Underage music fans have always been dealt the dud end of the rock ‘n’ roll stick. While Australia has seen a huge surge of both local and international artist graces stages all over the country, there are very few opportunities for those under the age of 18 to enjoy Australia’s recent good fortune.
Soundwave recently announced a 15+ age limit for the Sydney Festival.While no further explanation for the new age restriction is given, Soundwave Festival boss and serial tweeter AJ Maddah has told fans that the new age restrictions applies only to Sydney, and more to do with the policies of Olympic Park, indicating that “the venue has changed its licensing rules.”
Victoria has also come under scrutiny for its lack of underage and all ages shows with .Rae Harvey of Crucial Music, recently saying, “It’s a ridiculous situation,” Harvey told Inpress. “It’s such a shame Victoria has become such a nanny state and it’s leading more of today’s teenagers to stay indoors listening to music on their computers instead. I can’t think of one fight or incident that occurred during those all-ages events, by the way.”
Now it seems things are looking up for those who are not yet 18 with the announcement of two new underage music festivals, one in Sydney and one in Brisbane.
In Victoria, the state government handed $2.4 million to youth music program FReeZA used to fund live music events and underage concerts across the state throughout 2013.
The Sunshine State will see Live It Up festival, taking place for the very first time this year. The Amity Affliction, Getaway Plan, and Pez Lead are set to play at the under 18 show.
The festival’s website indicates that entry to the one-day festival will be restricted to those 17 and under.
Sydney’s latest U18 offering comes in the form of Good Life festival, which has already been taking place in Melbourne for a number of years.
The dance-centric music festival is the little, underage sister festival of Future Music Fest, which is restricted to those above legal drinking age.
Promoters decided to stage a Sydney show after discovering more than 500 teens from NSW travelled south for last year’s event, which showcased some of the leading electronic dance music artists and DJs in the world including Skrillex reports news.com.au.
We recently announced the first line-up which will se Steve Aoki, PSY, Dizzee Rascal and more play for the U18 crowd.
While the full lineup is get to be announced, AVICII has been announced as headliner with further details of the festival available here.
