The Power 50: Ben Turnbull

Ben Turnbull got his start in music by hosting club nights Bang, Next and Plastic, which he started to fund his science degree. In 2005, Turnbull started Staple Group with Jaddan Comerford. Comerford departed Staple Group in 2011 to found UNIFIED, with Turnbull taking over as sole Director. 

With so many different ventures forming Staple Group, there was no way Ben Turnbull wasn’t having a big 2019. 

There was the return of Good Things Festival, which celebrated its second year with a huge line-up - Parkway Drive, A Day To Remember, Violent Soho, Simple Plan, Bad Religion, Trivium and more - across packed Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane events throughout December. 

Destroy All Lines - Staple Group’s touring/events arm - expanded their promoter team with the addition of Andrew Perumalla, who has previously worked with the likes of Fall Out Boy, Panic! At The Disco, Kesha and more, while Greyscale Records put out one of the most acclaimed heavy albums of 2019 with The Beautiful Monument’s I’m The Reaper. 

Staple Group venues had a big year too, Blute’s Bar in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley and Stay Gold in Melbourne’s Brunswick both enjoying their second year in business. It was announced in late December that Staple Group venue The Brightside - also located in Fortitude Valley - would become the new home for Crowbar Brisbane, signifying the merger between two of the Valley’s most-loved venues. The outdoor stage has now been rebranded as The Brightside, while the venue takes on the Crowbar Brisbane name.

"My wife and I welcoming a new baby daughter into our family, and only a week later witnessing Parkway Drive, an incredible Australian act, headline our second and very successful Good Things festival."