Blank Gold Coast issue #60 - September 2018 by Blank Street Press

A FESTIVAL EVERY WEEKEND... LIVE MUSIC. STREET FOOD. CONCERTS. NIGHT MARKETS. DESSERTS. EVENTS.

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Gallery

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Music industry inquiry GC music industry soiree explores creativity Join Gold Coast’s music industry folk at a casual networking event hosted by TAFE Queensland Gold Coast. TAFE’s Brad Hosking (Amy Shark, Electrik Lemonade, City Over Sand) will deliver a presentation on the science behind creativity before he joins a panel to further explore the creative process. TAFE are providing a drink on arrival, and tasty canapes and they’ll also open a new arts space and host tours of their studios and music facilities. RSVP is essential for the 11 September event which kicks off at 4.30pm. Email cultural@blankgc. com.au for details or to register.

A little Gold at BIGSOUND Gold Coast will be well represented at BIGSOUND this year too. Not only do we have our own city showcase with Black Rabbit George, Phoebe Sinclair and Electrik Lemonade strutting their stuff thanks to City of Gold Coast, we also have ten talented artists attending the event thanks to City of Gold Coast bursaries. PACES will perform twice (including at the infamous Oztix party) and San Mei, Eliza and the Delusionals and Hollow Coves also have showcase performances. Little Georgia are also jumping on board Footstomp’s showcase. Dylan Lindquist (Clawmachine) also scored a QMusic bursary to attend the industry event.

Editor in Chief: Samantha Morris

New music supported by Council

Cultural Editor: Natalie O'Driscoll

Eight Gold Coast artists have received grants from a new round of Council funding which specifically supports music projects. Aquila Young, Radolescent, Mitch King, IVEY, Benny D Williams, San Mei, ELSKA and Ella Fence have all received cash to help them record or support the release of new music. There’s another round of these special RADF grants opening soon, so keep your eyes peeled on Council’s Art and Culture feeds to stay in the loop, or join the Blank GC industry e-list at bit.ly/musicGC.

Creative Director: Chloe Popa Partnerships Manager: Amanda Gorman Partnerships: Simone Gorman-Clark Contributors (print and online): Marj Osborne, Pip Andreas, Natalie O’Driscoll, Samantha Morris, Erin Bourne, Leisen Standen, Nadia Achilles, Tiffany Mitchell, Emma Whines, Anthony Gebhardt, Glenn Tozer, Terry “Tappa” Teece, Leigh Kelly, Simone Gorman-Clark, Nae Kurth, , Dan Maynard, Erin Bourne, Danny Santangelo, Peter Wheeler, Prudence Clark. Lifestyle Cover: Julia Rose floral art photographed for Botanical Bazaar by Cloud Catcher Studio Editorial: news@blankgc.com.au Advertising: advertising@blankgc.com.au Gigs: gigs@blankgc.com.au Acknowledgement of Country We genuinely respect and acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land on which we work and play. We honour their elders past, present and emerging as well as the rich contribution that continues to be made to society through art, story and music. About us: Blank GC is independently owned and published by Samantha Morris and Chloe Popa. Founded in 2013 we are the Gold Coast’s independent cultural voice and we rely on advertising as well as our generous contributors to keep us in the fray. Opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those of the editor, publishers or the writing team.

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Psychedelic Porn Crumpets bring headline tour to Marketta

Heart + Harp hits Gold Coast libraries Gold Coast’s ELSKA recently received RADF funds to produce a documentary covering her own story – her early years on the harp, her connection to the Gold Coast, losing her musical identity and her hunger to return to her craft. Part of the grant will also be used to roll out a unique tour taking place in the city’s public libraries. Heart + Harp: The Library Tour will see Elska curate a series of intimate live performances and drop-in workshops with exclusive screenings of the new documentary ‘Heart + Harp’. Get dates and details at facebook.com/elskasmusic.

Gold Coast on show at Australian Music Week Australian Music Week has announced its first live artists and four Gold Coast acts are in the mix for the November event. Gold Coast Music Award winners Ella Fence and The Mason Rack Band have scored showcase slots, alongside Kirra punks Hot Wax and alt-country-blues duo Little Georgia. The event takes place 7 – 11 November in Cronulla and includes masterclasses, panels and workshops as well as hundreds of live performances throughout Cronulla’s quirky venues. Early-bird tickets are just $99. More at australianmusicweek.com.

With new single ‘Social Candy’ under their belt, ongoing domination of UK radio and Euro and Australian tours, Psychedelic Porn Crumpets are amassing psych fans everywhere they go, and given they’ve just signed to UK label Wildlife Entertainment, known for their work with acts such as Arctic Monkeys and Royal Blood, these guys aren’t slowing down anytime soon. Which is all the reason to catch them while they’re still playing venues like Miami Marketta. They’ll be delivering the goods on Sunday 7 October. Tickets via Oztix.

The House of Representatives Standing Committee on Communications and the Arts has commenced an inquiry into the Australian music industry. The committee will examine the potential for continued growth and the factors affecting the success of the Australian music industry, both domestically and internationally. They want to hear how Australian composers, songwriters, performers, and producers can expand their reach and better compete with overseas artists and they’re asking for input from investors, music companies, record labels, cultural organisations, festivals and other businesses that connect Australian musicians and music with audiences and markets. Submissions are due by Friday 21 September and can be made online at aph.gov.au/communications or by emailing communications.reps@aph.gov.au.

Eskimo Joe frontman Kav Temperley steps out on his own One of Australia’s most iconic frontmen – Kav Temperley of Eskimo Joe - has stepped out on his own to deliver an eclectic single ‘Polyanna’ featuring strings, piano and guitar. It’s the first taste of Kav’s first full-length solo album ‘All Your Devotion’ due late September. And to mark the occasion, Kav’s hitting the road, with Gold Coast getting a special visit in the form of a free show at Cooly Hotel’s public bar on Sunday 7 October. You can pre-order the album now.

Paul Kelly makes gravy for Christmas Paul Kelly’s Making Gravy will once again kick off the festive season, with an east cost trio of unmissable concerts. While Paul won’t make gravy here on the Gold Coast, he will be just up the road at Brisbane’s River Stage and in an extra special coup he’s got Angus & Julia Stone, Alex Lahey, DD Dumbo and Mojo Juju joining him. With 24 studio albums under his belt and an induction into the ARIA Hall of Fame (some twenty years ago), Mr Kelly is by no means done creating new work. His new studio album (out 12 October), ‘Nature’ brings together poems from five literary greats (Dylan Thomas, Walt Whitman, Sylvia Plath, Gerard Manley Hopkins and Phillip Larkin) alongside his own original poems and songs. Paul Kelly’s Making Gravy tour hits the Riverstage on 21 December and tickets are on sale now.

Delta Riggs Fake That The Delta Riggs are back, with their first new material since 2016 and a tour announcement to boot. ‘Fake That’ is a guitar-driven first taste from the band’s upcoming fourth album, due in early 2019. It deals with the age of insta-fame and #fakenews, kinda the opposite of where The Delta Riggs find themselves – having built a reputation for being the real deal amongst those modern digital complexities. Hell, it’s why we love them so much. The band have a deep and enduring connection to the Gold Coast and will play Miami Marketta as part of their four-date national tour on Sunday 12 October. Tickets via Oztix.

Gold Coast rocks for West Papua

The Bronx are Gold Coast bound For the first time ever, The Bronx are bringing their rock anthems to Australia’s east coast. And they’re bringing them to intimate venues alongside High Tension and Private Function. Catch ‘em at the Cooly Hotel, 19 October and The Northern Byron on Sunday 21 October.

Newtown’s Breizers hit Currumbin

Sheoak’s spring Saturdays Just 15 minutes south of Coolangatta, on the banks of the Tweed River and nestled under the shade of sheoaks you’ll find Sheoak Shack. Not only does this riverside shack dish up sunset cocktails, food and coffee, it also dishes up a funky daytime vibe and Saturday live music sessions alongside its gallery space which showcases local artists. Sheoak’s live music lineup for September makes it even more worth a spring visit. Burger Joint, Angus Oastler, Felicity Lawless and Dubarray all have shows this month. Visit the Gold Coast Gig Guide for dates and times.

Earth Frequency drops first lineup Every year we send someone to cover Earth Frequency Festival we’re left with serious FOMO. Not only is this festival a music-lovers dream, it’s also a celebration of all things earth-related with its 2019 installation including a tree planting and week-long permaculture retreat. Earth Frequency Festival dishes up a combination of sonic flavours ranging from progressive, psytrance and techno through to glitch-hop, midtempo and live acoustic vibes from the likes of Dub FX (live), Clozee, Birds of Paradise, Luigi Madonna and Ben Coda, amongst others included in the first lineup announcement. Numbers are capped at 5000, so if you want to feel the vibrations this summer, you know what to do. Earth Frequency Festival takes place 15 – 18 February 2019 at Ivory’s Rock, near Ipswich. More at earthfrequency.com.au.

One part funk, one part thrash, threepiece Breizers are like a hard kiss on the lips. Their first single ‘Darlin’, which we’ve been lucky enough to score demos of (and which follows their EP ‘Killjoy’) is an exploration in sonic diversity. What starts as funky and soulful evolves into an explosion of shred and raspy vocals before culminating in a cymbaltastic orgasm. If that sounds like something you want to hear live, then you’re in luck. These Newtownians are playing the Gold Coast as part of their full east coast tour. They’ll land at Currumbin Creek Tavern on Friday 19 October.

The Free West Papua campaign is calling for peace in West Papua and using rock as its weapon of choice. This October sees 15 mini-festivals take place around Australia, with ten more internationally, all focussed on standing in solidarity with the people of West Papua and shining a light on the ongoing genocide and human rights abuses taking place there. Last year more than 75 bands performed in 33 cities on four continents raising funds for the United Liberation Movement for West Papua creating real hope for the oppressed. Some of the funds were used for a delegation to the United Nations in New York to deliver a petition for freedom signed by 1.8 million West Papuans. Gold Coasters have their opportunity to contribute on Saturday 20 October when Rockin’ for West Papua takes over Burleigh Town Tavern. Monster Fodder, Tokyo Beef, Serial Killer Dinner Party and Stoker lay down the riffs from 2.00pm with a $5 cover charge.

