BIGSOUND Artist Applications Extended As Country Ambassador Announced

Fuelled by an overwhelming response to artist applications, BIGSOUND have extended the submission deadline to Wednesday 25 May, offering plenty of time to finish those half-completed forms. The southern hemisphere’s biggest celebration of new music, BIGSOUND is encouraging musicians from all creative corners to apply as the conference expands with the addition of BIGSOUND Country.

BIGSOUND Country have also announced Golden Guitar, ARIA and AIR Award winning artist, Fanny Lumsden as their official ambassador. Having had an incredibly busy couple of years with recent album Fallow, her record label Red Dirt Road and her own touring brand, The Country Halls Tour which sold out 200+ halls across Australia, Lumsden is at the heart of Australia’s country music scene and is the perfect ambassador for this new arm to BIGSOUND. She will join a Country Music Taskforce made up of figures from industry-leading festivals, presenters, streaming services and artist managers as BIGSOUND taps into a wider audience and a new wave of talent.

Lumsden said, “It’s so exciting not only be bringing the Country music community and industry together but is also an opportunity to mix with such a rich and diverse offering of artists from different genres and walks of life. I’m so excited to be the ambassador for this inaugural event and can’t wait to get amongst it in the heart of Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley to help showcase how incredible Australian country is and what it has to offer as another vital part of the greater Australian music industry. BIGSOUND is known for being a melting pot of fans and musicians, and I think bringing Australian country to it only will make it a richer experience for all.”

Developed in partnership with industry bodies including APRA AMCOS and The Country Music Association of Australia (CMAA), and supported by the Brisbane Economic Development Agency, BIGSOUND Country will be threaded throughout this year’s event.

Recently named the fastest-growing country market in the world, Australia’s country music development has remained untapped. As a new generation of artists and industry emerge from the pandemic blues, BIGSOUND is bringing all genres together, creating an inclusive creative environment.

QMusic CEO Kris Stewart said, “Our feedback in the past has been that a large proportion of country music artists and industry haven’t felt that BIGSOUND serviced them. We want to change that. We want artists from every spectrum of country music; pop, alt-country, bluegrass, First Nations country artists. Everybody!”

Offering up plenty of networking, conferences, showcases and more, BIGSOUND Country bridges the gap between emerging industry and the forces of the country music industry both here and overseas. Creating a space to reconnect and navigate the music industry through a post-pandemic lens, BIGSOUND is back in full form filling Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley with its electric energy this September.

Artist applications extended and now closes on Wednesday, May 25
 BIGSOUND 2022 | 6-9 September | APPLY NOW - bigsound.org.au