BIGSOUND is the southern hemisphere’s premiere festival of new music and music industry conference. It’s a gathering of people from around the world who descend on Fortitude Valley for four days every September to discover the future of Australian music.
It’s an initiative of QMusic and has been going since 2002. QMusic is Queensland’s music industry development association and our core mission is fulfilled through BIGSOUND which is really about developing the sector and particularly the reputation of Brisbane as a music city.
BIGSOUND has been instrumental in helping launch the international careers of artist like Flume, Courtney Barnett, Tash Sultana, Gang of Youths, The Temper Trap, Remi and Megan Washington.
In 2018 there were over 1,100 applications from Australian bands for only 150 spots, and the three Brisbane bands who were profiled on the Great Day Out include new artist Asha Jeffries, indie rock group Sweater Curse, and dream pop band Pool Shop.
Generally, 90% of bands that play at BIGSOUND are from Australia, of which each state is represented by the proportion of people living there. The other 10% are from overseas. In 2018 there is a delegation of artists from both Korea and Singapore, which sees BIGSOUND as a growing platform for launching the careers of artists in other parts of Asia.
BIGSOUND runs for four days and nights from September 4-7 in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley Live Music Precinct.