Deez Nuts does Australia Currently tearing their way around the USA on the final ever Warped Tour, Deez Nuts will then embark on an Australian tour of epic proportions. Taking in 19 towns, it’s the first time the band has toured regionally since the release of their album ‘Binge & Purgatory’, which was written and inspired by the cultural mecca that is New York City. They Hit Miami Shark Bar on 1 October.

Beer & Cider Festival lineup lager than life Dust off those dancing thongs, Crafted Beer & Cider Festival is back and they’re bringing some serious live tunes to accompany the seriously tasty brews being poured. Returning to Broadbeach for a second year, this day-long feast for the senses takes over Kurrawa Park in a daze of deliciousness on Saturday 6 October. Bootleg Rascal, Young Monks, San Mei, Peach Fur, Rackett and Inigo join Beatniks DJs to deliver all the music a beer-loving festival goer could want on a sunny spring day amongst the pine trees. Get your tickets via our mates at Oztix.

Previously, on Paradise Previously on Paradise is the new festival on the block. Similar in concept to Sofar sounds or the home booked house concerts that are fast gaining momentum, Previously on Paradise, promises to be packed with talent exclusively from the Gold Coast, for the Gold Coast. Run by Teahnee Reynolds, a new talent in the events and music space, she’s aiming to create an event for invited locals and out-of-owners to experience what the city offers in the way of community and talent. She believes it’s a great way to get young people like herself involved in creating something within the industry that gets people excited for the artists they’re bound to hear for decades to come. Lineup for the 22 September event is Emma Whines, Elliot Cox, Teahnee Reynolds with India Wallis, and Kelsey Berrington. Tickets at bit. ly/previouslyparadise. www.blankgc.com.au

Discover fresh independent QLD music. Powered by the Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University, SEED is an emerging artist agency. Every year we release an album to showcase our newest acts. Listen to our album and find out more about the SEED program via seedgriffith.com

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SWELL Sculpture Festival 14 – 23 September, Currumbin Beach

Put those puffer jackets away, Gold Coast. Spring is upon us and with that comes festival season good and proper. We’ve rustled up some of the best regional festivals for music-lovers this season and overflowing into 2019. Hell, it’s a veritable festival feast anytime of year when you love music, food and culture and there’s no shortage of options for those willing to adventure. All that’s left for you to do is see where the wind takes you…

There’s no other event like SWELL Sculpture Festival on the Gold Coast and while it’s not a music event AT ALL, it galvanises the local artistic community in really special ways. Literally bringing art to life by installing monumental sculptures along the Currumbin foreshore and Beach, SWELL returns this year for its 16th festival. More than 45 artists – local, national and international – will fill more than a kilometre of shoreline, with more than a quarter of a million visitors expected to attend the free, open-air exhibition. There are guided twilight walks, artist talks, life drawing and family-friendly workshops across the ten-day event, which is a favourite for locals and visitors alike.

Flavours of Metro street party Saturday 6 October They’ve taken things up a notch for this third annual Flavours of Metro Street Party. Not least of which is because they have international touring sensations Tijuana Cartel headlining the music offering but also because they’ve crammed a heap of mouthwatering international cuisine into the offering as well. There’ll be Chinatown street markets, non-stop entertainment and the usual awesome SoPo restaurants dishing up tasty morsels. Ticks a lot of boxes for music-loving foodies with a sense of adventure.

Celebrate Gold Coast 7 October, Chevron Island Celebrating everything that makes the Gold Coast so awesome, this one-day festival, which takes over the main drag of Chevron Island includes bangin’ tunes, a silent disco for kids, skateboard lessons for all levels, a makers’ market, roller derby demos and a handmade cubby-house village for little children with big imaginations. Izzy Day, Katie Who, Tully John and Liza-Jane, Caravana Sun, Karuah, Elska, Old Man Friday and Busby Marou provide the tunes from 11.00am until 4.00pm. No better way to enjoy Spring on the Gold Coast. And it’s all free.

Byron Bay Guitar Festival 6 – 7 October, Byron Bay Brewery The Byron Bay Guitar Festival is set to be an industry highlight for lovers of all-things guitar. Produced by Byron Music, the festival is a veritable guitar lovers’ heaven with more than 29 live performances across two stages, a showcase of instruments and craftsmanship from some of the world’s favourite makers as well as workshops, seminars and delicious food and beverage. All set in a brewery! Tickets are just $50 for one day and the stellar lineup so far includes British India + Ash Grunwald + Dallas Frasca + The Fumes + Jeff Martin + Hussy Hicks + Lloyd Spiegel + tonnes more! 10

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Buskers by the Creek 13 – 14 October, Currumbin Creek We’ve been a media partner for Buskers By The Creek since before the first event even happened, so to say we’re enamoured with this creekside festival is an understatement. Award-winning Buskers By The Creek brings glitz, glam, freakish feats, vivacious energy and party vibes to Currumbin Creek every October, this year celebrating its fifth instalment. There’s seriously something for everything – music of all genres – from singer / songwriters to ensembles, quirky circus and cabaret style acts, daring feats of strength and contortion, acrobats, mini orchestras and world-class performers of all ages. It’s completely free, very family friendly, and being creekside means it’s a prime location for spring swims and breezy food truck picnic delights.

Island Vibe 25 – 28 October, North Stradbroke Island The name really says it all. Island Vibe is a mini-version of what we all hope the world would be. Set beachside on Minjerribah, otherwise known as North Stradbroke Island, the four-day festival has a focus on global roots and connection between people and place. Held at the tail-end of whale migration season, the venue boasts just a few seconds between dancefloor and the ocean and they’ve laid claim to one of the best weekends weather-wise in the spring festival calendar. The lineup too helps the festival stand boldly as a unique and soulful music-lovers destination. For 2018, Island Vibe boasts a global collection of talent: Katchafire (NZ), Jah9 (Jamaica)(, Mad Professor (UK), Naâman (France), Radikal Guru (PL), Lo Qi (Indo) and Truth (NZ) all make the international trip to be here and they’re joined by Nicky Bomba, King Tide, Kooii, Chris Tamwoy, Darky Roots, Dubarray, The Sunny Coast Rudeboys, Spankinhide, Kimmy and the Crew and scores more. Organisers practice what they preach, too, setting a high standard for sustainability well before the current War on Waste phenomena. You can’t miss the water refill station, bike hire tent, bio-fuel generators, solar-powered stage, composting toilets and recycling centre. They’ve banned single-use plastic cups, straws, bags and catering gear and are committed to not selling or distributing any single-use plastic water bottles on the festival site and throughout back-of-house.

Australian Music Week 7 – 11 November 2019 Part industry conference, part festival, Australian Music Week has laid claim to being Australia’s most grassroots music networking event. As the event takes over Cronulla Beach in November it brings with it hundreds of live performances, the Australian Music Week Film Festival, master-classes, keynotes and panel presentations. And as if you need more motivation, November is a stunning time of year to be in the seaside village of Cronulla with its awesome dining scene, patrolled beaches and ocean pools, as all the music action unfolds around you. To top it all off, a heap of Gold Coast acts have been announced in the first lineup – Ella Fence, Little Georgia, Hot Wax and Mason Rack Band will all have showcase sets.

Airlie Beach Festival of Music | 9 – 11 November 2019 Now in its sixth year, and fast becoming one of the country’s most popular regional festivals, Airlie Beach Festival of Music does things in classic Whitsundays style. With a massive marquee situated right on the edge of the Coral Sea and another 16 venues dotted throughout the township of Airlie, the lineup is epic and truly diverse. We’re talking Smash Mouth, Marcia Hines, The Church, Killing Heidi, Kasey Chambers, Dave Dobbyn, Melbourne Ska Orchestra, Ash Grunwald, The Mason Rack Band, Electrik Lemonade, Diana Anaid, The Wayward Suns and tonnes more. 74 acts in total make up the bill, which is the exact same number of islands that make up the Whitsundays. Kinda sets the tone, don’t you think?

Mullum Music Festival 15 – 18 November With Mullum Music Festival’s final lineup announcement comes an obvious commitment to diversity, community and equality. It’s one of the things we love most about this boutique event which takes over Mullumbimby’s established venues and uses its local food and lifestyle outlets to bolster the festival experience for punters who travel a long way to soak in the vibes. Nigerian Bombino, Guyana’s Mad Professor, Jah9 from Jamaica, and Osaka Monaurail from Japan will bring the music of the globe to Mullumbimby. They join Husky, Cheap Fakes, Arakwal Bunyarra dancers, The Button Collective, Bobby Alu, William Crighton, Ben Ottweell, Hat Fitz & Cara, Caiti Baker, Gabrielle Cohen, Ladyslug and the Northern Rivers Uke Orchestra on this year’s bill. It’s honestly one of the best festivals in Australia right now and you need to snap up tix quick if you want to be part of the 200 performances across 12 venues.

Best Night Ever 28 December, Nightquarter Gold Coast After a huge NYE-eve party last year with Grinspoon and British India, the Best Night Ever is back at NightQuarter this year with Brisbane garage punk party starters Dune Rats headlining in their only show anywhere until 2019! The Dunies have recruited Ratbag Records label mates The Gooch Palms and Totty to join the fun with more very special guests still to be announced. This is one for the fans who can’t face those New Years crowds – Some punters might even treat this as a hefty entrée to their New Year’s bender – any way you spin it, it’s set to be the Best Night Ever! Again.

Under the Southern Stars 19 January, Broadwater Parklands

Hotter Than Hell 27 January, Broadwater Parklands

Some of Australia’s best rock is hitting the Gold Coast this January, following the success of the inaugural run of Under the Southern Stars shows. This summer will see ARIA Hall of Famers Hoodoo Gurus join forces with rock royalty You Am I as well as The Superjesus, British India, The Getaway Plan and Scott Darlow for one hell of a summer soiree in Southport. Tickets on sale now via underthesouthernstars.com.au.

A hellish lineup of legends will descend on the Gold Coast this summer, in a celebration of all things hot in Australian rock. And the lineup is old-school, classicera festival gold. Hotter Than Hell will brings its touring circus of Australian rock legends to Broadwater Parklands – the perfect spot for a summer festival. Featuring Spiderbait, Shihad, Jebediah, an exclusive Magic Dirt Reunion, with Killing Heidi, Body Jar, 28 Days and Area 7, the 2017-18 shows sold out, so you might wanna hustle if you want to jump on board the Hell-train this January.

