Singer-songwriter Jess Locke is headed home to Avoca as part of the Homecoming Tour.
The brainchild of Dinosaur City Records, the tour will see concerts held at regional towns all over Australia between March and May, with each featuring at least one performer who hails from that particular town.
Locke will be supporting fellow singer/songwriter Julia Jacklin at Avoca Beach Picture Theatre on March 11.
Now based in Melbourne, Locke grew up on the Coast.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve performed in the town I grew up in and where I wrote my very first songs,” Locke said.
“Sharing the stage with Julia is always a treat so it’s going to be a very special night.”
The indie rock artist has three albums to her credit and is building up a huge career on the Australian music scene.
Fellow performer Julia Jacklin is another hugely popular performer who is building up a following worldwide.
She has been nominated for six ARIA Awards and both US and UK independent music awards.
Jacklin has performed sold out shows the world over.
Dinosaur City Records co-founder, Jordanne Chant, is also a Central Coast export.
Now based in Melbourne, Chant founded Dinosaur City Records with Cody Menro Moore in 2017.
“In 2019 we came up with the idea of a tour taking artists back to their home towns,” she said.
“I grew up on the Coast and it was often difficult to access live contemporary music.
“There are cover bands playing well known songs but there are a lot of people writing new contemporary music and they don’t seem to have a place in regional towns.
“We thought it would be really nice to take inspiration from that – and that’s where Homecoming came from.”
Born at Umina Beach, Chant moved to Point Clare as a teenager and loves coming back to the region to visit family and friends.
“I was home for six weeks over Christmas and it was really hard going back to Melbourne,” she said.
Homecoming is a reimagining of Dinosaur City Records’ Hometowns regional music tour, which it co-founded with Spunk Records in 2019.
That tour took contemporary artists to rural outposts and included performances and talks for local high schools.
“This community-minded ethos continues with Homecoming, which will be accessible for fans of all ages and feature local performers opening each show,” Chant said.
“There has never been a more crucial time to bring live music back to regional towns.
“The pandemic over the past two years has halted regional travel, cutting off access to loved ones and disrupting local tourism.
“For many artists performing at Homecoming, this will be the first time they will travel back to their hometowns in years.
“While we adjust to living life normally under COVID, the future of live music remains precarious.
“For many contemporary artists, this means booking smaller tours which do not include regional stops.
“Homecoming is an antidote to this oversight (and hopes to) encourage the next generation of great Australian musicians coming from regional towns.
Dinosaur City Records is an independent record label which emerged out of a desire to elevate the most exciting music from the Australian and international underground.
Its roster includes local acts such as Skydeck, Solo Career, Deuce, Nick Griffith, Pillow Pro, Elmo Aoyama and Punko, as well as international artists Gum Country and Navy Gangs.
In 2020, Dinosaur City Records collaborated with a number of local labels to present Stay Inside: Songs from the Great Outdoors, a collection of tracks from over 20 Australian artists, created in isolation.
The Homecoming Tour will be presented with support from the Australian Council for the Arts.
Tickets for the show at Avoca are available through Humanitix.
Terry Collins