Central Coast performer Jamie Lindsay will be one of five acts to compete in the grand final of the Rockin’ the Puburbs band competition at Coogee on February 23.
Lindsay, who kicked off his career as one of the Top 10 finalists in the prestigious Tamworth Country Music Festival’s Star Maker competition, will be joined by Dande and The Lion from Manly, LamBros. From the Northern Beaches, Roar Sky Harvey from Marrickville and Wicked Things from Sydney’s Inner West.
As an industry, live music also accounts for 65,000 full-time and part-time jobs across the country and according to expert studies, for every dollar spent on live music, three dollars of benefit is returned to the wider community.
With COVID-19 costing the live music industry around $1.4B, local pubs are supporting its resurgence.
This year, the Australian Hotels Association NSW has taken a new approach to its Rockin’ the Puburbs band comp, including a live grand final at Selina’s Entertainment Centre within the Coogee Bay Hotel.
“We felt it was important this year to make sure that the connection between live music and local pubs played an important role in the campaign,” AHA NSW Director Liquor and Policing John Green said.
“In past years the competition has been mostly online but post-pandemic, it’s never been more important to support our live music industry in every way possible.
“One of the best ways to do that is with boots on the ground – turning up at gigs.
“So for us, it made sense to do this live and what better place than Selina’s which has been showcasing some of the country’s best live music acts for decades.”
The five finalists were selected after a grueling statewide search, with hundreds of submissions received from some of the state’s most talented musos.
“We have been thrilled by the level of talent and diversity of our Rockin’ the Puburbs entrants,” Green said.
“These five finalists represent a number of musical genres from indie to country, rock, and folk.
“While these are very different styles of performance, they are a perfect representation of the diversity of music found in pubs right across NSW.”
The five finalists will battle it out live on stage at Selina’s from 7pm on Thursday, February 23.
The winner will take home a $15,000 prize package including an East Coast pub tour, dedicated tour publicist and cash.
Limited free tickets for the Grand Final are available to the public via https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/rockin-the-puburbs-grand-final-tickets-483537743407.
Source:
Media release, Jan 22
AHA