Earth Frequency Festival 15 – 18 February, Ivory’s Rock Every year we send someone to cover Earth Frequency Festival we’re left with serious FOMO. Not only is this festival a music-lovers dream, it’s also a celebration of all things earth-related with its 2019 installation including a tree planting and week-long permaculture retreat. Earth Frequency Festival dishes up a combination of sonic flavours ranging from progressive, psytrance and techno through to glitch-hop, midtempo and live acoustic vibes from the likes of Dub FX (live), Clozee, Birds of Paradise, Luigi Madonna and Ben Coda, amongst others already announced.

Bleach Festival 17 – 28 April 2019 Quintessentially Gold Coast, Bleach* Festival celebrates the city’s best artists and welcomes renowned Australian and international collaborators. Utilising the Gold Coast’s world famous natural landscape as unconventional venues, Bleach* Festival delivers incredible arts and cultural experiences that challenge expectations, change perceptions and provide a sense of place for locals and visitors alike. Bleach* Festival is a uniquely Gold Coast expression of music, theatre, dance, visual arts and outdoor performance.

Bluesfest 18 – 22 April, Byron Bay Bendigo Autumn Music 25 – 28 April, Bendigo Unfortunately you have to wait nearly a whole year for this new event. Bendigo Autumn Music, otherwise known as BAM, is brought to you by the team behind Mullum Music Festival and follows much the same format – that is, it utilises the existing venues and spaces within Bendigo’s arts precinct to bring the town alive. Right in the heart of Bendigo, you’ll experience 30% local content as well as music from around the globe, with no gates, no port-a-loos or bag searches and no endless queues and VIP zones. And it’s all just a short drive up the highway from Melbourne and organisers are promising more than 80 performances over the four-day event, so pace yourself.

It seems like the dust has only settled on Bluesfest’s 2018 festival, but organisers have already announced the first of their 2019 artists and the lineup sees a bunch of legends, return favourites and Bluesfest newbies joining the 30th anniversary bill. Supergroup I’m With Her (Sara Watkins, Sarah Jarosz and Aoife O’Donovan0 have collectively released nine solo albums, won multiple Grammy Awards and co-founded two seminal bands (Nickel Creek and Crooked Still). They’re joined by Irish Mythen, who returns to Bluesfest – an obvious crowd favourite. Also in the first lineup announcement is Kasey Chambers, Jack Johnson, Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals, Ray Lamontagne, George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic and St Paul & The Broken Bones amongst dozens of others. Just a short trip down the highway from the Gold Coast, Bluesfest resonates deeply with music lovers for its laid-back vibes and blues-driven sets, all taking place in the stunning Tyagarah Tea Tree Farm over the Easter long weekend.

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Surfers Paradise LIVE 2 – 6 May 2019, Surfers Paradise The spiritual (and physical) home of the Gold Coast Music Awards hasn’t yet revealed its lineup for 2019, but it has formally released its dates. Surfers Paradise LIVE will take place right on the beachfront at our city’s most iconic beach from Thursday 2 – Monday 6 May. Quickly building a name for itself as a broadgenre event, catering to multiple generations of music-lovers over the May long weekend, we’ll keep you posted on the lineup as it drops. Gold Coast Music Awards will take place on Thursday 2 May with a live show featuring four of the city’s best bands.

Blues on Broadbeach 16 – 19 May 2019, Broadbeach It’s the biggest free music festival in Australia and it’s become a must-play for local and international talent alike. Blues on Broadbeach will take place 16 – 19 May, taking over the streets and venues of Broadbeach. Stay tuned for lineup details as they’re announced.

Gold Coast Food & Wine Festival 30 May – 2 June, city-wide It’s the city’s signature festival of food and wine and as it’s brought to us by the same folks behind NightQuarter, it usually includes quirky and innovative events that really celebrate the city’s evolution as a food destination, with a focus on the fight against food waste. 2019 will be the event’s fourth season and we’re super excited to see what organisers bring to the table.

Seated Show

September 2018

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FROM TIJUANA CARTEL TO BLACK RABBIT GEORGE finding the balance

There’s something quite calming about talking with Paul George. It seems no matter how frantic tour-life is, he always delivers a zen kinda attitude, which makes for a change when you’re sitting on the journalist end of the phone. When we chat, Paul is basking in the glow of the previous night’s show – at Junk Bar in Brisbane. While he’s used to playing to tens of thousands of people across the globe with Tijuana Cartel, last night’s show saw more like 70-80, close to the venue’s capacity. He describes Junk Bar as a cross between a log cabin and an opium den, before quickly telling me he hadn’t actually been in any opium dens to compare. “It’s all in my imagination,” he says, reassuringly. He’s talking to me from Sawtell, near Coffs Harbour. Destination: Bellingen. And he has with him Adam Felton (Ash Grunwald) and OJ Newcombe (Band of Frequencies, Xavier Rudd) – his new recruits to his band. It’s the first time they’ve toured together as Black Rabbit George, but obviously not the first time they’ve each spent long periods on the road. “You can tell they’ve been doing it a long time,” Paul says, of his travel companions. And he’s not just talking about life on the road, but their adaptability as touring musicians. “They know the songs well, it just sounds really good,” he said, adding that their diverse musical backgrounds makes for an interesting sound.

“OJ has a bit of a jazz feel– he can take things in a new direction and Adam has a rock drummer approach – between the two of them it makes things really interesting,” Paul said. “And it sort of means we can go different places – flamenco, Latin, quite a few solo folk ones, to jazz even.” “It’s been really hard to find the right musicians to play with. I tried out a lot,” Paul said. “These guys got it from the start. Both of them are easy to tour with and great musicians, they also take the music in a new direction. It’s been a real blast so far playing with these guys.” Black Rabbit George, in its new three-piece format will perform at BIGSOUND this September as part of the Gold Coast showcase, a project of the Gold Coast Music Awards. At the 2018 Awards, Paul was named five times as a finalist, across Black Rabbit George and Tijuana Cartel projects. “At the moment everything’s happening at once and I’m being thrown from one thing to the other,” he says, of juggling both projects. “Last week we were in Sydney [with Tijuana Cartel], had full crowds, nearly a rave kind of feel, then I was in Brisbane last night playing to a small sit-down crowd.” “I haven’t been home for more than two days and I was in Europe as well for June / July, nonstop touring with Wild Marmalade. That was fun too, but at some point, everything seems like a bit of a blur. The music’s good, but life…” It’s not the first time Paul’s showcased at BIGSOUND, so he knows the lay of the land. “It’s interesting those kind of things, because you don’t know what to expect or who’s going to like it,” he said. “We’re concentrating on the live show so if we get some kind of hookup, whether Australian or international, that’d be awesome.” “We’re not looking for some kind of big record deal, rather looking for agents and ways to get the music out. For us, it’s about meeting other musicians and meeting people booking bands, that’s where we’re at,” he said. Despite Paul’s creativity getting in his own way (“one day I want to write a reggae song and the next day a flamenco tune”) he reckons he’s finally found the sound he imagined Black Rabbit George would deliver. “I’ve finally hit what it should be,” he said. “It’s a balance between guitar work and folk song writing.”

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“People at the shows like the guitar element of it – so I’ve kind of been showing off more in the new stuff. It’s a bit more instrumental.” And believe me, this man was born to play guitar (and despite his near genius ability he continues to push the envelope with ongoing lessons). He’s never been able to do any other job but be a guitar player. He got fired from Crazy Clarks and managed to set himself on fire working at a smelter. But that’s nothing compared to being sacked from a London sex text line. “Guys would text in and I had to pretend I was a 25 year old blonde, I did this job for a couple of months and I was the best at it, because I kind of knew what everyone wanted, but it was totally boring and I found a program called Quick Keys, and you’d have a paragraph and press one key and it’d copy and paste text.” That efficiency didn’t impress his managers though. He thought he was texting a caller some erotic passages, but it was his managers telling him not to copy and paste and he just kept pressing random keys. Needless to say, that career didn’t last long either. While Black Rabbit George continues to bubble away with heaps of new songs and talk of hitting studio for an album early next year, Tijuana Cartel is also still kicking major goals. While touring the world with that project, he says he still genuinely loves playing to his hometown fans – something that only happens a couple of times a year. “Gold Coast is always home,” he said. “All our friends are there, and families, but it’s just the way the touring goes that we don’t get to play more often.” Tijuana Cartel plays one of those rare hometown shows this October, when Flavours of Metro takes place in the Chinatown mall and Southport CBD. It’s a feast of food, music and all things SoPo. They’ve also got a new live album about to drop. Recorded at Hotel Brunswick, the band picked their best songs, recorded over two live shows and whacked it all together for fans who’ve been begging for a live CD. Ever the creative artist, Paul also has a new book. But you have to get to one of those Black Rabbit George shows to get your hands on the very limited edition run. Samantha Morris

Black Rabbit George performs at the BIGSOUND Gold Coast showcase, Wednesday 5 September, 12.30 – 2.00pm at The Valley Drive Inn. RSVP: cultural@blankgc.com.au.

FOR LOVERS OF GUITAR… Byron Guitar Festival returns

Back for its second innings, Byron Bay Guitar Festival returns to Byron Bay Brewery for a weekend of fingerpicking, strumming, steel sliding, lap tapping and riff making … Headlining will be alt-rockers British India along with Ash Grunwald, Dallas Frasca, Hussy Hicks and a slew of others including nine year old child prodigy Taj Farrant from the Central Coast NSW. It’s also a marketplace for all things guitar – a veritable kid-in-a-candystore type deal for musos. There are workshops with Lloyd Spiegel and Jeff Martin (The Tea Party) on Sunday at Pighouse Flicks and Byron Bay Brewery will be supplying ample amber nectar. It’s on 6 – 7 October. Tickets are just $90 for two days. byronbayguitarfestival.com.

Riffs aplenty at Wallapalooza Wallapalooza has taken it to the next level with its 2018 outing. The event, which has scored a gong as finalist for Event of the Year at Gold Coast Music Awards pretty much since it started running, has announced the biggest celebration of riffs ever to hit the Gold Coast. In my humble opinion. AZREAL, Smoking Martha, Hammers and These Four Walls join forces with Hussy Hicks, Mass Sky Raid, Purple Zain, Hot Wax, Being Jane Lane, Nowhere Else, Baltimore Gun Clubs, The Wayward Suns, Salt + Steel, King Mungi and Snake Mountain. These are undeniably some of the best and most prolific live bands on the Gold Coast right now and if you like your riffs delivered fast, furious and frenetic, you don’t want to miss this event. It’s completely free and it all goes down Saturday 15 September at the Wallaby Hotel in Mudgeeraba. Get all the details at fb.com/ wallapalooza.com.au.

