Live scene shows sparks of life as more festivals and events return
The Australian live scene is slowly coming back to life as more festivals mark their return following hiatuses last year, in addition to new events coming on board.
Strawberry Fields this morning announced it was returning on October 29-31 to Tocumwal, NSW, on the banks of the Murray River. The festival was forced to take a year off due to the pandemic, and moved forward its 12th edition by one month, to restart the contribution of festivals to regional economies.
The festival, which has a low-income ticket program with half-price tickets for patrons who are socially or economically disadvantaged, this year struck a new partnership with social enterprise Humanitix, a ticketing platform that donates all booking fees to programs aimed at closing the education gap globally. Festival director Tara Benney said Humanitix will donate 100% of booking profits to fund scholarships for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students.
“Humanitix believes that everyone deserves the opportunity to thrive no matter their background, and so do we,” she said.
Inland Sea of Sound returns to Bathurst as a series of indoor and outdoor concerts between February 24-28, with headliners including Kate Ceberano and CW Stoneking.
Townsville will host a new boutique festival, Day Trip. It will be held on February 20 at Townsville Turf Club, headlined by The Jungle Giants with an audience capped at 2,500 people. This follows the unveiling, as reported in TMN, of another new kid on the block in Queensland, the country music festival Road to Roma on March 6-7 at the Club Hotel.
Canberra celebrates Australia Day with a number of events. Daryl Braithwaite and Lee Kernaghan are among those performing at Stage88, while Music ACT curates emerging originals at Rhythm and Brews Hub.
In related news, the campaign to keep Adelaide’s Jive club alive has hit $60,000 of its $70,000 target, and now includes a fundraising concert, JIVEaoke, on January 25. The bill includes Ben Marwe (Bad//Dreems), Ray Dalfsen (West Thebarton) and Paige Court (MANE).
Sydney Festival has been given a $5 million donation, the biggest individual bequest in its history. The money came from Peter Freedman, arts philanthropist and multi-millionaire owner of the Sydney-based global business RØDE Microphones. Some time back he spent $9 million buying Kurt Cobain’s guitar with plans to use it to raise money for the Australian music industry.
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