Casey O'Shaughnessy & Katie Rynne Are The New Music Programmers At BIGSOUND

BIGSOUND has made two huge announcements today: 1. Artist applications for this year’s music performance and conference event are now open, and 2. Casey O'Shaughnessy and Katie Rynne are BIGSOUND’s new music programmers.

BIGSOUND will take place from Tuesday, 3 to Friday, 6 September, across spaces in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley.

O'Shaughnessy and Rynne bring a multitude of experience within the Australian music industry to BIGSOUND, with the former being one of the country’s most in-demand senior booking agents, thanks to her work at Select Music.

Meanwhile, the latter is a senior booking agent at Village Sounds, an agency part of the Secret Sounds group that oversees Australian music festivals, including Splendour In The Grass and Harvest Rock.

In her line of work, O'Shaughnessy has represented an abundance of Australian and New Zealand-based artists, including King Stingray, The Chats, The Beths, Amy Shark, The Veronicas, Stella Donnelly, and many more.

O'Shaughnessy, Rynne and QMusic and BIGSOUND CEO Kris Stewart have made statements about today’s two announcements.

Casey O'Shaughnessy said she’s “incredibly honoured” to be a part of the BIGSOUND team as music Co-Programmer alongside Rynne. Writing that BIGSOUND is a highlight every year, not just because of its networking platform but because artists get to take the stage and grow their names locally and internationally.

She continued, “Together with Katie and the wider team at BIGSOUND, I am eager to create unforgettable experiences and help artists build meaningful connections. With so many traditional routes for artists to break through falling away, it's more important than ever to ensure we create new pathways and reimagine how we can platform artists in the future.”

Rynne added that she’s “beyond excited to be working with Casey and the QMusic team”. Through her role as an agent, Rynne has experienced opportunities to “connect with great talent” and is “thrilled” to deliver “that same platform to the incredible artists we have across Australia.”

Mentioning that she’s a “proud Queenslander”, Rynne said, “I’d be reticent to not mention the role that the Brisbane music scene and Fortitude Valley venues played in my early years as a music lover also”. Her new role “means a great deal” on personal and professional levels, and she “can’t wait to get stuck into the submissions alongside my favourite person in the music industry.”

Kris Stewart began his statement by reminding punters that BIGSOUND is after “diverse acts of all genres, signed and unsigned, emerging and established” so that it can “create opportunities for artists.”

On the signings of O'Shaughnessy and Rynne, Stewart added, “We are thrilled to welcome Casey O'Shaughnessy and Katie Rynne to the team. The title of BIGSOUND Music Programmer requires a level of knowledge and connection to the Australian and global music industry uniquely found in their three decades of combined experience.

“They have helped forge the careers of an incredible number of artists and now step into the formidable task of scouring thousands of showcase applications to ultimately help shape the landscape of Australian music, both here and abroad.”

If you’re an artist interested in performing at BIGSOUND, submit your application here.