From X-factor to Cambus Wallace: Tim Rossington One of the busiest and most sought-after soloists you’ll meet, Tim Rossington is a well-known fixture in the pub and club scene of Newcastle. His surprising audition on X-Factor, which resulted in a standing ovation has led to this humble country boy with the shaggy hair and bush hat, making a mark all over the country. Armed with nothing but a guitar, Tim will hit The Cambus Wallace on 16 September. Get more gigs at the Gold Coast Gig Guide. Samantha Morris

country, and new music. I continue to go to my local library for music to listen and dissect, I enjoy watching music documentaries they give me inspiration.” “So yeah it's an obsession.” While Angus has released three EPs to date, he’s been flying under the radar for way too long. Pairing up with fellow Griffith student and producer Fletcher Babb (Cold Ghost) for some of his releases, Angus’ music has continued to evolve. This new EP ‘Take Me To The Ward’ is a surprise package for a relatively unknown artist. Just three tracks in length, it’s like a taster for the mixed bag of genres Angus is experimenting with. ‘Sad Song’ is genuine and poetic and ‘Tigers Way’ is at the heavier end of the folkrock spectrum. Title track ‘Take Me To The Ward’ shows off Angus’ songwriting ability adeptly. “It's the most honest song that I think I've written,” Angus says, “and certainly one where I am trying to tame a lot of demons.”

MEET ANGUS OASTLER

“A lot of it is about being held back by a debilitating anxiety that stops you from doing a lot of things, it's not really about me necessarily but it's close, maybe someone else can relate to it.” The EP also clearly demonstrates the power of collaboration and the strength of connections built through endeavours like Griffith’s Bachelor of Popular Music and its SEED program. The EP sees Angus collaborate again with Fletcher Babb as well as Jake Morton (Electrik Lemonade, Napoleonic Wars), Shannon Kelly (Napoleonic Wars) and Tiarni Hope. “Fletch is the one who organises the studio bookings and everything else being the producer, he's really good at getting everyone in on eachother’s work because we’re so familiar with each other, especially around the SEED family,” Angus explained.

Angus Oastler is one of the Gold Coast’s most under-rated songwriters. With an old-school charm and crossing over between roots, Americana and indie-folk, he’s just released a three-track EP which delivers a quirky pastiche to the great artists who’ve influenced him. He’s been on this trajectory since he was eleven or twelve years old, but it hasn’t all been plain sailing. “I felt this need to consciously make up songs in my head,” he says of his childhood, “then I would remember them without necessarily writing them down... it was a bit like playtime for me.” He says he always wanted to be front and centre (and admits to having an obsession with Elvis) but found it hard to relate to other children. He joined the school choir and then in high school the music program but when he got into bands like Nirvana and Silverchair and started writing grungier songs he felt the need to keep them to himself. It was around that time he discovered he had ASD and Asperger’s. “I learnt to embrace songwriting as an outlet for me and that helped me get through a lot of issues at that time,” he explained. “I guess I've always been a bit conflicted with what I'd like do to musically due to my wide range of music influences. But then I got to uni and I found a sound that I liked. My music collection is still growing from old jazz, blues, old time 20

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“As for living under the radar, it's not easy, it was a matter of presenting my music in the right way and appealing to the right people,” he said. “It's hard for an emerging musician, it's very hard to get noticed, there are moments when you think is it all worth it, 'probably should start looking for a job' but you just got to hold on to that self-belief and that need to keep doing it because if you've dug so far into your music, what else are you gonna do?”

BURIED ALIVE Catherine Gunther

Catherine Gunther, known around the Gold Coast for her unique blend of country and folk and intimate shows, is taking a different turn with her new single, ‘Buried Alive’. After a relocation to Sydney earlier this year and a new single on the way, Gunther is coming into her own with the new track darker and more gritty than anything else she has written to date. “I’d always wanted to move away from what I had been doing but it took writing ‘Buried Alive’ to do that,” she said. “It was like growing up and reaching adulthood musically,” Recording the song with Jared Adlam was said to be “creative” but “comfortable”, with Adlam bringing out the best in her and also bringing her songs to life. “Working with Jared has been a dream, he understood me from day one on the direction and sound I wanted to take my music in.” The song starts with Gunther’s vocals coming in with the eerie plucking of a banjo that sets the Americana scene. Warbling guitar and crashing drums then seal the deal, making you feel like you’re sitting on a porch in an American-Western movie, thinking about the man that has done you wrong. “When I wrote this track over two years ago I felt lost, weighed down by the sudden and unexpected changes I was faced with personally and musically. It’s sad, it’s painful, it’s raw, but at the time it was necessary. It would be a song that would become a catalyst for my new sound and musical direction. Everything I have written and recorded since comes from the cathartic nature of this track allowing me to say goodbye to the past and hello to a new beginning,” Catherine explained. “Storytelling is my life and writing is something I just have to do, whether it's songs or stories, most of my week is spent this way.” Emma Whines

“Living under the radar can be quite a drag,” he said. Now that Angus is emerging from under that radar, he says he’s aiming to work on an album and thinking about the next lot of gigs. But he also knows to take it one step at a time. “I think I should see how this EP goes for a while before jumping onto any major stepping stones too quickly,” he added. Samantha Morris

Catch Angus Oastler at Currumbin Sanctuary Markets on 31 August, The Collective Palm Beach on 1 September, Sheoak Shack on 8 September and Emerald Lake Markets on 4 October and check out the brilliant EP ‘Take Me To The Ward’ at angusoastler. bandcamp.com.

Catherine Gunther’s new song ‘Buried Alive’ is out on all platforms from 29 August.

GOLD COAST MUSIC OPENS IN SOUTHPORT

COOMERA

OPEN DAY SATURDAY 13 OCTOBER 2018 9AM - 2PM Explore cyber security, design, gaming, IT, music and screen & media Tour our film editing suites, sound recording studios & Black Box Theatre

Local musician Stewart Fairhurst has been around the traps – playing solo in your local pub most weekends, he also announces on 94.1FM where he hosts ‘The Local Gig’, a spot where Gold Coast artists often hear their song on the radio for the first time. “It makes feel so good that I can do this for the local musos because it certainly wasn’t around when I started playing around in original bands,” Stewy said. Stewy has taken it up a notch though. He’s brought back iconic Gold Coast Music, a retail music store run and staffed by local musicians, for local musicians. It’s located on Nerang Street, in the heart of Southport, where Billy Hydes once was. “I’ve been in music retail for eleven years, eight as Store Manager. I decided to bring back Gold Coast Music for a few reasons, but most of all I just want to give back to the GC because this city had been so good to me and I love helping fellow musicians” Knowledge is what the customer is looking for, and Stewy has that in spades with so many years in the real music industry. “They want to be assured that their purchase is right for their needs and that’s what having experience does especially for someone just starting out.” “Gold Coast Music will have a lot of different brands, there will still be core brands like Roland and Yamaha but we will have different guitar, drums and amp lines. Also, we know that drummers on the GC have been doing it tough for years with not being able to get the basics like sticks, heads, stands… that is about to change,” Stewy said. Terry “Tappa” Teece and Samantha Morris

Chat with certificate, diploma and bachelor program experts Light and sound demonstrations Prizes, giveaways, catering on campus RADIO METRO LIVE CAMPUS TOURS ALL DAY MUSIC STUDENTS PERFORM BACHELOR INFORMATION SESSION TAFE AT SCHOOL INFORMATION SESSION

1300 308 233 TAFE Queensland RTO NO. 0275 | CRICOS NO. 03020E

Gold Coast Music is now open in Southport.

SHARKS

THE HUB HARKS IS S T R O P H E GOLD SOUT IC ON TH S U M E V I FREE, L

OF COAST.

SEP

8 1 0 2 E D I U G G GI

FRI LATE

FRI JESSICA

southportsharks.com.au

ODGERS

FOR

WOODSTOCK

SAT COUNTDOWN

RELOADED

TRIBUTE

Corner Olsen & Musgrave Aves, Southport QLD | 5532 1155

SHOW

FRI RUBY

FRI

SMELLS LIKE THE 90S

MONTEY

HERE

FRIDAY

SAT 1

A &

TASTE

SATURDAY

8.30pm

Dance On

OUR

LIVE

NIGHTS

ACTS

THIS

FRI 21

RNR

MONTH!

5.00pm

Ruby Montey ACOUSTIC 8.30pm

FRI 7

Funk N Wagnells

6.00pm

Jessica Odgers

DANCE, FUNK, FUSION

ACOUSTIC 8.30pm

FRI FUNK

Devils Kiosk

SAT 22

BLUES

WAGNELLS

SAT 8

8.30pm

Miss T & The Anchormen

FRI 28

Smells Like The 90s

ACOUSTIC 8.30pm

SAT 15

8.30pm

Countdown Reloaded Tribute Show TRIBUTE

SAT LONG

GONE

DADDYS

*Entertainment subject to change at any time.

