NSW’s ‘Great Southern Nights’ a fizzer for our industry

Announced with great hype a month ago, the much vaunted ‘Great Southern Nights’ programme promised funding for 1000 gigs across NSW with the participation of headlining acts including Jimmy Barnes, Birds of Tokyo, Tones and I, Paul Kelly, Tash Sultana, and The Teskey Brothers. Applications for the funding finally opened last week, and the reality is nowhere near as exciting as the promise.

The gigs are slated to happen in Australian Music Month in November, culminating in the ARIA awards, to be held in Sydney. And that’s where you’ll most likely see all those big names mentioned – those headline acts, shows and venues will be doled out by the curatorial team. So here’s what applying for funding to run one of these gigs actually entails and what it gets you:

• Applications are to be made by venues with a track record of hosting live music and must be run COVID-safe (fair enough)
• You have to source, contract, and pay the artists
• You’re responsible for ticketing
• You have to use Destination NSW/Great Southern Nights branding on all promotion and at the event. Additional sponsorships are by approval only.
• And here’s the best bit – if successful, you get $1,500 that must go to the artists, and $1,000 for venue costs, including production, security, and staff.

Not the shot in the arm we were desperately hoping for, is it?

However, it is better than nothing. If you’re a venue, you can apply to run up to four sponsored gigs, and can apply here:

https://www.greatsouthernnights.com.au/venue-applications/form