Surround Sounds is bringing Australia’s biggest names and indie heroes to the region.
Fresh to the music scene this year, Surround Sounds – Geelong & the Bellarine Music Festival is the adventurous new music festival that promises to strike a major note on the region’s annual cultural calendar.
Debuting across four weeks in April and May this year, the festival will take to stages across the city, coast and country of Geelong and the Bellarine, with a program bursting with international and local favourites.
Stay up to date with what’s happening in and around the region here.
With the brand-new festival just around the corner – Thursday, April 7, to be precise – and in anticipation of the month-long celebration, we’ve collated a huge guide to help you navigate the mammoth offering at Surround Sounds 2022.
Must-See Ticketed Events
Hard-Ons
One of Australia’s most loved and influential bands from the mid- ‘80s through to now, The Hard-Ons came out of the multicultural South-West Sydney suburb Punchbowl and scored a never-bettered 17 consecutive number one hits on the Australian independent charts. The band undertook their 19th European tour in 2018, including a set at Hellfest alongside Judas Priest, Iron Maiden and Joan Jett. Soon to celebrate 40 years together, their new album with their new member You Am I’s Tim Rogers is their 13th.
Following the release of ‘I’m Sorry Sir, That Riff’s Been Taken’, the new Hard-Ons line-up is heading to Geelong, taking to The Barwon Club on Thursday, April 7. ‘I’m Sorry Sir, That Riff’s Been Taken’ is a stunning release that further reveals the Hard-Ons’ musicality and will surprise anyone who sees them as just a thrashy punk band. But it doesn’t won’t give fans anything to complain about, and nor will the new line-up’s live shows; the magic in this union comes in part at least from the fact that Tim Rogers is one of those fans himself.
The Rubens
Lively Presents is putting on a Sunday sunset session of iconic proportions with Sydney pop-rock collective The Rubens who will be taking to The Pier in Geelong on April 10. As part of the world-renowned band’s ‘Waste A Day’ headline tour, you’ll be able to bask in the sun setting while you’re sporting a delicious drink and watching none other than The Rubens behind one of the most beautiful backdrops you can find in Geelong.
The band will be celebrating the release of new music and the 10-year-anniversary of their self-titled debut album so you can bet this event will be one to remember.
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Her Story, Through Her Song
Taking to the Potato Shed on Sunday, April 10 is Her Story, Through Her Song, a new and exciting first-time event for Geelong showcasing six women from the music industry, all with strong connections to the Greater Geelong region.
Featuring Carly Jorja, Rach Brennan, Annie-Rose Maloney, Andrea Robertson, Sarah Carroll and Sweet Felicia, this monumental event is about bringing together women as they share their story as musicians, singers and song-writers through conversation and song, giving insight to a career as a woman in music from various age perspectives and stages of their journey.
Dr Colossus Album Launch
If you’ve missed getting messy in a mosh at the BC, this is an event for you. Simpsons themed metal titans Dr Colossus return to Planet Earth in the wake of their new record: I’m A Stupid Moron With an Ugly Face and a Big Butt and My Butt Smells and I Like to Kiss My Own Butt. Yes, really.
Taking to the Barwon Club Hotel on Thursday, April 14, this doom metal act will deliver a lavish live show, with nods to a Stonecutters gathering soundtracked by Dr Colossus’ signature doom-rock sound and Springfield-centric lyrical content. Known across the country and feared throughout the universe, Dr Colossus’ new material maximises their heaviness, catchiness and frivolity with a giant yellow four-fingered punch to the face!
Music in Exile
On Friday April 15, the newly-restored Palais will come alive with a night of music that celebrates the true face of what it looks like to be a ‘Australian’.
Not-for-profit record label and artist services organisation Music in Exile is hosting a live event featuring legendary performers including Gordon Koang, Ajak Kwai, Ausecuma Beats and Chikchika who will raise the roof with their electric live performances for one night only.
With an aim of increasing access to resources and building professional networks for artists from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds working in the music industry, Music in Exile’s live event will be one to get around and support this April.
Crowded House
Award-winning icons Crowded House added a bunch of additional dates and locations for their Australian Dreamers Are Waiting Tour, which included an a day on the green date at Mt Duneed Estate, Geelong, on Saturday 23 April in what will be the band’s first visit to Australia in 12 years.