Josh Boyd 8.30pm

Kris Wason

WOODSTOCK ERA

5.00pm ACOUSTIC

5.00pm

Late for Woodstock

Long Gone Daddys 50’S, 60’S, RNR

COVERS

FRI 14

8.30pm

ROCK TRIBUTE

SAT 29

8.30pm

The Pinup Girls PARTY ROCK

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From showcase to stardom

HOLLOW COVES

ELECTRIK LEMONADE: ZEST FOR LIFE

Kicking off 2018, Ryan Henderson and Matt Cairns had rustled up a few session musicians for a local tour and were performing, perhaps a little starstruck, at their very first Woodford Folk Festival, courtesy of an impressive performance at Australian Music Week that had caught the attention of Chloe Goodyear, who leads the Woodford programming. The Woodford crowd loved them but that might not have been much of surprise to the boys, given they’d already toured the US, Canada and Europe to fascinated audiences and managed 30 million digital spins across their EP material. Nevertheless, an Australian love affair with Hollow Coves was conceived in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland that Christmas season and has thrived since. April saw Hollow Coves support UK singersongwriter Tom Walker on a practically sold out European tour, further building their fan base after a successful headline schedule of smaller venues throughout the US during the month of March. During May, the boys picked up a few UK slots including at The Great Escape Festival in Brighton and Ryan took a moment to acknowledge the work of Sounds Australia abroad. “[They] are doing really amazing things for Australian artists over there though and helping them get slots at a bunch of the festivals overseas. Sounds Australia put together a stage at a lot of showcase festivals overseas with an exclusively Australian line-up. This helps Australian artists to get heard by industry overseas which can lead to further opportunities internationally. That was a great break for us.” A new single, ‘Ran Away’, was released just before accolades at their home town Gold Coast Music Awards saw them pick up Breakout Act of the Year and Song of the Year (Coastline), to the surprise of a few judges, including Julia Bridger. “Hollow Coves were a revelation for the judging panel this year. Beautifully written and recorded songs, and incredible steps that they’ve made career-wise meant they were deserving winners in a very competitive field of finalists.” Recording a new album with Chris & Bear Bond (Ben Howard, Xavier Rudd) in Devon during the UK summer, the Hollow Coves 26

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boys commented on the creative process, as they prepare to release a new album in 2019; “Working with the Bond brothers has been amazing. They are absolute legends. They haven't been making things easy for us though. It's been hard work and there’s still a fair bit to do. We're stoked with how things are coming together though. The new stuff has quite a lot of variety. We've definitely expanded a bit on our sound since our first EP. BIGSOUND was recommended to them by their Canadian management, Indica, and it’ll close out another Australian tour throughout August for these hardworking young musicians. Rather than relaxing however, they had a shortlist ready of acts they’d like to check out themselves during the renowned Brisbane conference, including Didirri, Greta Stanley, No Mono, and Riley Pearce. They’ll head straight back to another tour of Europe after the event, followed by another North American set of dates, continuing to build their momentum into 2019. Ryan and Matt leave their hearts in Southeast Queensland however, for different but equally charming reasons. Ryan loves his dogs. “To be honest, we get to see some beautiful places while we're away but its a different kind of beauty. Nothing is quite the same as home and I definitely miss friends, family, and my dogs. I have two labradors; one white and one black, named Toby and Bella.” And Matt’s heart is on the beaches of the Gold Coast. “It's always such a treat to come home to our house on the beach at Palmy on the Gold Coast and hang with all my friends. It's seriously the best place to live in the world.” Glenn Tozer

Hollow Coves showcase twice at BIGSOUND before returning to the Gold Coast for Live at Bond, which takes place on Sunday 9 September from 3.00pm. They’ll be supported at Live at Bond by SEED artist Hazel Mei.

Electrik Lemonade are a band that make the thought of being electrocuted in a vat of fizzy lemon-flavoured soda, kind of fun. Not only are they undoubtedly one of Australia’s best-known party bands, but they are also a talented bunch of fine male musicians. Even talking to three of the main stayers - Galen, Barney and Jake over the phone - their energy and liveliness was so infectious, I started wishing I was in a bar drinking beer with them, rather than sipping tea in my kitchen.

‘We really covered some musical ground in regards to recording this album, I guess you could say it is the best new sound of all our previous stuff,’ Galen said.

If you’ve never heard of Electrik Lemonade, perhaps it’s best you do your eardrums a favour. Blending funk, disco, blues, hip hop and brass into original songs, the eight piece band are renowned for getting the dance floor heaving. Drawing on influences such as Jamiroquai, Skunkhour and The Cat Empire, the band create hip-shaking, toe-tapping tunes, accessible to all walks of life.

Having spent the last few weeks recording the album at Rocking Horse recording studios, I asked the guys how they transferred their energetic live performances to a recorded one.

Discussing their latest nation-wide tour, which kicked off in Airlie Beach and finished with four huge shows in Western Australia, Galen said they’d been blown away by the packed-out gigs and frenetic crowds they’d experienced whilst on the road. When asked about tour highlights, all three were adamant it was the gig at the eponymous Night Cat club in Melbourne.

‘We performed and recorded every track together, along with some feature artists, so the energy we generate when either playing to a crowd or just with each other, was recreated on the album - in fact it sounds even more real than ever,’ he said.

‘That was both an amazing gig and night in general,’ Galen recalls, with all three chuckling away on the background. ‘All of us felt we experienced music at its pinnacle that night. ‘That venue is amazing with a 360 degree stage, a rocking dance floor and oh yeah, it was a full house too. Lets’ just say it set the stage, so to speak, for a debaucherous evening,’ he said. Speaking of debauchery, I mentioned the time the band crashed Brisbane’s BIGSOUND a few years ago. But this year, they’ve actually secured a legitimate twenty-minute showcase. ‘Look, it’s a pretty short playing time to try and impress the industry head honchos, but we’re thrilled to have secured a spot this year,’ said Barney. ‘We pride ourselves on being an authentic, live band, so to be able to bring our unique energy to a set at BIGSOUND, in front of some potentially important people, is, for us, one the highlights of 2018. ‘We’ll also be performing one of the singles off our upcoming debut album, which will no doubt be an incredible experience,’ he said. When I asked them about the particular theme and style of their upcoming album, set to be released in early 2019, Galen was quick to point out that with eight members, all playing different instruments and heralding different styles of music, the album was more of a conglomeration and unification of everybody’s individuality, than a single theme.

‘We really wanted to create more of an authentic sound, bringing old school styles of funk and soul to the new generation - I know I speak for all the guys when I say we want to be more than just a fickle ‘Spotify’ band, we want people to stop and take notice of the big sounds we put together,’ he said.

‘Basically, we aimed to record with the same energy we perform live,’ said Jake.

Talking about the first single to be released later this year, ‘Sing With Me’, the band’s ultimate mantra of having a good time and living life to its fullest is evident. ‘This is a track that pulls people together and gets everyone up, dancing and singing,’ said Jake. “Yeah definitely, it’s about dancing like no-one is watching and having fun - it’s something we’re all about and we want you guys to be a part of it too,’ said Barney. With a plethora of summer festivals on the horizon, as well as finishing off their debut album, Electrik Lemonade are clearly one of the Gold Coast’s busiest bands. ‘This doesn’t stop us wanting to play music and get the party started though,’ said Galen. ‘It’s what we do.’ Well, if that’s what they do, I’m more than happy to oblige. Time to put the cup of tea down and indulge in some Electrik Lemonade instead. Prudence Clark

Electrik Lemonade will perform at the Gold Coast BIGSOUND showcase on Wednesday 5 September from 12.30 – 2.00pm alongside Black Rabbit George and Phoebe Sinclair. RSVP at cultural@ blankgc.com.au.

SAN MEI

FLIGHT FACILITIES

from bedroom producer to BIGSOUND

bringing the love to Night Quarter

Emily Hamilton is a legal aid worker by day and a powerhouse pop rocker by night. Emily, AKA San Mei, has been finding her feet musically for some years and a recent, not-so-chance meeting with Oscar Dawson (Holy Holy, Alex Lahey, Ali Barter, British India) catalysed a giant leap forward in both her sound and her approach to the industry in general.

“I was really into sport for a while and thought that was what I wanted to do. My sisters and I played competitive tennis,” Emily said. “Then I just met some friends – actually my youth group – and was playing in church and stuff – and they were also in the music industry as well. And then I married one of them.”

Sydney electronic music high-flyers, Flight Facilities, are one of the biggest drawcards on the Australian dance music scene. The dynamic duo, Hugo Gruzman and James Lyell, cut their formative musical teeth in the mash up world of remixing other artists, including Bag Raiders and Sneaky Sound System. They quickly progressed to delivering their own, original material, with their track ‘Crave You’ scoring a top twenty slot in the 2010 Triple J Hottest 100. This, together with their 2012 track, ‘Clair de Lune’, quickly became Aussie dance anthems of a generation. In the ensuing years the group continued to lift their profile, including big ticket performances at South By Southwest and Coachella, and 2014 saw them drop their debut album, the rapturously received ‘Down To Earth’. The album reached a giddying number three on the ARIA charts, and included the highly popular numbers ‘Two Bodies’, featuring Emma Louise and ‘Sunshine’, featuring Reggie Watts. This year has seen the band’s stocks rise even further, with the singles ‘Need You’, featuring Nika, and ‘All Your Love’, featuring Dustin Tebbutt, keeping the band firmly in the ascendency, with the latter currently pushing towards four million Spotify streams. And the rest of 2018 will see the duo continue to soar off the back of this irrepressible momentum, as they prepare to embark on their highly anticipated All Your Love Australian tour. With many of the shows having already sold out, and further nights added in Melbourne, Sydney

and Brisbane, you’ll be pleased to know that the guys have included the Gold Coast in their bulging itinerary, with a show at NightQuarter in Helensvale happening on Friday, 7 September. Make no mistake, this gig will probably sell out beforehand - the band’s first up South East Queensland performance of the tour, at the Tivoli on 5 September, has already sold out, with an extra Tivoli show subsequently added. So to experience one of this country’s most dynamic electro-party vibes right here on the Gold Coast, you’d best be quick and grab your tickets pronto. In the event you need any more convincing, there are also two other fabulous Aussie bands along for the ride, with electronic dreamers The Kite String Tangle and fearlessly eclectic Sydney crew Haiku Hands ensuring an electric evening will be a foregone conclusion. Anthony Gebhardt

Catch Flight Facilities, together with The Kite String Tangle and Haiku Hands, when they light up the following local stages in September: Tuesday 4 September: The Tivoli, Brisbane Wednesday 5 September: The Tivoli, Brisbane (sold out) Friday 7 September: Night Quarter, Gold Coast

From there, she explored songwriting and honed her chops by emulating other artists, learning the same chord progressions and embellishing songs herself. But she thinks she’s still got a ways to go. “I want the songs to be strong enough so if I just sat down at a piano or with guitar they’d be able to carry themselves,” she said. “In the beginning it was all new to me, all these amazing, crazy sounds in Logic and just trying to learn that. Lately I’m just trying to refine ideas and make them simple but strong.” Oscar Dawson has also been helping San Mei refine her songs since the pair met at his show at Miami Marketta after he’d received a copy of the demo for ‘Wonder’. “We just kind of said hi and met up at BIGSOUND again to talk logistics. We had a lot of fun recording together, we got along really well, he’s very laid back.” When he received San Mei’s songs they were nearly fully formed, so Oscar’s approach to Emily’s songs was similarly laid back. “I’d written all the parts and tracked them. He was really supportive in just using the ideas and complementing them better with maybe different drum patterns than what I’d laid down. He really Just refined things,” Emily said. Emily’s recent releases have seen her shrug off the bedroom pop-producer epithet and complete her transformation to dream pop, complete with psych-tinged guitars and synth. It’s the kind of music just as much at home in a dingy indie bar as on massive festival stages. She says that evolution was totally conscious.

