Regional parts of Australia have been getting a lot of love from music festival organisers in the last 6 months, and now, following on from new events popping up in NSW and Victoria, now its Queensland’s turn, with a new festival set to take place off of the central coast.
As the Whitsunday Times reports, a brand new, three-day music festival with more than 60 acts on its bill is being plotted to debut this November 8th – 10th at Airlie Beach, on the northern bite of the Whitsunday Islands.
Organisers have reportedly been in contact with the likes of Hoodoo Gurus, Mental As Anything, Kasey Chambers, Jame Reyne, Brian Cadd, and Phil Emmanuel with interest on putting them on the lineup for the new Airlie Beach Festival.
Steve McDonald, of the Airlie Beach Music Centre and a member of the Reef Festival committee, has been appointed as operations manager and told press he expected many of those big names to officially join the event within the next month.
McDonald also confirmed that the festival would make use of multiple venues in the local area for performances throughout the day and night, with headline acts performing on a main stage, to be constructed near the Whitsunday Sailing Club, during the evenings. Tickets to the event will allow festival-goers access to enter all live shows across the festival, acting as a “passport” for events over the course of the over the three days.
Mr McDonald noted that the festival would add significantly to the Airlie Beach event calendar and would the festival would compliment other events planned throughout the year.Organisers have reportedly been in contact with the likes of Hoodoo Gurus, Mental As Anything, Kasey Chambers, Jame Reyne, Brian Cadd, and Phil Emmanuel.
Local musician and committee member, Kieran McCarthy, also applauded the new event – at which he’ll also be performing – saying that they’d already received strong support from most venues in Airlie thanks to the town’s healthy live music tradition.
The festival would also provide an economic boost from tourism, said Mr McCarthy, and would act as an excellent chance to showcase to the soon-to-be completed upgrades to the Airlie main street.
It’s the latest of a string of new musical festivals that have been emerging in regional Australia in recent months. The New South Wales city of Port Macquarie took their love for the Fab Four to a whole new level, with the Beatlemania Festival, news of the inaugural Ballarat Beat Rockabilly Festival, which is a mix of music, fashion shows, and a chance to show off vintage cars down the main street.
Elsewhere, Denilquin in NSW is getting the brand new Deni Blues & Roots Festival this March, courtesy of Chugg Entertainment, with Santana and Steve Miller Band topping the bill; and Grinspoon, Birds of Tokyo, Regurgitator and more are set to rock a new music festival at Queensland’s famous tourist attraction, The Big Pineapple.
Then there’s the seaside town of Warrnambool, whose community organisers have sought consultation from a former organiser for the Tamworth Country Music Festival to aid in putting together a new annual music festival; while Geelong Mayor Keith Fagg is seeking support in eyeing a similar annual event in his prefecture, which would do wonders for Geelong’s burgeoning music scene.
Airlie Beach Music Festival Dates & Tickets
Airlie Beach, Whitsunday Islands
Friday 8th – Sunday 10th November, 2013
Full lineup coming soon, Tickets will be available from March 1st.
