Moving to 100% virtual and 100% free this year, BIGSOUND 2020 gets ready to go live in your living rooms, laptop screens, and office spaces from tomorrow on Wednesday October 21st and Thursday 22nd, bringing together a stacked conference program of keynote presentations, panels, workshops, performances and parties covering a wide range of topics and discussions aiming to re-future a challenged industry with positivity, connection and reality.
“BIGSOUND 2020 will entertain and inform, but at its core, it is a platform for us to connect and share an experience that we have grown to mark our years by,” said BIGSOUND conference programmer Tom Larkin.
“High level insights from international speakers such as Tim Urban, a programming stream dedicated entirely to mental health skills, through to the comic relief of Nat’s What I Reckon dragging his mate Briggs along a high-risk adventure of BBQ calorie acrobatics, defines the scope of what BIGSOUND has to offer.
“This year we hope to provide an opportunity to explore not only the many challenges we have have faced as an industry together but also what is on the horizon, how we could make the best of that knowledge, and a chance to reflect with those who have defined our business to this point and how we might reshape it for the better,” said Mr Larkin.
Some not-to-be-missed highlights include a keynote from Tom Morello (Rage Against The Machine, Audioslave, Prophets Of Rage, the Nightwatchman) with a presentation exploring his life as a musician and activist. BIGSOUND will also host a line up of special in-conversation sessions with the legendary Kev Carmody, ARIA-award winner Amy Shark, as well as a keynote presentation from global superstar Tones And I.
Artificial intelligence and creativity thought leader Tim Urban will delve into our creative consciousness with ‘The Wizards Hat – Our Brain’s Magical Future’, Rhoda Roberts and Ziggy Ramo will discuss the Indigenous future of the music industry, while American Grammy-nominee Maimouna Youssef aka Mumu Fresh will discuss career, community and survival in 2020.
BIGSOUND will also see Australia’s hero of COVID, culinary crusader Nat’s What I Reckon and special guestBriggs present an exclusive BIGSOUND cooking show, and legendary production manager and founder of CrewCare Australia Howard Freeman (Big Day Out, INXS, AC/DC, Eminem, Neil Young, Prince, Rolling Stones) will host a poignant session exploring the hard realities of life on the road, the impacts it has on mental and physical health and creating a culture of help-seeking.
“Thank you to my QMusic team for pulling BIGSOUND together this year and a special thanks to the programmers, Creative Director Janne Scott, Conference Programmer Tom Larkin, First Nations Producer Alethea Beetson and Festival Programmers Ruby Jean-McCabe and Dom Miller,” said BIGSOUND Executive Producer Angela Samut and QMusic CEO. “There has never been a question of whether we should cancel BIGSOUND against the backdrop of COVID-19 but rather how can we best connect our industry that has been knocked to its knees but that stands united to recover and rebound with a stronger voice.”
HIGHLIGHTS:
- Culinary crusader Nat’s What I Reckon will now be joined by special guest Briggs for his exclusive BIGSOUND cooking show.
- The multiple ARIA-nominated singer-songwriter and festival director Jack River joins Johann Ponniah for a Q&A following his keynote “200 Shits Per Album”.
- Support Act has added a host of new and well-known faces to BIGSOUND’s Mental Health stream in partnership with Levi’s – including Frontier Touring’s Sahara Herald, The Teskey Brothers’ Brendon Love and artist Nathan Cavaleri.
- Jaguar Jonze and Ella Hooper now join previously-announced Ecca Vandal and Mo’Ju for an honest and personal roundtable discussion in “COVID F*cked My Tour Lyf”.
- Green Music Australia will teach you how to make your career footprint more green, and Bolster will present quickfire looks at trends and new tech that will affect how we make, market, discover and consume music in the coming years.
- BIGSOUND is hosting closed door sessions this week with industry to devise a handful of key outcomes that need to be addressed by Government for our very survival and which will be discussed at a special panel “Come Together.”
- Sounds Australia is partnering with us to provide a world-class activation of one-on-one meetings for The BIGSOUND50 with industry reps from across the globe.
- And mark your calendars for the BIGSOUND parties and exclusive musical performances all the way fromCanada, South Korea, and right here at home.
- FREE registration for BIGSOUND 2020 is still open. Registration, more information, and the full program schedule is available now at www.bigsound.org.au
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