Image by Lamp Photography

For someone who was forced to play piano as a child (“and hated it”), San Mei’s is a lovely story of musical growth.

“I got to a stage where I didn’t feel like anything was flowing. It wasn’t feeling natural after a while, so I just started incorporating my love of guitar and music.” “I feel like at the moment, especially with the newer stuff that I’m writing that I’m loving combining two things – those really interesting electronic sounds with heavy guitar bass.” That ‘newer stuff ’ has scored Gold Coast’s San Mei a much coveted showcase slot at BIGSOUND this year, something she says she’s incredibly “excited” about. “I feel like there’s so much to accomplish there – where do I start. I feel kind of privileged I guess just to be a part of all of that, to be with all these bands making waves in their own thing that they’re doing – that’s pretty special.” As well as BIGSOUND, Emily has a bunch of shows on the horizon, plus she’s just scored a City of Gold Coast RADF grant to support the release of new single ‘Heaven’. She’s also dropped more than a little hint about a new four-track EP but no release date has been set. Samantha Morris

Catch San Mei at BIGSOUND (Tuesday at Woolly Mammoth and Thursday at Brightside) as well as at the AU Review party at The Foundry on 7 September. She’s also at Rainbow Revolution at Miami Marketta on 28 September and the Crafted Beer and Cider Festival in Broadbeach on 6 October.

www.blankgc.com.au

AUGUST THURSDAY 30 AUGUST The Unknowns + The Lonesomes + Whine + The Miserines | Currumbin Pub

Matty Rogers + The Brothers Calling (5.00pm) | Chinatown Markets Julie Hayes (3.00pm) | Burleigh Brewing Co

THURSDAY 6 SEPTEMBER Zookeepers (Covers) | Southport Sharks The Yams | Cambus Wallace

Gregg Peterson (3.00pm) | Burleigh Brewing Co Shotgun Duo (Covers) | RSL Club Southport

Boatkeeper + NightQuarter Spectacular + Matty Rogers + Liv Heyer + Aaron Gannaway | NightQuarter

SUNDAY 9 SEPTEMBER

Late for Woodstock (Covers) | Southport Sharks

Crossfire Duo (Covers) | RSL Club Southport

James Street Preachers | The Scottish Prince

James Street Preachers | Scottish Prince

DJ Longtime + DJ Fonzaius | Beach Hotel, Byron Bay

Hanley + Fossemalle and Hills | Beach Hotel, Byron Bay

SUNDAY 2 SEPTEMBER

FRIDAY 7 SEPTEMBER

Elska | Cambus Wallace

Flight Facilities + Kite String Tangle + Haiku Hands | NightQuarter (Ticketed)

Dave Murray | The Scottish Prince

Lock n Load + Bayley Pearl | NightQuarter

Live at Bond: Hollow Coves + Hazel Mei (3.00pm) | ADCO Amphitheatre, Bond University

FRIDAY 31 AUGUST

Hayley Grace | Aviary Rooftop Bar

Tuffy + Black Rabbit George | Beach Hotel, Byron

Alex Fietz | Southport Sharks

SEPTEMBER SATURDAY 1 SEPTEMBER Good Will Remedy + Colt Seavers Band + NightQuarter Spectacular + Cherry Divine + Mudslide + Elska + Bronte Eve | NightQuarter Dance On (Covers) | Southport Sharks Blowhard + F1 Elevens + Friends With The Enemy + Monster Fodder + Tokyo Beef + Cao Vadio | Miami Shark Bar (Ticketed)

Simone Milton + Asta Lowry (Covers) | Southport Yacht Club

Lloyd Saniel (Covers) | Southport Sharks Tommy Memphis (Covers) (11.00am) | RSL Club Southport

No Nation (3.00pm) | Burleigh Brewing Co

4’20 Sound Reggae Night | Beach Hotel, Byron Bay

The Smokin Crawdads (Covers) | RSL Club Southport

TUESDAY 4 SEPTEMBER

Ino Pio + Nocturnal Tapes | Beach Hotel, Byron Bay

Matthew Armitage | Cambus Wallace

SATURDAY 8 SEPTEMBER

Bill Jacobi | Beach Hotel, Byron Bay

Amy Shark + E^ST + Alexander Biggs | NightQuarter (Ticketed)

Flight Facilities | The Tivoli

James Street Preachers | Cambus Wallace

Bones Rivers | Nimbin Hotel

Gold Coast BIGSOUND Showcase: Electrik Lemonade + Black Rabbit George + Phoebe Sinclair | Fortitude Valley, RSVP essential: cultural@blankgc.com.au

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Mufassa + Katie J Music (5.00pm) | Miami Marketta

Mental As Anything | Lonestar Tavern (Ticketed)

Chocolate Starfish Play INXS Kick album | Studio 56, Miami Marketta (Ticketed)

Good Doogs + Pandamic + Bleach Girls + Daisy Brains | Miami Shark Bar

MONDAY 3 SEPTEMBER

WEDNESDAY 5 SEPTEMBER

Boomshanka (Covers) | Lonestar Tavern

Jessica Odgers | Cabana Bar & Lounge, Southport Sharks

Drop Ins + Cao Vadio + From The Well + The Screaming Platypuses | Currumbin Pub

The Yams + Nick Humblet (4.00pm) | Miami Marketta

Burger Joint (7.00pm) + Bill Jacobi (2.00pm) | Sheoak Shack

Lily Budiasa | Aviary Rooftop Bar

Devils Kiosk (Covers) | Southport Sharks

The Yams | The Sottish Prince

Jock Barnes | Beach Hotel, Byron Bay

Miss T & The Anchormen (Covers) | Southport Sharks Mistakes Gig + Cakes + Yukon Ezra + Lens + Love Banana | Miami Shark Bar The Lyrical + Matthew Armitage (4.00pm) | Miami Marketta Andy Burke (7.00pm) + Angus Oastler (2.00pm) | Sheoak Shack Burger Joint | Brunswick Hotel Free Sunny (Covers) | Lonestar Tavern

The Radiators | Currumbin Soundlounge

DJ Reiflex + My Happy Place | Beach Hotel, Byron Bay

Free The Genie | Cambus Wallace

Du’ East | Beach Hotel, Byron

FRIDAY 14 SEPTEMBER

Chi Chi (Covers) (2.00pm) | Southport Yacht Club

Kris Wason (5.00pm) | Cabana Bar & Lounge, Southport Sharks Flaskas + Ooz (5.00pm) | Miami Marketta Inder (Covers) | Southport Yacht Club Hot Coffee + The Fools + Tobi + Bill Durry | Currumbin Pub

Danny Dyson (2.00pm) | Burleigh Brewing Co

Burger Joint (3.00pm) | Burleigh Brewing Co

Eureka Funk (Covers) (1.00pm) | RSL Club Southport

Wally & The Gators (Covers) | RSL Club Southport

Late for Woodstock + DJ Longtime and Friends | Beach Hotel, Byron Bay

Leigh James + Cheap Fakes | Beach Hotel, Bryon Bay

MONDAY 10 SEPTEMBER

SATURDAY 15 SEPTEMBER

Lloyd Saniel (Covers) | Southport Sharks

Harry J Hart Band + NightQuarter Spectacular + Dual Frequency + Elska + Bayley Pearl | NightQuarter

Michael Whitmore (Covers) (11.00am) | RSL Club Southport

Countdown Reloaded Tribute Show (Covers) | Southport Sharks

4’20 Sound Reggae Night | Beach Hotel, Byron Bay

Emps N Treats + Mr Ruckman + Masterwolf | Miami Shark Bar

TUESDAY 11 SEPTEMBER

Old Man Fridays + Graham Moes (4.00pm) | Miami Marketta

Gavin Doniger | Cambus Wallace

UK Classic Rock Tribute Show | Lonestar Tavern (Ticketed)

Jason Delphin | Beach Hotel, Byron Bay

Beaver (Covers) | Lonestar Tavern

WEDNESDAY 12 SEPTEMBER James Street Preachers | Cambus Wallace The Yams | The Scottish Prince Akova | Beach Hotel, Bryon Bay

THURSDAY 13 SEPTEMBER Zookeepers (Covers) | Southport Sharks Free The Genie | Cambus Wallace James Street Preachers | The Scottish Prince Kobya | Beach Hotel, Bryon Bay

ABBA Live (Tribute) | RSL Club Southport Nathan Power (7.00pm) + Grand Baxter (2.00pm) | Sheoak Shack Josh Lee Hamilton (3.00pm) | Burleigh Brewing Co Wallapalooza: Azreal + Smoking Martha + Hammers + These Four Walls + Hussy Hicks + Mass Sky Raid + Purple Zain + Hot Wax + MORE | Wallaby Hotel Gemini Duo (Covers) | RSL Club Southport DJ Reiflex + DJ Nowak | Beach Hotel, Bryon Bay

Ruby Montey (5.00pm) | Cabana Bar & Lounge, Southport Sharks

Grid Band (Covers) (1.00pm) | Fishos

Animal Ventura + Anna & Jed (5.00pm) | Miami Marketta

Greg Bankx (Covers) (1.00pm) | RSL Club Southport

Simone Milton (Covers) | Southport Yacht Club

EPIC + DJ Fonzaius | Beach Hotel, Byron Bay

The Vellacott Trio + We All Drive + Verum + Anarchy Hearts | Currumbin Pub

MONDAY 24 SEPTEMBER

Daneel & The Feel | Nimbin Hotel

The White Tree (2.00pm) | Burleigh Brewing Co

Ryan Murphy (3.00pm) | Burleigh Brewing Co

Rhydian Lewis (Covers) (1.00pm) | RSL Club Southport

Stoneage Romeos (Covers) | RSL Club Southport

Round Mountain Girls + DJ Dave Dog | Beach Hotel, Bryon Bay

Pink Zinc Duo + La BOum | Beach Hotel, Byron Bay

MONDAY 17 SEPTEMBER

SATURDAY 22 SEPTEMBER

Maroc (Covers) | Southport Sharks Greg Bankx (Covers) (11.00am) | RSL Club Southport 4’20 Sound Reggae Night | Beach Hotel, Byron Bay

TUESDAY 18 SEPTEMBER Stephen Lovelight | Cambus Wallace Adam Harpaz | Beach Hotel, Bryon Bay

