BIGSOUND_AU

So, the BIGSOUND_AU program has OFFICIALLY DROPPED! What a whirlwind this week has been, on Wednesday BIGSOUND launched the ENTIRE Conference and Music Festival programs. Featuring 400 events over 5 days, almost 150 speakers and 130 showcasing artists, activating 17 Festival showcase venues and 50 spaces across Fortitude Valley. Leading the charge is the Director of Programming Mandi McIntyre and First Nations Officer Sue Ray, and with the fearless QMusic and BIGSOUND Programming team they have been glued to their desks for months now to deliver the BIGGEST BIGSOUND yet.  👏👏   The program is available for you to start planning! www.bigsound.org.au

Presenting this year's UNIFIED Music Group BIGSOUND_AU Showcase lineup! Join us for performances from rising star Vinnie Brigante, dreamy vocalist Azure Ryder, pop-folk songwriter ISHAN, captivating folk-soul maestro Cap Carter, and an acoustic set from four-piece rock sensation, Stand Atlantic. Join us on Thursday September 5 from 4pm at The Prince Consort Brisbane to check out this incredible group of artists from the UNIFIED Artist Management, Community Music & Lonely Lands Agency rosters. 

Our program is LIVE! 🔥 https://lnkd.in/gu6G2QC 👀

THE FULL BIGSOUND 2024 SCHEDULE IS HERE 😮😱🔥 Leading the announcement is Global household name Tones and I, joined by popular-personality Myf Warhurst for a can't-miss Keynote In-Conversation. Adding to an already stacked lineup, Fred Leone will be delivering a Keynote about the importance of honouring his role as a custodian of the traditional songs of the Butchulla tribe and how it intersects with his contemporary music career. That's not all! The Festival schedule is LIVE! Get ready to discover your next favourite act with over 120 of Australia’s finest talent showcasing including Stand Atlantic, Miiesha, JUNO, Keli Holiday, Sly Withers, Alex the Astronaut and many more 🔥 This schedule is JAM-PACKED, grab a ticket and your mates and get planning. FULL schedule in bio 🏃🏃🏃

We’re very proud to be working alongside Maggie Collins who is a member of our Programming Advisory Group for BIGSOUND 2024.  Maggie is a Brisbane-based music professional who has been working within the industry in a diverse range of roles over the past 17 years.  With her radio hat on, she was a presenter and producer at the triple j network for 10 years. She also the founded Morning Belle, an artist management company representing various ARIA Award-winning and Gold Record accredited artists such as DZ Deathrays, Odette, Miiesha, Donny Benet and many others.  She was an Executive Programmer of BIGSOUND from 2016-2019 (incl), but after 7 years on the board of the Association of Artist Managers, she took on the Executive Director role in 2021 where she remains today. In 2020 she received The Lighthouse Award, an honour given to Australian female managers who exhibit passion, creativity, advocacy, integrity and commitment to the community, and we couldn’t be more thrilled to be working with Maggie again to help us create a stellar program for BIGSOUND 2024.  

In case you missed it, earlier this year we welcomed Casey O'Shaughnessy and Katie Rynne to the team as our new BIGSOUND Music Programmers! They’ve been hard at work building this year’s massive showcase program alongside our First Nations Advisory Group and Programming Advisory Group and are eager to share the full line-up of artists set to perform at BIGSOUND 2024.  “It has been such a privilege getting the opportunity to programme the 2024 BIGSOUND lineup. We are blown away by the calibre of artists that applied this year, and we’ve discovered so many amazing new artists in the process. While it was challenging to whittle it down to the final showcasing artists, we are so grateful to the amazing advisory groups that we worked with to help us make the final decision.”   - Casey O’Shaughnessy and Katie Rynne, BIGSOUND Music Programmers    We’re thrilled to have Casey and Katie on board and cannot wait for you all to experience the BIGSOUND 2024 festival showcases! 

As a valued member of our First Nations Advisory Group, Will Pawa-Oui is providing us with a wealth of knowledge and creative insight to help us build this year’s extensive BIGSOUND program.    Will is a proud Meriam man from Zenadth Kes (the Torres Strait Islands), with strong connections to the Samsep people from Erub (Darnley Island). Having been born, raised, and currently living and creating in the Yugambeh language region of the Gold Coast after many years working across the nation, Will is passionate about diversity and inclusion for all First nations peoples in all spaces.    With 14 years of experience working with people in a variety of support roles across health, wellbeing, and employment for non-profit community-based organisations, and within the government sector, Will has a wealth of knowledge he’s graciously willing to share with us.    This is why he’s such a wonderful member of our First Nations Advisory Group, and we couldn’t be happier to have him on board. 

We couldn’t be more excited to be working with Karina Hogan, an incredible member of our First Nations Advisory Group for BIGSOUND 2024.    Karina is an Aboriginal and Southsea Islander woman with strong ancestral ties to Bundjalung Country. She is a journalist, non-Executive Director, and businessperson with a passion for social justice.     Working on Yugerra/Turbul country and living on Yugumbeh country, Karina is determined to elevate First Nations voices through the media, governance, and in business.    Alongside her fellow members, Karina is using her knowledge and experience to help us shape both an engaging and informative BIGSOUND program for 2024, and we couldn’t be happier to have her on the team.  

Every member of our First Nations Advisory Group is dedicated to amplifying First Nations talent, and member Emily Wells has her eyes set on showcasing a wide variety of First Nations talent.    Emily is a proud Kamilaroi producer and playwright currently working with YIRRAMBOI Festival. She is passionate about using performance to drive social change and supporting artists to thrive within the creative process.    Emily has produced small to large-scale performances, gatherings, and creative developments with emerging and established First Nations creatives across Australia. Since receiving the Emerging Female Arts Leader Award at the Matilda Awards in 2020, Emily has worked closely with leading independents and companies such as the ILBIJERRI Theatre Company, Karul Projects, Digi Youth Arts, Queensland Theatre, Le Boite Theatre Company, and Walt Disney World.     As a playwright, Emily’s debut play ‘Face to Face’ premiered at Metro Arts in Brisbane, as part of Playlab Theatre’s 2022 season, and was selected for their year-long script development program Alpha Processing, as well as the inaugural Sparks program, which was delivered in partnership with QPAC and Moogahlin Performing Arts.    It’s safe to say Emily is a powerful creative force and we’re so pleased to have her sharing her knowledge with us as part of BIGSOUND’s First Nations Advisory Group. 

We’re thrilled to have Catherine Satour, a woman of Arrernte and Mirning descent, as a member of BIGSOUND’s First Nations Advisory Group for 2024, as she’s devoted so much of her time and energy developing talent in Central Australia.    Catherine is a musician who shares her experiences of life, love, and place through songs that fuse both rock and soul. She played her first gig at 9 years old with her father Bunna Lawrie, and his legendary band Coloured Stone, and has since performed original material with the Darwin Symphony Orchestra in Songs From Big Sky Country at the 2011 Alice Desert Festival.     On top of all this, Catherine was nominated for a National Indigenous Music Award in 2012 and released her first solo album in 2013.    Nowadays, Catherine spends her time travelling to remote communities to facilitate music and performance workshops with local schools and youth organisations.    Catherine also mentors young local artists through the Desert Divas project, which led to the release of Central Australia’s first compilation album of Indigenous female artists, Desert Divas Volume 1, in October 2012.    We’re honoured to be working with Catherine on this year’s BIGSOUND program, to showcase First Nations talent and learn more about her own experiences within the Australian music community.