There are a lot of great initiatives out there for young musicians hoping to make a name for themselves in the industry. Radio stations like
Triple J have their 'Unearthed' program, where artists are able to upload their music for the general public, and try to create a fan-base within the listening community.
Triple J Unearthed also has a competition specifically aimed at high school students- offering the winner the chance to have one of their tracks recorded by Triple J's music producers and played on the station. These opportunities are fantastic if you want to quickly reach success on a national level, but as you can imagine, the competition is fierce and you're up against thousands of other equally talented individuals and groups.
For this reason alone, many musicians prefer to start out on a smaller, more local, platform. The
Queenscliff Music Festival (QMF), which is held in the last weekend of November every year, is a popular event which has hosted many big names in music over the last 18 years. Not only do they source popular music acts for the weekend-long event, but they also encourage new and emerging local artists- buskers are a common sight in the streets of Queenscliff, and there is a stage solely dedicated to the
FOOT-in-the-DOOR program, a youth-driven music showcase competition.
Stonefield.https://www.facebook.com/stonefieldband
Some of the members from The Bombay Royale.https://www.facebook.com/thebombayroyale
Another program the QMF have for up-and-coming musicians is the
Emerging Artist Grant, which aims to kickstart the careers of musically-minded locals from Geelong, the Bellarine Peninsula and Barwon South West. There is no age limit for the applicants and the winner is chosen on artistic merit and the potential to go beyond the financial limits imposed by the Grant. In other words, if the artist is good enough to create their own audience, sell their own music and do well once the Grant money ends, they have a very good chance of winning. The money afforded by the grant gives budding artists the opportunity to get their music recorded, get new equipment and access managing and marketing help (which will assist them in the long term).
Some of the members from The Sweethearts.https://www.facebook.com/sweethearts.motown
Yirrmal.https://www.facebook.com/yirrmal
But the money for the Grant has to come from somewhere, which is why QMF are holding an Emerging Artist Grant Fundraiser on Saturday 14 June, 2014. The event, which will be held at the Point Lonsdale Primary School Hall from 6pm, will feature performances from four popular musical acts-
Stonefield (the rocking four-piece sister act),
The Bombay Royale (a Bollywood-inspired group made up of eleven members),
The Sweethearts (a popular soul group made up of schoolgirls from the Geelong region) and
Yirrmal & The Yolngu Boys (a young Indigenous group who were past recipients of the Grant ). Tickets are $25 each, and all proceeds from the night go directly towards the next Grant round.
The fundraiser will be held at the Point Lonsdale Primary School Hall
There is nothing better than supporting the local music scene, especially when the artist has the potential to make it big on the national or international stage. Fundraising nights like this not only provide you with the chance to experience quality music and talent, but they help to pave the future for local musical success further down the track. Why wouldn't you want to get involved?
