Southbound Consider Charity Gig As Fans Offer To Help Bushfire Crisis

Following today's news that the 2016 Southbound festival has been cancelled on the day it was intended to kick off, event director Dave Chitty has confirmed that management are looking into a show that will not only serve as a replacement for the the WA festival, but will also help to raise funds for those affected by the bushfires in the surrounding areas. 

Speaking to theMusic, Chitty said he is very interested in the idea of a charity gig. 

"If 100% of the proceeds are donated to people who need it in the fires, then let’s do that," he said. 

"I am working with agents and bands about that prospect."

Chitty also revealed that management are working with ticketing company Moshtix to create a system in which fans can donate part or all of their tickets to those near the bushfires. 

As the Southbound Facebook page reads, "We are currently working to set up a system where this can be facilitated. We have excess food on site which we will be offering to those who are both working to fight the fires and affected and currently working with the relevant parties to make this happen."

Unfortunately outside of a potential charity concert, Chitty ruled out any chance of Southbound acts putting on their own individual shows as many are gearing up to leave the country, excluding English bands such as The Wombats, Disclosure and Bloc Party, who will be flying back home via WA.

"Obviously we have full insurance in place for the event…there’s complications with the insurance, we've got to pay the artists even though they don’t play the show, it’s not their fault," Chitty said. 

"But as a result of that, if there’s other shows going on that produce income, just from an insurance perspective that’ll get complicated for the bands and insurance companies."

Chitty said that the decision to call off Southbound was due to the fact that alternative routes in getting to the festival could have been problematic for festival-goers and after liaising with police, fire emergency departments and WA's Main Roads Department, the unfortunate decision to axe the event was made. 

"I guess the turning point for me was when I spoke to the main roads department about that access road and got an update as to the congestion getting worse," he said. 

"That access road was 114 kilometres, non-main road…several hours to get across there, single lanes either side, bush either side of the road...the road wasn't designed for emergency vehicles to get there because its not a main highway so it would have put a people potentially at risk in our minds."

Head to the Southbound Facebook page for more details.