WEDNESDAY 19 SEPTEMBER James Street Preachers | Cambus Wallace The Yams | The Scottish Prince

Imogen Clark | Cambus Wallace

A Night With The Stars: Dinner and Show | Southport Yacht Club (Ticketed) Stoker + Clawmachine + Ultraviolet Fuzz + Cosmic Dad | Currumbin Pub Tim Stokes (3.00pm) | Burleigh Brewing Co Tim Rogers | Soundlounge

Du’ East + Madison Kat | Beach Hotel, Bryon Bay

Long Gone Daddys (Covers) | Southport Sharks

WEDNESDAY 26 SEPTEMBER

SATURDAY 29 SEPTEMBER

James Street Preachers | Cambus Wallace

NightQuarter Spectacular + Jewells and the Wolfe Pack + Shanice + Bayley Pearl | NightQuarter

The Button Collective + Ryan Martin Johns (4.00pm) | Miami Marketta

The Yams | The Scottish Prince

Nice Biscuit + La Lune Medicine Band + Sunrose + The Family Jordan | The Northern, Byron

The Dirty Channel | Beach Hotel, Bryon Bay

One Eyed Pilots (Covers) | Lonestar Tavern

THURSDAY 27 SEPTEMBER

Manoa (7.00pm) + Felicity Lawless (2.00pm) | Sheoak Shack Devils Kiosk (Covers) | RSL Club Southport

SUNDAY 23 SEPTEMBER The Cat Empire + Odette | NightQuarter (Ticketed) Chris Hutchison | Aviary Rooftop Bar

Zookeepers (Covers) | Southport Sharks

Miranda Ward | Aviary Rooftop Bar

OCTOBER SUNDAY 1 OCTOBER

The Pinup Girls (Covers) | Southport Sharks

Deez Nuts | Miami Shark Bar

BB Factory + Calan Mai (5.00pm) | Miami Marketta

WEDNESDAY 4 OCTOBER

Brookes & Cash (Covers) | Lonestar Tavern

Angus Oastler (3.00pm) | Emerald Lake Markets

Free The Gennie | Cambus Wallace

Dubarray (7.00pm) + Odio Chief (2.00pm) | Sheoak Shack

James Street Preachers | The Scottish Prince

Memphis Cowboys | Fishos

Dan Clarke Duo | Beach Hotel, Bryon Bay

Trilogy (Covers) | RSL Club Southport

FRIDAY 28 SEPTEMBER

DJ Longtime + Tom & Jarry DJ’s | Beach Hotel, Bryon Bay

FRIDAY 5 OCTOBER Munich Honkers + NightQuarter Spectacular + Sneaky Schnitzel + Mudslide + Elska | NightQuarter

Blues Arcadia + The Walters + NightQuarter Spectacular + Matty Rogers | NightQuarter Smells Like The 80s Show (Covers) | Southport Sharks

Angelo Pash | Cambus Wallace

Josh Boyd (5.00pm) | Cabana Bar & Lounge, Southport Sharks

FRIDAY 21 SEPTEMBER

Sofiella & The Handsome Husbands | The Scottish Prince

Savvy + Guests | Miami Shark Bar

The Scrims + NightQuarter Spectacular + Rick Barron + Bayley Pearl | NightQuarter

Wild Card (Covers) (2.00pm) | Southport Yacht Club

Funk n Wagnells (Covers) | Southport Sharks

Killer Queen Experience (Tribute) | RSL Club Southport

Ben Walsh | Beach Hotel, Bryon Bay

THURSDAY 20 SEPTEMBER

Ino Pio + Brady Hudgson | Beach Hotel, Bryon Bay

TUESDAY 25 SEPTEMBER

Acoustic Soup (Covers) | Southport Sharks

Pseudo Echo + 1927 + Magnetic Force + Elska + Natasha Bitancurt | NightQuarter (Ticketed)

DJ Reiflex + Rhythm & Cutloose | Beach Hotel, Bryon Bay

James Street Preachers | The Scottish Prince

4’20 Sound Reggae Night | Beach Hotel, Bryon Bay

Craig Shaw (Covers) | Southport Yacht Club

Goran Sedler (Covers) | RSL Club Southport

Josh Lee Hamilton | Beach Hotel, Byron Bay

Free The Genie | Cambus Wallace

Doubleshot (Covers) (11.00am) | RSL Club Southport

SUNDAY 30 SEPTEMBER

Alysia Rose | Cambus Wallace

Previously on Paradise: Emma Whines + Elliot Cox + Teahnee Reynolds + India Wallis + Kelsey Berrington | Surfers Paradise

Zookeepers (Covers) | Southport Sharks

Lloyd Saniel (Covers) | Southport Sharks

Rainbow Revolution: Sunrose + Donny Love + San Mei + Peach Fur + LENS | Studio 56, Miami Marketta (Ticketed)

Signature Series + Jax Haze (5.00pm) | Miami Marketta

Michael Hickey (2.00pm) | Burleigh Brewing Co www.blankgc.com.au

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PHOEBE’S SAD BANGERS ON SHOW AT BIGSOUND The sweet and happy smile of Phoebe Sinclair sits across from me in a coffee shop just a couple of hundred metres away from where she will take the stage for this year’s BIGSOUND festival. While it may be one of the bigger gigs she’s played so far, she is no stranger to the stage playing, Bleach Festival, Horizon Festival, Brisbane Festival and being a strong component in Griffith’s SEED program in recent years. It’s no wonder the Gold Coast has dubbed her as one to watch. Phoebe’s sound derives from some of the strongest women at the forefront of pop music today: Lorde, Sia, Tove Styrke and Sigrid. Sinclair however, puts her own little spin on it. “I had a friend in uni who describe my songs as sad bangers, or like, sangers,” she says laughing

and all jokes aside, she is completely right. Phoebe’s last EP, ‘Sentiment’, is filled with soul-squeezing lyrics which sit on a bed of funky beats and energising synths that definitely create that sad-pop effect. When creating one of her so called ‘sangers” Sinclair uses collaborations to her advantage, sticking to what she's best at, lyrics and melody, and gathering the help of friends to bring the songs to life with production. “I know what I want, but I can’t always achieve it, so I’ll start a song by myself and then take it to a little team I’ve developed that bring out the best in me and we work on it from there.” And it must be a killer team as her last single racked up remixes from producers across the globe and a whole lot of love from the Gold Coast. Before she was the rising star, she was the quiet and shy child, in the shadows of older sisters who seemed a much better fit for a life in the music industry. When asked about the reality of day to day life as a musician, she replied like anyone who is irrevocably devoted to their passion. “There is nothing else I enjoy anywhere near as much, even when it’s absolute heartbreak and it’s just not working how you wanted it to, it’s still 100 times better than doing something I hate,” Phoebe said. “Every now and then you’ll get a yes and you just have to hold on to it. But I've had a few really good ‘yes’ moments lately so I really can’t complain.” With the Gold Coast BIGSOUND Showcase at the forefront of her mind, she says she been focusing on her live set now, more than ever but another release is definitely in the works with the songs written and ready to go and we can’t wait to see what she comes out with next.

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Phoebe performs at the Gold Coast BIGSOUND Showcase at The Valley Drive Inn on Wednesday 5 September from 12.30 – 2.00pm. Non-delegates should RSVP at cultural@ blankgc.com.au.

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H O L L O W C OV E S

Featuring Gold Coast Music Award winners, Hollow Coves supported by Sunday, 9 September from 3pm ADCO Amphitheatre

Live at Bond

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Every single song presented to you hear is, what the young kids would say, an absolute banger. From dad rap to gloss-rock and everything in between, check out our favourite new sonic offerings from across the Gold Coast. And if you’ve got tunes to share, drop a line to news@blankgc.com.au.

Buffy Prescott: time to mature with dad rap Buffy Prescott has delivered a fresh take on the art of storytelling through rap (think Beastie Boys meets Nine Incj Nails). The Gold Coast artist’s second EP ‘ImMature’ (which follows 2015 debut ‘PreMature) is set for release late September through MGM Distribution but we’ve had a taste with single ‘Know the Score’. Buffy merges a love of late 80s, early 90s rap with a template for 80s punk. Given most of us from that era are struggling with the realities of parenting, it’s fitting that the protagonist in the songs found on ‘ImMature’ is attempting to mature for the sake of his children. This is, quite literally, dad rap, and it’s delivered in the format of a concept album. You can listen to first single ‘Know The Score’ via soundcloud.com/buffyprescott and ‘ImMature’ is out 29 September.

Take Me To The Ward: Angus Oastler Angus Oastler is one of the Gold Coast’s most under-rated songwriters. With an old-school charm and crossing over between roots, Americana and indie-folk, he’s just released a three-track EP which delivers a quirky pastiche to the great artists who’ve influenced him. ‘Take Me To The Ward’ is a surprise package for a relatively unknown artist. Just three tracks in length, it’s like a taster for the mixed bag of genres Angus is experimenting with. ‘Sad Song’ is genuine and poetic and ‘Tigers Way’ is at the heavier end of the folkrock spectrum. Title track ‘Take Me To The Ward’ shows off Angus’ songwriting ability adeptly. You can read our feature story on Angus in this here magazine and you can grab yourself a copy of ‘Take Me To The Ward’ via angusoastler.bandcamp.com.

Mrs Jones a stand-out for Bligh Gold Coast gloss-rock merchants Bligh have delivered their second single and it’s an absolute pearler, especially if you’re a fan of low budget English crime. ‘Mrs Jones’, which is out 29 September, is a catchy conglomeration of cinematic pop with some blues and 80s synthpop thrown in for good measure. We’ll catch up with the band in our next mag. Given this is only the band’s second single (and that they’ve taken out a bunch of band comps across the coast) we’re completely enamoured. They’re definitely another one to watch.

Lecia Louise releases live album

New from Loose Leaf: Paper Weight If there was any question that Rory Switzer has landed on his feet with new project Loose Leaf, then this is proof. New track ‘Paper Weight’ shows the strength in Rory’s songwriting, delivered with pretty guitars and, tamborine as well as indie riffs. The change of tempo for the chorus adds depth to the track and it really seems like the band is experimenting with a bunch of layers in its music. ‘Paper Weight’ sets Loose Leaf up as an act to watch. You can stream ‘Paper Weight’ now through all the usual outlets.

