In partnership with the Live Music Office with funding from ArtsNSW, City of Parramatta will host four hours of non-stop live music from 3:30pm to 7:30pm featuring 40 emerging artists from Western Sydney across fifteen different venues in the Parramatta CBD. This will include restaurants, cafes, pubs and unexpected locations like bridal stores and hair salons.
The streets of Parramatta will have their own soundtrack when the City launches its one day ‘Live and Local’ music event on Saturday 25 February.
“Parramatta has a vibrant retail, food and music culture and we’re bringing these three elements together in a unique way to enliven and enrich the CBD and provide exciting experiences for our residents, visitors and workers,” City of Parramatta Administrator Amanda Chadwick said.
“It’s about creating a sense of community between residents, musicians and local venues, and cementing Parramatta’s status as a lively hub of activity and musical entertainment.”
“I invite everyone to come along and join us for a fun afternoon and evening of live music to discover all that the local music scene has to offer.”
The event will begin at Centenary Square with a performance by the Darren Percival Live and Local Choir led by The Voice Australia star Darren Percival, before breaking out into several CBD venues along Church and Phillip Streets, including Jamie’s Italian, Bavarian Bier Café, Crown Hotel, University of New England, Novotel, Vision in White, AE Hair and PARKROYAL.
“Music really has the capacity to lift a space, so to have live music feature in our salon where we would normally just play a song on the radio, is certainly a great thing that will elevate the overall experience for our customers,” AE Hair salon owner Anthony Ellis said.
Roaming street performers will bring the CBD to life during the event which will conclude at sunset with a show-stopping performance at Riverside Theatres.
Emerging Western Sydney musician B Wise said he is looking forward to seeing what opportunities the event will unlock for him as an artist.
“Parramatta has always been the cultural hub of Western Sydney, from great bars and pop-up markets to street entertainment. To think that I will now get to be a part of this innovative community event is really exciting,” he said.
Live and Local features a localised area of concentrated venues so that easy walking from one venue to another leads to the discovery of multiple performances. This is the day to discover the extraordinary wealth of musical talent that calls Western Sydney home.
The event provides paid performance opportunities for musicians, the exposure to perform for new audiences and the occasion to create and develop relationships with local businesses, that may be nurtured into longer term, strategic business partnerships.
Participating venues include:
- Jamie’s Italian
- PARKROYAL Hotel
- The Crown Hotel
- Restaurant 317
- University of New England
- The Emporium
- Vision in White
- Coffee Emporium
- AE Hair
- Coco Cubano
- Bavarian Bier Cafe
- El Phoenician
- The Riverside Theatre
- Novotel
Two satellite venues, Beatdisc Records and Uncle Kurt’s will showcase live music after the event for those looking to extend the night’s live music experience.
For further details about the event or to view the full event program, please visit Council’s website – https://www.cityofparramatta.nsw.gov.au/events/live-and-local-parramatta
