WELCOME TO THE FUTURE OF AUSTRALIAN MUSIC: BIGSOUND 2019
Creeping up on its second decade as Australia’s premiere utopia for anyone whose heart belongs to music, BIGSOUND (or “Schoolies: Music Industry Edition”) returned for another raucous and riveting jaunt in 2019. The sun was on our side as we scuttled through the mazelike streets of Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley precinct, navigating boundless rendezvous for chinwags and bevvies, makeshift classrooms for industry wisdom, and more live music venues than you could swing a mic lead at (not to mention all the hustle and bustle that went down on the streets themselves – some of the best acts we caught all week were the buskers).
Moreso than ever this year, BIGSOUND took full advantage of Fortitude Valley’s surplus of new developments. Where in previous years, industry events would be strewn across a handful of venues throughout the precinct, 2019 saw a new hub of Cloudland – a notably bougie, seemingly endless labyrinth of venues – established as the official gathering grounds for almost all of the conference happenings.
Bakery Lane and Netherworld became favourites to meet up with peers. The former is one of the Valley’s many hidden gems – an unsuspecting alleyway that, once inspected a level deeper, presents a wonderland of kitschy cafés and quirky bars. The latter was a paradisiacal playground for nostalgic minds, spouting homemade sodas and a jungle of retro arcade games. There was also an enshrined PS1/CRT setup, where our editor came painfully close to beating the high score on Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater (the Warehouse level, naturally).
By day, BIGSOUND was a haven for learning. Hook-up events put us one-on-one with colleagues from all corners of the music industry, and through a jam-packed array of panels and keynotes, we took a glimpse beyond the walls that often keep behind the scenes of music an elusive enigma. There was an A-list roster of personalities on deck, from label heads, touring agents and publicists to cog-turners at the ABC, artists themselves and larger-than-life luminaries like feminist punk legend Vivien Goldman and eccentric viral star Andy King (please, if you have not already, watch the FYREdocumentary on Netflix; it is downright essential viewing).
