For 25 years, BIGSOUND has operated as both a meeting place for the Australian music industry and a glimpse at what might come next. This September, the conference and showcase event returns to Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley from September 1-4, marking its quarter-century with one of its most extensive programs yet.
There is some formidable history behind it. Over the past 25 years, BIGSOUND has provided an early platform for artists including Flume, Tash Sultana, Tones And I and Courtney Barnett, while bringing musicians, labels, promoters, media, managers and international industry figures into the same few blocks of Fortitude Valley.
For its anniversary year, Australian songwriting legend Paul Kelly joins the program for a conversation with ABC journalist Sarah Kanowski examining songwriting and its role in shaping Australian music culture. Presented with APRA AMCOS as it celebrates 100 years of Australian songwriting, the discussion gives BIGSOUND’s anniversary a fitting sense of perspective.
BIGSOUND’s dedicated hubs also return, including the Ideas and Innovation Hub, spanning music technology and education, and a Spotify-presented Artist Hub offering everything from a Spotify for Artists masterclass to a US visa workshop and opportunities to meet Live Nation’s Next On booking team.
For media and creators, Content House returns for its second year with panels, workshops, mixers and discussions examining how music is presented and discovered. Among the sessions is Image & Identity: Your Vision Is Your Value, looking at the increasingly important relationship between an artist’s music and visual identity.
But BIGSOUND has never simply been a conference. Once the meetings finish and Fortitude Valley’s venues fill up, the live showcases remain its engine room: a chance to encounter artists before careers accelerate and before some of those tiny-room performances become stories about having been there early.
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