Red Bull's Artist Development Program Sound Select Has Launched in Australia
With a program of monthly Sydney gigs curated by the legends from I OH YOU and Laneway.
What's that you can hear? It's the sound of Aussie music fans cheering at their computer screens, because Red Bull Sound Select has finally made it to Australia. Having already taken the US by storm, the artist development program designed to unearth and support new local talent launches in Sydney today, Tuesday, April 12. And it's perhaps the best response to the lockouts yet.
Since its start in the States in 2012, Red Bull Sound Select has spread to Canada, New Zealand and now (finally) Australia. Along with their streaming site — where you can discover new songs and artists — the team throws gigs each month, working with the likes of Santa Monica's KCRW, San Francisco's Amoeba Music and NYC's BrooklynVegan to curate kickass, ahead-of-the-curve shows. It's all designed to make discovering new local music easy and affordable.
Sydney has been chosen for the Australian launch of Sound Select, which will see a program of monthly gigs curated by massive local legends Johann Ponniah from I OH YOU and Laneway Festival's Travis Banko. Each show will take place on the last Friday of the month and feature a lineup of three acts, starting with two Red Bull Sound Select emerging artists — handpicked by Ponniah or Banko — and finishing up with one Aussie headliner.
The first show will kick off this month on Friday, April 29 at the Chippendale Hotel. Presented by I OH YOU, Perth's Methyl Ethel will headline, with Melbourne up-and-comers Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever and Sydney's own Flowertruck opening, as well as surprise acts too.
"As fans of what the program has been achieving internationally, we're incredibly excited to be a part of bringing [Red Bull Sound Select] to Australian shores," said I OH YOU's Johann Ponniah. "Just hoping we can keep pushing the envelope like other curators have been internationally and program some of the best up and coming talent that Australia has to offer."
To attend the inaugural Sound Select Sydney show, just RSVP on their website. It costs $3 online or $10 on the door — but if you're buying one on the day, be sure to arrive early as the event will be capped. We couldn't be more psyched to see Australian artists get the recognition (and the opportunities) they deserve from such first rate international players.
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