Overview
For one week each September, Brisbane becomes Australia's live music capital — even if a Melbourne survey generally claims otherwise. When BIGSOUND hits the city, it seems like every venue in Fortitude Valley is packed to the rafters with bands, industry folks and music-loving punters, all enjoying the latest and greatest the country's music scene has to offer. And given this year's newly announced lineup, expect that to be the case once again.
Unveiling its first 76 acts for 2019, BIGSOUND will play host to a stacked pack of musos, spanning everything from pop, electronic, rock and rap to metal, hip hop and folk. Topping the bill so far is the likes of Bad//Dreems, Electric Fields, SCABZ, Outright, Milan Ring, LOSER, Tones & I and Tasman Keith, plus yergurl, EGOISM, Stevan, Laura Imbruglia and Concrete Surfers. Yes, the list goes on.
A swag of other acts, reaching more than 150 in total, will be announced closer to the event. That said, the current lineup joins a host of previously revealed speakers — including keynote speaker Terry McBride, CEO and co-founder of Nettwerk Music Group, which includes Canada's largest independent record label, artist management and music publishing company; and British TV and radio presenter Abbie McCarthy, from BBC Music Introducing, Radio 1 & 4 Music, and Good Karma Club.
I Know Leopard at BIGSOUND 2018. Image: Bianca Holderness.
Previous BIGSOUNDs have showcased everyone from Gang of Youths, Flume, Tash Sultana and Courtney Barnett to San Cisco, Violent Soho, Methyl Ethel and The Jungle Giants, so its program is usually a very reliable bellwether of current and up-and-coming talent.
Even better — the festival's four-night $85 (plus booking fee) Rainbow Pass nabs you access to 270 music showcases at 18 venues. And, they're all held within three blocks of each other.
Here's the full lineup of music acts so far:
100
3K
Ainsley Farrell
Alana Jagt
Approachable Members Of Your Local Community
Aquila Young
Bad//Dreems
Being Jane Lane
Black Rock Band
Bobby Alu
Butter
Butternut Sweetheart
Chakra Efendi
City Rose
Concrete Surfers
Deline Briscoe
DREGG
DRMNGNOW
Dulcie
EGOISM
Electric Fields
Fan Girl
First Beige
Fletcher Gull
Flossy
FRITZ
Future Haunts
Gordon Koang
Hannah Blackburn
Hemm
Hope D
Johnny Hunter
Kat Edwards
Kobie Dee
Kymie
Laura Imbruglia
LOSER
Louis Baker
Love Deluxe
Lucy Peach
Mambali
Marco
Mariam Sawires
Mermaidens
Mickey Kojak
micra
MID CITY
Miiesha
Milan Ring
Nerve
Outright
PINCH POINTS
P-UniQue
Raj Mahal
Rebecca Hatch
Reija Lee
Reliqa
RINI
Royal And The Southern Echo
Ruby Gilbert
Ryan Fennis
SCABZ
Shady Nasty
Spacey Jane
Stellie
Stevan
Sycco
Tasman Keith
Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers
THE DEAD LOVE
The Money War
Temgazi
Tones And I
Wolfjay
yergurl
ZĀN
BIGSOUND 2019 runs from September 3–6 at various venues around Fortitude Valley, Brisbane. For further details or to buy tickets from 9am on Monday, June 27, visit bigsound.org.au.
To discover what to do, see, eat and drink while visiting Brissie for the annual event, check out our weekender's guide to Brisbane during BIGSOUND.
Image: Bianca Holderness.