Australian Music Week Unveils First-round Artist Line-up & New Speakers

3 August 2016 | 12:38 pm | Staff Writer

The yearly industry conference returns to Cronulla Beach in November

Cronulla Beach's Australian Music Week 2016 conference and showcase is taking shape following the announcement of this year's first batch of musical artists as well as the second crop of industry speakers set to take the stage this November.

Encompassing a broad spectrum of emergent and established musicians, AMW will welcome the likes of Mat McHugh (of The Beautiful Girls), Catherine BrittLepers & CrooksWilliam CrightonDemi LouiseElla Fence, TenderfootLittle GeorgiaI Am Apollo and many more to perform for its punters, speakers and delegates over the event's duration from 2-4 November.

Speaking of speakers, the event's organisers have freshly unveiled a second crop of industry personalities set to contribute to this year's array of panels by joining previously announced figureheads such as Diesel (aka Mark Lizotte), Bluesfest founder Peter Noble, John Wardle and Damian Cunningham of the Live Music Office, and several others. Among the second charge of speakers are identities such as Spunk Records' Aaron Curnow, Woodford Festival's Chloe GoodyearDave Wilkins of Sydney Blues & Roots Festival, Graham Ashton of Footstomp Music, Sounds Australia legend Millie Millgate, freshly minted owner of Brisbane venue The Zoo Pixie Weyland and many more, setting up this year's AMW as a certified force to be reckoned with in terms of the diversity of viewpoints and topics being canvassed over the course of the conference.

The new additions bring the total list of delegates and speakers up to 70, with further announcements due in the near future. Excitingly, this year's AMW marks the commencement of new partnerships with both Canadian Music Week and stalwart festival venue Dashville, further padding out network links for organisations such as the East Coast Music Association (ECMA), Canadian Independent Music Association (CIMA) and BreakOut West. Representatives from these bodies at AMW will be keeping an eye out for Aussie talent to take with them to a series of international (and local) events including Showcase Scotland, Canadian Music Week, ECMA, Dashville Presents and more.

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Tickets for this year's Australian Music Week showcase and panel events are available now via Oztix.

If you'd like to perform at Australian Music Week, applications for artists are still open until Friday 19 August — head to AMW's website for more information.

Australian Music Week
— Artist Line-up

  • Allan Smithy
  • Bearfoot
  • Catherine Britt
  • Colin Jones & The Delta Revue
  • Demi Louise
  • Dog The Duke
  • Ella Fence
  • Fripps & Fripps
  • Hayley Couper
  • Hedge Fund
  • Hollow Coves
  • I Am Apollo
  • James Thomson & The Strange Pilgrims
  • Lachlan Bryan & The Wildes
  • Lepers & Crooks
  • Letters To Lions
  • Little Georgia
  • Luke O'Shea
  • Mat McHugh (The Beautiful Girls)
  • Matt Stillert
  • MVRKS
  • Tay Oskee
  • Tenderfoot
  • The Moving Stills
  • William Crighton

Australian Music Week
— Second Speakers' Announcemnet

  • Aaron Curnow (Spunk)
  • Chloe Goodyear (Woodford Festival)
  • Clayton Ries (Amplify Sydney)
  • Clive Hodson (Perfect Pitch Publishing)
  • Daniel Shine (Empty Suitcase)
  • Darren Barkas (Sydney Posters)
  • Dave Wilkins (Sydney Blues & Roots Festival)
  • David Bruce (AMNplify)
  • Glenn Dickie (Sounds Australia)
  • Graham Ashton (Footstomp Music)
  • James Beverley (Rhythms)
  • John Hardaker (The Orange Press)
  • Jordan Verzer (Top Shelf)
  • Kyria Kilakos (Indica Records)
  • Marie Toparis (Diesel Music)
  • Mark Alston (The Haze)
  • Matty Woo (Pistol Artist Services)
  • Millie Millgate (Sounds Australia)
  • Nicholas Jones (Tone Deaf)
  • Nick Bennett (Beatnick Media/Hope Media)
  • Pixie Weyland (The Zoo)
  • Peter Fricker (Sydney Blues & Roots Festival)
  • Riley Maher (The Orchard)
  • Rob Carroll (Rare Finds)

Australian Music Week
— First Speakers' Announcement

  • Peter Noble (Bluesfest)
  • Andy McLean (East Coast Music Association — Canada)
  • Lisa Whytock (Showcase Scotland Expo/Active Events — UK)
  • Diesel (Mark Lizotte)
  • Robyn Stewart (BreakOut West/Western Canadian Music Alliance — Canada)
  • Rod Yates (Rolling Stone)
  • Iain Shedden (The Australian)
  • Keith Welsh (Velocer)
  • Stuart Coupe (Laughing Outlaw Records)
  • Larry Heath (The AU Review)
  • Zenon Els (Artist Network)
  • Nathan Farrell (Nathan Farrell Entertainment)
  • Edwin Tehrani (New World Artists)
  • Troy Barrott (Hub Artist Services)
  • Vanessa Picken (Comes With Fries)
  • Basil Cook (Four/Four, ABC Music)
  • John Zucco (The Right Profile)
  • Peta Chew (ABC Music)
  • Scott Mesiti (MJR Presents)
  • Geoff Trio (Code One, Indica Australia)
  • Aaron Girgis (Space 44, Sounds Of The Suburbs)
  • Marshall Cullen (Damien Gerard, Foghorn Group)
  • Luke Girgis (Shock Records, Be Like Children)
  • Beth Deady (MGM)
  • John Wardle (Live Music Office)
  • Damian Cunningham (Live Music Office)
  • Jon Howell (Rhythm Section)
  • Geoff Bell (Laing Entertainment)
  • Adrian Buckley (Wollombi Music Festival, Folk In Broke, Narara Music Festival)
  • Chris Johnson (AMRAP)
  • Phaedra Watts (Nannup Music Festival)
  • Rob Scott (Source Music)
  • Tracey Collier-Griffiths (Kick Music)
  • David Sleishman (Sleishman Drums)
  • Charlton Hill (Uncanny Valley)
  • Daniel Antix (Def Wolf Music)
  • Jamie Croft (Sofar Sounds)
  • Justine Crowther (Fly By Night)
  • Kyle Druery (Dinosaur Records)
  • Paul Camkin (Waves)
  • Peter Paterson (Perfect Pitch)
  • Anthony Harrison (True Tone)
  • Tony Cini (Blues Explosion)