Performing legendary anthems from the band’s 35-year career, along with fresh new music, the band – comprising founding members Neil Finn and Nick Seymour alongside producer and keyboardist Mitchell Froom, guitarist and singer Liam Finn and his younger brother, drummer Elroy Finn – will be joined in Geelong by Angus & Julia Stone and folk-rockers The Waifs.
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Adalita
A Geelong icon! As an angst-ridden young girl who taught herself to play the guitar, Adalita burst on to the scene with a few boys from G-town in Magic Dirt – drummer Adam Robertson, the late bassist Dean Turner and the band’s first guitarist Daniel Herring – becoming one of the most successful indie rock bands to come out of Geelong during the ’90s. Cutting their teeth at the good ol’ Barwon Club, it was Adalita’s intense onstage presence — her striking appearance, ferocious voice and feisty persona — that was a key part of the band’s success.
Now Adalita returns to the Barwon Club as part of the festival on Friday, April 29 for what promises to be a huge rock show from the Geelong star.
Baraka the Kid
Baraka the Kid is an upcoming pop, hip-hop, afropop and R&B artist based in Geelong who will deliver a brilliant performance at Platform Arts on Friday, May 6.
Following the release of his debut studio album Reveuse Dreamer in 2019 through his label Black Viper Records, Baraka the Kid has consistently continued to release more music throughout the pandemic, including 2020 singles Netflix, You, Outside, Twenty1, It’s Been A Long Journey and Better life in 2021.
Baraka the Kid returns this year with EP The Big Picture, detailing stories of his life, which he will be premiering at Platform Arts as part of Surround Sounds. The EP launch will see Baraka the Kid playing the EP in full, as accompanied by special guests in a one-night performance.
Kasey Chambers & Busby Marou
The final day of the Surround Sounds festival will be one to remembers with a performance from country-music legends Kasey Chambers & Busby Marou.
Gracing the stage with their stunning mateship at Costa Hall on Sunday, May 8, Kasey, Tom Busby and Jeremy Marou will bring their jam sessions to life onstage for the ultimate singalong. Across the evening, each artist will perform their own setlist of their most popular songs from down through the years before joining together for a truly mesmerising finale that showcases their musical connection and friendship like no other.
It’s hard to think of two artists who have integrated themselves into the hearts and minds of the Australian music-loving public more than Kasey Chambers and Busby Marou, ensuring this a show not to be missed.
Other acts worth adding to your calendar include music icon Paul Kelly at Costa Hall on Wednesday, April 20; indie favourites Children Collide on Friday, April 15; beloved vocal quartet Human Nature on Saturday, April 30; The Monaros on Saturday, April 9; and a Bonsai Records showcase featuring Bones & Jones, Fenn Wilson, Pollyman and Sirens on Friday, May 6. That’s barely scraping the surface though so make sure you check out the program so you don’t miss out.
Must-See Free Events
Ocean Grove Acoustic Festival
In awesome news for the Bellarine Peninsula, Ocean Grove is set to become a music hub this April, with this brand-new free Ocean Grove Acoustic Festival – Australia’s first acoustic music festival.
The all-new one-day festival will be taking over Ocean Grove’s The Pavilion and its big surf backdrop on Saturday, April 9, bringing together the remarkable acoustic talent from across the region including Famous Will Band, Isabella Khalife, Peter Paul and Marion, and fellow strummers Finnigan August, The Fillmores and Von Robertsons.
This stellar cast of our region’s most loved players will prove how versatile the acoustic guitar can be. The festival kicks off from 4pm, so grab a rug and pack a picnic and be sure to head down early for a prime spot on the grass.
Billabong Sounds
Billabong Songs takes place in the bowl of a once water-filled Billabong, bringing First Nations song, dance and ceremony back to its origin featuring back to back performances from an all First Nations line-up.
On Sunday, April 10, BUMPY, Fred Leone, Deans of Soul and Loud n Deady will perform in Johnstons park, delivering a three-hour jam-packed afternoon of First Nations music, culture and yarns in what will be a highlight of the 2022 Surround Sounds Festival.
Pack the snacks, spread out the rug and nestle in with your friends and family as you’re treated to modern and traditional performances from the oldest living culture in the world.
