Preview: BIGSOUND 2017
Americans have SXSW. Brits have The Great Escape. The Irish have Hard Working Class Heroes. If you’re Australian and you fancy yourself having some idea of what is going on in new music in Oz, BIGSOUND in Brisbane is undoubtedly the top music discovery event on your calendar. The 16th annual edition of the conference and festival will be taking place over 4 days in September in Fortitude Valley, the Brisbane suburb known as the hub of nightlife in the city. Recall, too, that September in Australia – in the Southern Hemisphere, down under, natch) is springtime, so the weather’s likely to be absolutely brilliant, eh?
A plethora of both artists and conference alike have already been announced nearly 2 months ahead of the September. On the band front, there’s definitely some names you’ll recognise, including surf slackers Hockey Dad, past SXSW showcasing bands Mansionair and The Creases, plus the recently Stereogum-tipped Sloan Peterson, all Australian. There’s so many names I haven’t heard of being living outside of the country, but I look forward to cueing up all the names on various streaming services in the coming weeks ahead of the big event, then seeing if they’re the real deal on the ground and in the clubs in Fortitude Valley. Check out the growing list of artists scheduled to perform at BIGSOUND 2017 on this page.
It’s important to note that while this is of course an Australian event, there will be plenty of representatives from outside of Oz to provide amazing presentations and mentoring opportunities. PIAS cofounder Kenny Gates, storied UK music manager and author Simon Napier-Bell and Sub Pop A&R Stuart Meyer are just three names who will be making the trip out to BIGSOUND, and they’re just the tip of the iceberg. Check out the growing list of luminaries through here.
BIGSOUND 2017 will take place 5-8 September in Fortitude Valley, Brisbane. It’s merely AU$85 for a Rainbow Pass that gives you access to all 4 days of the festival and the closing party. One night passes are still available for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights for AU$45 each. For those who want even more access, including to the conference sessions, be quick, because there’s a special promotion for the Purple Pass going on until 31 July. Members of certain Aussie professional groups (QMusic, AIR, AAM, IMNZ, WAM, Music Victoria, Music NT, Music Tasmania, Music Australia, AMPAL, AIM, WIN, A2IM, CBAA) can snag a pass for AU$470 (regular price AU$570), while nonmembers can get the same pass for AU$570 (regular price AU$670). Get your pass from the official BIGSOUND Web site now.
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