The biggest music industry gathering in the Southern Hemisphere returns to The Valley in September.
Gearing up to blow out 21 candles on its birthday cake, Brisbane’s annual music conference BIGSOUND is set to return to Fortitude Valley in September in what promises to be its biggest event to date with new additions to the festival and conference program.
Finally back to an in-person event, the first since 2019, BIGSOUND is now more important than ever. As the live music and events industry realises the current landscape, it’s time to reconnect with each other to navigate the post-pandemic future through live music, idea sharing, change-making conversations and the electric energy that BIGSOUND provides.
Keep up with the latest music news, festivals, interviews and reviews here.
Happening over three days, the festival program will feature more than 150 bands and artists totalling 300 performances across 21 venues while the conference side of the program will be the place to network and bring ideas to life with more than 55 sessions and more than 150 conference speakers plus 1,500-plus conference delegates attending.
“By the time we get to September, it will have been three years since we have had an in-person BIGSOUND. This year we’re going big with 150 artists across 21 venues. That’s 300 performances over three nights with our industry all in the same rooms again across Fortitude Valley,” says BIGSOUND Festival Co-Programmer Ruby-Jean McCabe.
“It’s been two years of artists sitting in their bedrooms, lounge rooms, hometowns. These are artists who may not have yet performed live but are ready to make their industry debut at BIGSOUND. We’ll also have export-ready favourites to rediscover who will finally be able to impress BIGSOUND’s international delegates and speakers and take their music overseas.”
Over the years, BIGSOUND has given some of the biggest names in Australian music their start, including A.B. Original, Ball Park Music, Courtney Barnett, DMA’s, Flume, Gang of Youths, The Jungle Giants, Miiesha, RÜFÜS DU SOL, Sampa the Great, Tkay Maidza, Tash Sultana, Thelma Plum, Vera Blue, Violent Soho, Ziggy Ramo and many more. And with that in mind, artist applications for BIGSOUND 2022 are now open here and will close on Friday, May 20.
View this post on Instagram
This September will see the addition of a new arm of the BIGSOUND family in the form of BIGSOUND Country. Australia has been identified as the world’s fastest-growing country music market, however, the conference and development side here at home still has plenty of room for expansion. BIGSOUND Country will fill this gap by creating artist and industry development opportunities whilst further growing the profile of Australian country music both here and overseas.
Developed in partnership with industry bodies including APRA AMCOS and The Country Music Association of Australia (CMAA), and supported by the Brisbane Economic Development Agency, BIGSOUND Country will be threaded throughout this year’s event, and will include a party, showcases, dedicated panels and a special show featuring some of Australia’s finest country music artists.
To that note, BIGSOUND 2022 is looking for Australia and New Zealand’s finest country music artists, in particular, those who may have felt in the past BIGSOUND wasn’t for them.
“Our feedback in the past has been that a large proportion of country music artists and industry haven’t felt that BIGSOUND serviced them. We want to change that. We want artists from every spectrum of country music; pop, alt-country, bluegrass, First Nations country artists. Everybody,” says QMusic CEO Kris Stewart.
BIGSOUND has always been a place of discovery for the music industry and music fans alike. This year will be no different, with the domestic and international industry there to discover and sign artists, form partnerships, catch up and celebrate the reopening and re-emergence of our music scene.
BIGSOUND 2022 is happening in Brisbane from Tuesday, September 6 to Friday, September 9. For more information or to apply for the artist showcase, visit the BIGSOUND website.
