th Smith Street Dreaming street party on Saturday July 22.
A free event for people of all ages, it is a project initiated to bring understanding, respect, and peace, and to foster the relationship between all Smith Street residents, commuters, workers and visitors
Performing are Frank Yamma, Emma Donovan, Yung Warriors, dance group Indigenous Hip Hop Projects, Jindi Worabak traditional dancers, and MC Shelley Ware (Marngrook Footy Show).
CAIRNS VENUE CUTS MUSIC FOR NOW
The Bungalow Hotel in Cairns has cut of all live shows for the time being after a number of noisecomplaints.
General manager Stew Gibson said it was his decision to pull the plug until the venue and theliquor licensing authority could amicably work out what to do.
FIRST ANNOUNCEMENT FOR QMF AND STRAWBERRY FIELDS
The first lineup for Queenscliff Music Festival (November 24—26) is emerging soul outfit 30/70, The Beautiful Girls (playing their albumsLearn Yourself and Morning Sun in their entirety), Bernard Fanning, Freya Josephine Hollick, GL, Hot Potato Band, Jon Cleary & The Absolute Monster Gentlemen, Mama Kin & Spender, Nai Palm, The Temper Trap, The Teskey Brothers, Xavier Rudd and Yothu Yindi presentsThe Treaty Project which sees them reunite on the 25th anniversary of Treaty with Gavin Campbell of Filthy Lucre (whose remix made Treaty a global hit).
Yothu Yindi and Campbell arealso taking the project toboutique NSW electronic festival Strawberry Fields, which dropped its first lineup this morning– as you can see, there’s not much in the way of other crossover acts:
Andrew Weatherall, Archie Hamilton, Aurora Halal, CC:DISCO!, DJ Bone, Fatima & Alexander Nut, Frankey & Sandrino, Francis Inferno Orchestra, Harvey Sutherland & Bermuda, K+Lab, Lovebirds, Mall Grab, Monkey Safari, Monolink, Mr Scruff, Nicola Cruz, Optimo, Oxia, Peggy Gou, Rush Hour 20th Anniversary Showcase ft. Antal, Hunee & Soichi Terada , Sampa the Great, Sebastian Mullaert, The Teskey Brothers, Total Giovanni, YO! MAFIA, Vaal and Yothu Yindi presents the Treaty Project.
15 MORE ADDED TO CALOUNDRA
Among the 13 new acts added to Caloundra Music as part of its second artist announcement are British India, Grinspoon, Killing Heidi, Stonewood and Xavier Rudd.
This year the event is putting a stage on Kings Beach itself for the first time.
BELLO WINTER ANNOUNCES MENTORSHIP WINNERS
Bello Winter Music (July 6–9) announced winners of the 3rd Youth Mentorship Program.
Festival ambassador Jack Carty will work with 12-year old Ryan Kemp. Ben Wilson of The Button Collective does the honours for 14-year-old Leah Besley, Sara Tindley for 16-year-old Akashya Leopold, and Hussy Hicks for sisters Nadia & Paloma Birch.
The winners receive a rehearsal session with their mentor, a 20-minute performance at the festival with their mentor backstage, the opportunity to watch their mentor perform from backstage, and passes to the festival.
AND A FEW OTHER THINGS…
The BBC coverage of Glastonbury 2017 reaches a record-breaking 20.9 million people on TV and online for the second consecutive year. Viewers were up 12% on last year. The highest numberswere for Ed Sheeran (peak of 2.9m), Barry Gibb (3.7m), Radiohead (1.32m) and Foo Fighters (2.5m).
The building of Good Companions Hotel in Tamworth is up for sale for $2.5 million after being closed since 2015.
Surfe’s Paradise bar Black Coffee Lyrics, which has regular music sessions, is closing. Owner Tammy McVicar, who bought it a year ago, explained she needed to look after her three young children.
The first Splendour In The Grass sideshow in Wollongong has been set, withCatfish & The Bottlemen’s gig at Wollongong University on July 25.
A 21-year-old man is in hospital after a brawl broke out on the dance floor of Perth’s Raffles Hotel. He was knocked unconscious during the fight, and suffered serious head injuries.
The Long WALE Investment Partnership purchased the Ship Inn Hotel in Busselton, WA, Brunswick Hotel in Brisbane and the Old Sydney Hotel in Maryborough, Qld for $23.2 million and leased it back for 15 years to ALH.
This year’s recipient of proceeds from the Rotary-run Ballina Food and Wine Festival was local community radio station Paradise FM. The 16-year-old station is building a second studio at its Cherry St headquarters.
The January 21 Tasmanian stop of the Red Hot Summer tour has sold out.
NSW’s Dashville Skyline is taking some of its acts on the road, stopping at Royal Federal Hotel, Branxton (July 7), Brass Monkey, Cronulla (July 8) and The Bearded Tit, Redfern (July 9).
The Cairns Post reported that Grass Is Greener has been warned that if its MC swears onstage, there’ll be cops on hand at its new site at the Showground to take action.
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