The Live Music Office is excited to announce the ten finalists of the inaugural Rockin’ the Puburbs competition. Some great up and coming live music acts from Western Sydney, the Northern Beaches, Sydney’s Inner West, The Hills district and the North Coast have made the final cut for the first-ever Rockin’ the Puburbs competition.
Almost 300 entries were recieved for the state-wide contest, which was open to a NSW-based act which performed at least one song of original material – whether a band, duo or solo artist.
CEO John Whelan said AHA NSW was pleased with the success of the competition.
“Many national and international music acts first got their start down at the local, and the goal of Rockin’ the Puburbs is to find top local talent and help them establish themselves in the industry,” he said. “This new initiative continues the hotel industry’s long and proud history of support for live music acts. We are pleased at the great response, and thrilled at the quality of the finalists.”
The top 10 2017 Rockin’ the Puburbs finalists are:
- Abbey Gardner (alternate indie pop) – Kellyville
- Bad Pony (premier indie outfit) – Newtown
- Hurst (alt-rock) – Kellyville Ridge
- Josh Needs (singer/songwriter/guitarist) – South West Rocks
- JuliaWhy? (three piece) – St Peters
- Little Coyote (indie/rock ) – Manly
- Marvell (indie rock/ blues roots / experimental) – Mona Vale
- Mary Handsome (surf rock) – Tintenbar, Northern Rivers
- Mogadishu Family Band (mini-blues orchestra outfit) – Blacktown
- Rackett (punk pop) – North Curl Curl
Rockin’ the Puburbs is a AHS NSW iniciative backed by APRA AMCOS and the Live Music Office with Aussie music legend Mark Lizotte (Diesel) is the official ambassador.
The winner picks up a $15,000 prize package – courtesy of AHA NSW – including live gigs at hotels across NSW in 2017/18, a dedicated tour publicist, mentoring sessions with industry ambassadors and a performance at the AHA NSW Awards for Excellence in front of a crowd of up to 1000 in Sydney on Tuesday, 21 November 2017.
The Rockin’ the Puburbs winner will be announced on Wednesday, 8 November 2017.
