BIGSOUND Announces New Program Additions Ahead Of This Week’s Event
“BIGSOUND 2020 will entertain and inform, but at its core, it is a platform for us to connect and share an experience that we have grown to mark our years by."
BIGSOUND kicks off this Wednesday, and as if the 2020 (virtual) program wasn’t talent-packed enough already, organisers have today unveiled another batch of exciting additions.
With Tom Morello, Kev Carmody, Amy Shark, Tones & I and stacks more already confirmed, BIGSOUND’s latest reveal sees panels expand and new workshops announced alongside virtual parties, extra showcases and more.
“Culinary crusader” Nat’s What I Reckon will now be joined by Briggs for his exclusive BIGSOUND cooking show, while ARIA-nominated singer-songwriter and festival director Jack River takes part in a Q&A with Johann Ponniah after his keynote, and Jaguar Jonze and Ella Hooper sign on for previously announced roundtable discussion COVID F*cked My Tour Lyf.
Support Act has also curated seven workshops under the banner On My Mind, which will discuss mental health struggles in the industry with special guests such as The Teskey Brothers’ Brendon Love, author and broadcaster Jane Gazzo, triple j’s Max Quinn, Frontier Touring’s Sahara Herald, artist Nathan Cavaleri and more.
Meanwhile, Green Music Australia will present a workshop on making your career footprint more green and Bolster will take a look at trends and new tech in music.
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On the showcase front, South Korea electro art-pop maestros Wedance will perform and take part in a Q&A, Indigenous North will showcase talent from Treaty 1 Territory (Winnipeg) and the traditional and unceded territory of the Kanien'keh:ka of Kahnawà:ke (Montréal), while JMC Academy highlights some of its best upcoming artists.
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“BIGSOUND 2020 will entertain and inform, but at its core, it is a platform for us to connect and share an experience that we have grown to mark our years by,” BIGSOUND conference programmer Tom Larkin said.
“High-level insights from international speakers such as Tim Urban, a programming stream dedicated entirely to mental health skills, through to the comic relief of Nat’s What I Reckon dragging his mate Briggs along a high-risk adventure of BBQ calorie acrobatics, defines the scope of what BIGSOUND has to offer.
“This year we hope to provide an opportunity to explore not only the many challenges we have faced as an industry together but also what is on the horizon, how we could make the best of that knowledge, and a chance to reflect with those who have defined our business to this point and how we might reshape it for the better.”
BIGSOUND Executive Producer and QMusic CEO Angela Samut added: “Thank you to my QMusic team for pulling BIGSOUND together this year and a special thanks to the programmers, Creative Director Janne Scott, Conference Programmer Tom Larkin, First Nations Producer Alethea Beetson and Festival Programmers Ruby Jean-McCabe and Dom Miller.
“There has never been a question of whether we should cancel BIGSOUND against the backdrop of COVID-19 but rather how can we best connect our industry that has been knocked to its knees but that stands united to recover and rebound with a stronger voice.”
Behind the scenes, BIGSOUND will host closed door sessions with the industry to “devise a handful of key outcomes that need to be addressed by Government for our very survival”, the results of which will be discussed during the Come Together panel, while Sounds Australia lines up a world-class activation of one-on-one meetings for The BIGSOUND50.
Check out the full schedule and find out more details about the official 2020 virtual parties here.
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