Celebrating live music in Geelong & the Bellarine, the festival will feature the likes of Crowded House, Paul Kelly, The Rubens, Human Nature and more.
The full 2022 Surround Sounds festival lineup has dropped featuring Australia’s biggest names and freshest faces in rock, pop, indie, doom, metal, jazz, classical, jazz and hip-hop in this genre-bending celebration of live music in Geelong and the Bellarine.
Announced late last year, the adventurous new music festival importantly celebrates Geelong and the Bellarine’s live contemporary music scene and cultural heritage, taking place from Thursday 7 April to Sunday 8 May across venues and cultural spaces in the region.
Featuring a massive line-up of musicians, this major event held over four weeks will see the likes of previously announced Aussie favourites Crowded House, music icon Paul Kelly, the world-renowned band The Rubens, country-music legends Kasey Chambers & Busby Marou, Geelong local and global rocker Adalita, indie favourites Children Collide, veteran rockers the Hard-Ons, and beloved vocal quartet Human Nature perform in some of the best-known venues throughout the region.
The key takeaways
- Surround Sounds Geelong & the Bellarine Music Festival drops full program.
- The festival will be held across three weeks in April and May, and feature the likes of Crowded House, Paul Kelly, The Rubens, Human Nature and more.
- Across a number of venues in the region, punters will find a number of ticketed and free events taking place.
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The jam-packed cross-cultural music program includes unique performances alongside these Australian music legends. Nina Ferro & her Jazz Ensemble performing the Songs of Ella Fitzgerald; an inspiring presentation from Music in Exile with performances from Ajak Kwai, Asecuma Beats and Gordon Koang and a Bonsai Records showcase featuring Bones & Jones, Fenn Wilson, Pollyman and Sirens.
There will also be album launches from Plaster of Paris, Baraka the Kid and legendary doom bands Dr Colossus and Oceanlord; a stunning First Nations celebration at Johnstone Park including Fred Leone, Bumpy, Deans of Soul and Loud & Deadly; Australia’s leading INXS tribute band INXSIVE and the Geelong Symphony Orchestra will perform Beethoven’s transcendent Pastorale: Symphony No.6.
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In a first for the region, the Melbourne Music Bus Tours will rebrand itself for Geelong as part of the festival to provide immersive local tours of musical hotspots, hosted by Adalita ( founding member of Geelong’s greatest musical export, Magic Dirt) and Mick Thomas (Weddings, Parties, Anything). These local legends will lead busloads of music fans around the region in the Geelong Music Bus Tours, exploring the city’s famous music venues, laneways, recording studios, rehearsal spaces, artists’ homes and important Indigenous music spots.
“Geelong is a part of my musical beating heart. This is where I started as a musician, from the grungy corners and sticky carpet venues in the nineties, through to its glorious fresh sounding halls and studios, this is one of the most important centres of Australian music,” Adalita says.
“So much music was formed here, and Geelong has a musical culture that covers many genres from rock to jazz, punk to classical. So excited to be part of Surround Sounds which brings all this musical culture and history together. Rock on, Geelong!’’
The vast music landscape of Geelong and the Bellarine will be explored across a curated series of deep-dive conversations with musicians including Eliza Hull in a special showcase of deaf and disabled artists, cross-artform installations, and live projections. Weaving together languages from three continents; Wadawurrung, Mi’gmag and English, Ngubitj, Samgooan, Water – Songs, Stories and Connection will take the form of a visual projection and soundscape which will be projected on the Geelong City Hall.
Live music venues across the municipality will be celebrated with performances at Analogue Academy; All Saints Anglican Church; Barwon Club Hotel; Captain Bar; City Hall; Creative Geelong; The Door Gallery & Café; Gateway Hotel; Geelong Arts Centre – Costa Hall; Geelong West Town Hall; The Heights Heritage House; Hue & Cry; ; Lt Malop Street Precinct; The Mill at Portarlington; Mt Duneed Estate; Narana Aboriginal Cultural Centre; Ocean Grove Pavilion; Oxygen Music College; The Palais Geelong; Piano Bar; The Pier; Platform Arts; the Potato Shed; Provenance Wines; and St Mary’s Basilica, injecting life back into these iconic spaces.
Across these venues, punters will find a number of ticketed and free events taking place.
City of Greater Geelong Councillor Eddy Kontelj, chair of the Arts, Live Entertainment and Hospitality portfolio, said the festival sent the message that live music is back and thriving.
“After an incredibly tough few years for the industry, Surround Sounds is assisting with the rebirth of live music in our region by providing certainty,” Cr Kontelj said.
“Our hospitality, tourism and accommodation businesses will receive a real boost during this time and we have plans for the festival to grow in size and scope in coming years.”
Surround Sounds will honour the region’s proud heritage and celebrate the region’s rich and distinctive music, community, places and spaces that make up the City of Greater Geelong & the Bellarine.
Surround Sounds Geelong and the Bellarine is supported by the Victorian Government through Creative Victoria. For further information, full program and ticket information visit www.surroundsoundsgeelong.com.au