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Ngubitj, Samgooan, Water – Songs, Stories & Connection Projection
Running from Friday, April 8 until Sunday, April 17, Ngubitj, Samgooan, Water – Songs, Stories and Connection is a multidisciplinary celebration of what connects us: water, song, and language.
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 activate the centre of Djilang (Geelong).
Projected on the Geelong City Hall, this project will facilitate a space where the public can learn from the Traditional Owners of the region; the Wadawurrung people, travel across oceans to engage with the Elsipogtog, Mi’gmag community (Canadian Indigenous Community) and engage with questions of our collective pasts and futures.
Whether you’ve just had dinner in the CBD or you’re passing through, these projections will be an outstanding display.
Unsettled at The Mill Portarlington – Fri 22 and Sat 23 April
Taking place at the Portarlington Mill on Friday, April 22 and Saturday, April 23, the project Un-Settled seeks to explore the stories of the land and people of the land, referencing stories and practices of first nations people, agriculture, and changes occurring with the advance of suburbia.
This art project tells small stories of the land and of people of the land and tells them in unexpected ways, illuminating these stories for all to see and hear. The stories include indigenous stories and stories of pastoralists.
Un-Settled brings together elders, researchers, storytellers, film-makers, oral historians, installation artists, musicians, and farmers. The identified stories are told through various forms; light installation, oral recordings, music, moving image/media and storytelling, providing something for everyone.
With plenty of outdoor space on-site you can also enjoy some local produce from the Bellarine while you explore. And the best part is this event suitable is for all ages.
Uncover
A true highlight will be Friday, April 22 from 5:30pm at Geelong Library and Heritage Centre in what promises to be an enlightening discussion of the key disparities in industry access for disabled musicians, interspersed with live musical performances.
Uncover is an event showcasing three disabled musicians performing together one by one, with Eliza Hull leading the performance. Eliza is a musical artist and disability advocate and recently performed on ABC’s Q+A. Fresh from SXSW in Austin, Texas, Eliza will perform and share her experiences at this unique event.
Each artist will join her to discuss the barriers that they face in the music industry, the ways venues, labels and festivals can improve accessibility and representation for disabled artists and audiences, and what COVID has taught us in how we can make our online content more accessible for everyone.
This event will be Auslan interpreted.
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Oxygen College Presents “A conversation with”
As part of the festival, the well-loved music learning institution Oxygen College will be hosting two events over two weeks.
Taking place inside Oxygen College’s live space auditorium, nights will consist of a conversation with the artists, along with having them play songs throughout the evening. Offering a totally different take, in an intimate setting, with some of Australia’s best musicians, the series will feature blues Icon and guitar virtuoso Lloyd Spiegel and Melbourn’s own pop rocker Ali Barter.
This is a free event, however, guests must register their attendance.
Geelong Music Bus Tours
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 musicologist Bruce Milne, a lifetime resident of Victoria who has been involved with Triple R since its fledgling years, founded the iconic independent record store and label Au-go-go Records (who signed Magic Dirt in 1994), managed artists, worked at EMI in A&R and now co-owns Greville Records.
Delivering a 90-minute tour of Geelong’s rock ‘n’ roll history, Milne 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, important Indigenous music spots and places which have inspired teenagers to form a band.
Each bus tour will feature a very special guest who grew up in Geelong to share their personal stories on the bus, including Mick Thomas on April 23 Mick Thomas (Weddings Parties Anything), Adalita on April 30 and May 7 with Billy Gardener (Anti-fade Records) along with Maree Robertson who recently published the 678 page “This Was Geelong” book celebrating the legacy surrounding the late Dave Thomas from Bored!
This is a ticketed event and various dates are available to book.
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So where is all this happening?
Debuting from April 7 until May 8 this year, the festival will take to stages across the city, coast and country of Geelong and the Bellarine, promoting our beautiful and thriving region as a place where music is celebrated, supported and happening, putting a spotlight on the music, the people, the places and the spaces of the City of Greater Geelong and the Bellarine.
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.
Check the program for where specific performances and events will be taking place each day.
Ready to go? Head to Surround Sounds Geelong website for the full program and to purchase tickets.
Surround Sounds Geelong and the Bellarine Music Festival is supported by the Victorian Government through Creative Victoria.
