Winemakers Want You to Skip the Pre-Drinks and See the Supports For Once

Sydney vino makers and switched on marketers Cake Wines have always been pretty savvy when it comes to marketing activations — from label art comps to pop-up bars at All of the Creative Launches Around Town. But their latest brims with pure love for the little guy - the support band. In a new Australia-wide campaign dubbed 'Support the Support', the Redfern-based crew are rewarding the punters who turn up early and check out the support band instead of wasting the time pre-drinking at a mate's.

"By heading to gigs earlier in the night and checking out the support act, no matter what happens...everyone wins," says Cake. "The artist plays to a crowd, you'll be supporting the venues that showcase music, the more people in the venue the better the vibe, and maybe, just maybe, that little support act no one’s heard of yet, could well be the next Radiohead or James Blake or Fugazi or Arcade Fire...and you saw them first."

Support the Support runs through May across 35 music venues in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. Early birds turn up to check out the support, post a sweet, sweet filtered pro shot to Instagram with the hashtag #cakewines, show the bartenders and you'll get a free wine. FREE (ACTUALLY GOOD) VINO. Egads.

The actual support bands get some love too, gig listed and given a shout out in the Support the Support calendar and given bespoke posters of their band to help bring in more of a crowd than their obligated high school chums.

Fashionably late ain't so any more. You can support the support here:

SYDNEY

Good God Small Club, Oxford Art Factory, The Green Room, 505, Civic Hotel, 616 Foundary, Beach Rd Hotel, Spice Cellar.

MELBOURNE

Howler, The Toff, Revolver, The Retreat, Bennetts Lane, Wesley Anne, The Post Office Hotel, The Old Bar, The Evelyn, New Guernica

BRISBANE

Dowse Bar, Black Bear Lodge.