When the promoters of UNIFY Gathering announced late last year the beloved music festival would be taking a year off, it left a hole in many heavy music fans’ calendar.
Since its inception after the collapse of Big Day Out and Soundwave in 2014, UNIFY Gathering has been an annual pilgrimage for many hardcore music fans.
Now, in lieu of the 2023 event, organisers Red Hill Entertainment have announced UNIFY Off The Record: a series of mini-festivals hitting five regional and metro areas throughout May and June.
Kicking off at Mackay’s Seabreeze Hotel in Queensland (on Yuwibara Country) Saturday, 20th May with headliners Thornhill and Void of Vision, the tour will head through Adelaide (Kaurna Country), Wollongong (on Dharawl Country), Hobart (nipaluna) and Frankston (on Bunurong Country) with varying lineups that include Northlane, In Hearts Wake, Alpha Wolf, Teenage Joans, Thy Art Is Murder, Make Them Suffer, Redhook, Ocean Grove, Yours Truly and more.
American deathcore band Fit For An Autopsy will also appear at two of the shows.
“When we made the decision to skip the 2023 gathering, we knew right away that we wanted to do something to fill the space left,” promoters said in a statement. “We’ve always been so grateful to all the people who make the annual pilgrimage to Gippsland from all over Australia, and sometimes the world. So this year we thought, why not take the show to the people and try to replicate the vibe, ethos and excitement of UNIFY on a different scale.”
It’s not the first time organisers have pivoted the event to suit the climate – in 2021 UNIFY Gathering presented an all-Australian lineup to avoid any potential travel restrictions on international artists.
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Prior to COVID, of course, the event was at the mercy of Australia’s devastating bushfires that were raging in the region.
In addition to the music, UNIFY Off The Record will also feature a 24Hundred pop-up merch store, artist signings and sessions about everything from making music to mental health.
“UNIFY is obviously a music festival, but it’s also always been an opportunity to bring our heavy music loving community together to share our experiences and learn,” organisers said. “We’re taking that ethos with us on the Off The Record road trip, working alongside APRA AMCOS and Support Act to host some real-talk sessions on everything from song writing to mental health, and providing exclusive insight into some of the Off The Record artists’s own stories.”
UNIFY Off The Record 2023
May 20th – Seabreeze, Mackay QLD
w/ Thornhill, Void Of Vision, Young Lions, Wildheart, Arcade Stories
May 26th – Hindley St Music Hall, Adelaide SA
w/ Teenage Joans, Thornhill, Ocean Grove, Yours Truly
The Beautiful Monument, Alt, The Last Martyr, Wildheart
May 27th – Uni Bar, Wollongong NSW
w/ Thy Art Is Murder, Make Them Suffer, Ocean Grove
Yours Truly, Fit For An Autopsy, Bloom
Banks Arcade, Reliqa, Alienist, Raised As Wolves
June 1th – Odeon Theatre, Hobart TAS
w/ Alpha Wolf, In Hearts Wake, Void Of Vision
Redhook, Offset Vision
June 2th – The Pier, Frankston VIC
w/ Northlane, In Hearts Wake, Make The Suffer
Redhook, Fit For An Autopsy, Ocean Sleeper
Mirrors, Chasing Ghosts, Banks Arcade, Future Static
Tickets on sale Wednesday March 22nd at 9am local time.
