Image: Supplied.
After a rough year for Victorian's, Vanessa is giving the state a much needed boost with the announcement of Small Town Big Sound, a live music road tour coming to diverse areas of regional Victoria from April 16 through till May 22. Across six weekends, Aussie acts including Alice Skye, Amyl and the Sniffers, Bad//Dreems, Birdz, Camp Cope, Kee’ahn and more will take to the stage, performing at well-loved and historic venues in six regional areas, from Koroit to Wandi, Pomonal and more.
Hitting the road on April 16, the festival will begin in the Barwon South West region for a series of gigs spearheaded by Adelaide rebel rock outfit Bad//Dreems, supported by Melbourne alt-rock-poppers Floodlights and Gugu Yalanji, Jirrbal and Badu Island songwriter Kee’ahn and more at the community clubhouse, Point Lonsdale Boardriders Club. The following day will see the artists perform at Koroit Theatre, before hitting Mornington and Bass Coast the following weekend. Alex Cameron from Bad//Dreems says about the tour, “One of the silver linings of the COVID cloud for us is the chance to get out and play more regional dates, which is something that we’ve always wanted to do, but have struggled to fit in. A lot of our music deals with places and people outside of the city, so it’s really important to us to take our music there. Living in a regional centre myself, I know how much people appreciate touring artists coming to town. Can’t wait!”
Heading into the third and fourth weekends, Melbourne’s pervasive alt-rock trio Camp Cope take the reigns in Loddon Mallee and the Grampians, joined on the road by acclaimed hip-hop heavyweight and Bad Apples Music signee, Birdz, and self-proclaimed pop patron of sad girls, Elizabeth. On Friday, April 30, the tour will storm the stage of Castlemaine’s long-historic Theatre Royal. On Saturday, May 1, the adventure continues at Bendigo’s Golden Vine for an evening pub rock soiree. Venturing to The Grampians the following weekend, the acts will hit Ballarat’s The Eastern on Friday, May 7 before wrapping up their run on Saturday, May 8, where the rebuilt town hall of Pomonal will see a gig like never before.
On the final fifth and sixth weekends, a blockbuster bill sees ARIA-Award winning pub-punk rockers Amyl and the Sniffers team up with the soulful, psych-blues of Harmony Byrne and the indie-folk Wergaia and Wemba Wemba singer-songwriter, Alice Skye for a live music revival the Gippsland and Hume regions won’t forget. On Friday, May 14 the acts visit Tarwin Lower's Riverview Hotel, before the fire-devastated town of Marlo receives a show to remember at local watering hole, Marlo Pub on Saturday, May 15. The following Friday, May 21 will see the acts perform to a crowd at Mansfield’s Delatite Hotel, before a finale event at Wandi’s Wandi Pub, owned by a crew of friends, closes Small Town Big Sound with camaraderie spirit.
Vanessa, the Transport Accident Commission’s youth communication program, has been working for over 15 years to arm young people with the tools to make safe road decisions, with zero judgement. True to the program’s long history of visiting music festivals, university events and more, Small Town Big Sound has been designed as a road tour with a purpose, to carry Vanessa’s ‘pre-think before pre-drinks’ message to young drivers across regional Victoria. The Vanessa crew will be present at each event on the tour encouraging attendees to have a ‘pre-think’, get breath tested, and take time to plan their safe journey home.
“We want everyone at Small Town Big Sound events to have a great time, but more importantly we want everyone to make good choices and get home safely. If you’re planning to have a drink, then planning a safe way home should be top priority and our Vanessa staff will be there to help you do that, and provide free breath tests,” says TAC Senior Manager, Engagement, Meg Jacobs.
For regional Victorians, purchase tickets to the show of your choice via Small Town Big Sound, with booking fees going towards supporting a better start for disadvantaged Indigenous students.
SMALL TOWN BIG SOUND
PRESENTED BY VANESSA (TAC)
FRIDAY, APRIL 16 & SATURDAY APRIL 17
BARWON SOUTH WEST REGION
BAD//DREEMS, FLOODLIGHTS, KEE’AHN + LOCAL SUPPORTS
FRIDAY, APRIL 16 - POINT LONSDALE BOARDRIDERS CLUB, POINT LONSDALE - TIX HERE
SATURDAY, APRIL 17 - KOROIT THEATRE, KOROIT - TIX HERE
FRIDAY, APRIL 23 & SATURDAY, APRIL 24
MORNINGTON/BASS COAST REGION
BAD//DREEMS, FLOODLIGHTS, KEE’AHN + LOCAL SUPPORTS
FRIDAY, APRIL 23 - WESTERNPORT HOTEL, SAN REMO - TIX HERE
SATURDAY, APRIL 24 - RYE HOTEL, RYE - TIX HERE
FRIDAY, APRIL 30 & SATURDAY, MAY 1
LODDON MALLEE REGION
CAMP COPE, BIRDZ, ELIZABETH + LOCAL SUPPORTS
FRIDAY, APRIL 30 - THEATRE ROYAL, CASTLEMAINE - TIX HERE
SATURDAY, MAY 1 - GOLDEN VINE HOTEL, BENDIGO - TIX HERE
FRIDAY, MAY 7 & SATURDAY, MAY 8
GRAMPIANS REGION
CAMP COPE, BIRDZ, ELIZABETH + LOCAL SUPPORTS
FRIDAY, MAY 7 - THE EASTERN, BALLARAT - TIX HERE
SATURDAY, MAY 8 - POMONAL COMMUNITY HALL, POMONAL - TIX HERE
FRIDAY, MAY 14 & SATURDAY, MAY 15
GIPPSLAND REGION
AMYL AND THE SNIFFERS, HARMONY BYRNE, ALICE SKYE + LOCAL SUPPORTS
FRIDAY, MAY 14 - RIVERVIEW HOTEL, TARWIN LOWER - TIX HERE
SATURDAY, MAY 15 - THE MARLO HOTEL, MARLO - TIX HERE
FRIDAY, MAY 21 & SATURDAY, MAY 22
HUME REGION
AMYL AND THE SNIFFERS, HARMONY BYRNE, ALICE SKYE + LOCAL SUPPORTS
FRIDAY, MAY 21 - DELATITE HOTEL, MANSFIELD - TIX HERE
SATURDAY, MAY 22 - THE WANDI PUB, WANDI - TIX HERE
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