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Friends of Friends drop Human Gold Coast three-piece Friends of Friends have released the lead single and corresponding video from their debut EP ‘Memory Hotel’. Growing up in small coastal towns, the three friends draw on their own experiences coming-of-age in beachside places. We all know what that’s like. The song’s introduction makes you think it’s another one of those ambient electronic numbers, but it’s not long before you realise this song is anything but. Those ambient soundscapes are delivered amongst gently screaming guitar lines and drum rhythms that are hard to ignore. It’s beautiful and ambitious alt-pop and you can listen for yourself via Spotify.

Guitar goddess Lecia Louise has announced the release of a new album ‘Live at Seratonin Studios’. With echoes of Pink Floyd and Black Sabbath Lecia draws on her love for 70’s rock as inspiration for her riffs and flying solos. One of the slower, sentimental tracks from the album ‘Quitting’s a Breeze’ has just had its video clip released, filmed during Lecia’s recent tour of Germany. The album, though was recorded here on the GC with Guy Cooper with most of the tracks mixed and mastered by ABC’s Hamish Robertson. The trio studied together at Griffith University’s Bachelor Popular Music. The film clip for ‘Quitting’s a Breeze’ is out now and Lecia celebrates the album release with shows at BT Blues (1 September), Redfest (8 September), Royal Mail Goodna (14 September) and Little Big Fest (21 September). More at lecialouise.com.

Need more banging Gold Coast tunes? Pop on over to bit.ly/ GCplaylist on spotify and you’ll have nearly ten hours of awesome GC music to get you through.

MASS SKY RAID SCIENCE OF FICTION Well that escalated quickly. I’d never heard of Mass Sky Raid, nor did I know they were local lads who had been building up to this moment since 2011. I hadn’t heard the handful of songs championed by so many. Nor had I witnessed their hypnotic power live on stage. A little voice inside my head chimes in “for this confession you must repeat ten hail Marys and attend more gigs at the Shark Bar!”. As I drove between Brisbane and the Gold Coast I give ‘Science of Fiction’ its first listen. My first impressions are favourable, I like my music loud and the volume was set well past “eleven”. Mass Sky Raid triggered more than a few memories of bands that have earnt their place in my favourite’s list. Taking Exit 66, I decided if I was to be fair I would need to give ‘Science of Fiction’ a few more listens. Fast forward to 5.00am Sunday Morning, Splendour in the Grass. Sleep deprivation combines with a sensory overload that is festival life, I question my ability to do anything let alone write a review. It has become apparent deadlines are set for procrastinators like me, I sit in my office awaiting a new day. A perfect time to compose my thoughts. Fearful of using labels and comparisons I grazed on a solid diet of Mass Sky Raid’s past offerings. It’s obvious they’ve done the hard yards, anticipation levels are peaking and now is the time to deliver their debut full-length album. ‘Edge of the Unknown’, the first single to be released from ‘Science of Fiction’ is definitely on my nomination list The Gold Coast Music Awards Video of the Year. Frontman Andrew Lomas delivers mesmerising vocals that compliment a wall of heavy sound created by the lads which they describe as a personal journey questioning the world and its values. ‘Edge of the Unkown’ sits comfortably amongst other songs that so easily could have been chosen to entice audiences to take this trip. ‘Science of Fiction’ is an often emotional soundscape that sees Mass Sky Raid to deliver a debut album that will not only satisfy their loyal fans, but define the future for this Gold Coast four piece. Leigh Kelly

CELEBRATE GOLD COAST LANDS ON CHEVRON ISLAND

Could there be anything more Gold Coast than chilled live music, in the shadow of Surfers’ skyline, on a spring afternoon? Celebrate Gold Coast will bring some of Australia’s best live music to the street when it closes the main drag of Chevron Island for a celebration of all the things that make this city great. Headlining the shindig is Busby Marou – with adept storytelling, perfect harmonies and laid-back vibes, not to mention the whole ARIA #1 album thing they’ve got going on. They’re joined by Caravana Sun who have included Celebrate Gold Coast as part of a massive national tour to celebrate new EP ‘Silver Linings’. They’re fresh from playing to thousands on their 22-date Europe / UK tour, so you know they’re going to bring the goods. Local guitarslinger Katie Who is also on the bill, alongside Tully John and Liza-Jane, Old Man Friday, looping harpist ELSKA, Karuah and Izzy Day. It’s not just the music that’ll bring Gold Coasters to the streets, Celebrate Gold Coast also promises skateboarding lessons for children at all ages and levels and a silent disco for kids, as well as a pop-up of one of HOTA’s popular ArtLabs, which will give folks the chance to customise their own funglasses. Stay shady Gold Coast. Plus there’s a makers’ market, roller derby demos with the East Coast Derby Dolls and a village of handmade, sustainably-sourced cubby houses with all the bells and whistles.

Celebrate Gold Coast takes place along Thomas Drive, Chevron Island on Sunday 7 October.

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DREAD NATION JUSTINA IRELAND ‘Dread Nation’ is the feminist racial-treatise post-Civil War zombie action story you’ve been missing your whole life. Just take a look at the cover. The contents are even better. Seventeen years ago, on the Civil War battlefields, the dead rose again with a thirst for living flesh. The sides united to fight a new common enemy. Teenager Jane McKeene doesn’t know if her mother is dead or alive. Nearly two years ago, Jane was taken from Rose Hill, the estate owned by her well-to-do white mother, and required to train with other young black women at Miss Preston’s School of Combat due to the Native and Negro Education Act. Jane's days are spent learning etiquette and how to slash a sickle, so she might be selected to protect an elite white family instead of fight shamblers—zombies—on the front line. But something stranger than zombies is going on. Her untrustworthy ex-flame, Red Jack, begs for her help to find his missing sister and then a whole family goes missing with no sign of shambler-attack. Now Katherine, a beautiful ‘white-passing’ co-student, is sticking in her nose and causing greater complications, when Jane has a knack for finding trouble all by herself. Turns out shamblers are not the only enemy Jane has to fight. This book is packed with everything without feeling weighty: it’s absorbing, smart, witty, and tense. Every bit of social commentary—like the overly optimistic use of a wall to keep out the unwanted (sound familiar?)—is seamless, relevant, and sharp. The story is stealthily progressive in other ways as well: there is a bisexual character, an asexual and aromantic character, and a disabled love interest. As for other representations, not being indigenous or African American, my review can only stretch so far. What I do know is that all other zombie tales are (properly) dead to me now: I need them to be as astute and riveting as this one. Book two is scheduled for publication in 2020. Nae Kurth

A ZERO WASTE LIFE IN THIRTY DAYS

THE SECOND CURE

ANITA VANDYKE

Dystopian fiction seems to be having a moment right now (thank you Margaret Atwood). I should find that disturbing. The growing number of futuristic writers might just be a bunch of misanthropes, or they're a bunch of oracles delivering foreboding tidings. When a highly intelligent and plausible novel like Margaret Morgan's 'The Second Cure' comes along, I fear the latter may be true.

Reducing waste is might not be rocket science, but that was exactly Anita Vandyke’s area of specialty before she started her successful Instagram account @rocket_science about zero-waste living and became an author with her first book ‘A Zero Waste Life’. After ditching her rocket science career and consumerist tendencies, Anita became an accidental environmentalist whilst transitioning from a maximalist to minimalist lifestyle, and now wants to show you how to do the same. The goal of this interactive book is to radically reduce your waste by 80% in 30 days without sacrificing your lifestyle. It is loaded with heaps of actionable tips and tricks to move from excess to eco-luxe as Anita calls it, with creative swaps and ethical choices across beauty, travel, fashion, money and shopping which are meant to enhance and not deprive. While zero waste may feel daunting initially, the book is separated into levels of ‘reduced’, ‘low’ and ‘zero waste’ so you can start where you are and sustain the change. The first part of the book has you making simple changes to set up your zero-waste life. You will be bin auditing, making zero waste kits, composting, preparing zero waste meals, decluttering your home and putting yourself on a momentary spending ban. The second part of the book challenges you to declutter your mind, value experiences over stuff to flush out your values, how to be of service to others, considering voting with your dollar and taking an honest look at where your time is wasted by doing a time map. ‘A Zero Waste Life’ is a practical call to action which asks readers to interrogate their own values while arming them with what they need to upscale their waste reducing efforts, minus the preaching and daunting statistics. Simone Gorman-Clark

MARGARET MORGAN

Set in NSW and Queensland in the very near future, 'The Second Cure' tells the story of a plague, a biological predisposition to extreme right-wing politics, synaesthesia, cultish religious fervour gone mad, tenacity in the pursuit of justice, family, love, and cats. Charlie Zinn is a research biologist in Sydney who has discovered Toxoplasmosis Pestis, a parasite that is killing off all species of cats. The parasite mutates to infect humans with the extraordinary effect of inducing various types of synaesthesia as well as causing people to lose their religious beliefs. Queensland premier Jack Effenberg and his wife Marion are purely evil protagonists with an extreme right wing political agenda mixed with extreme, regressive Christian beliefs. Effenberg is Joh Bjelke-Petersen on steroids, and he succeeds where Joh himself failed; secession of his state from the rest of Australia. Secession actually occurs in the northern part of the state where new country the Republic of Capricornia is formed. Capricornia is supposedly free of Toxoplasmosis Pestis and as such, the creepy, oppressive religious state flourishes. While Margaret Morgan's scientific and biological detail can cause the eyes to glaze over at times, the book is an engrossing account of how psychopathic, charismatic leaders can cause such far-reaching damage so quickly, by preying on unfounded fears. Don't mean to state the obvious in our tumultuous times but, sound familiar? It is also a story of how committed individuals, resolute in their purpose, can fight back. I love a good twist at the end of a novel and this book has two beauties. But, a moral dilemma is also presented. Would you alter the natural course of history to rid the world of your perception of evil if you had the scientific know-how? What would be the consequences? Pip Andreas

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WHY WAIT TO MAKE GREAT? STUDY NURSING WITH A TRAINING

GETTING HIGH ON THE GOLD COAST

It’s a warm and sunny day on the Gold Coast and I’m literally standing at eye level with a helicopter doing its daily run along the coast. There are whales splashing offshore, I’ve got a birds-eye view of stand up paddleboarders beyond the break and the hinterland is gleaming. It didn’t even take much effort to get here. A quick elevator ride up 77 floors and then a short stroll up a couple hundred steps and I’m standing on top of the world. Where am I? I’m on top of Q1. We’ve embarked on a small team building mission to conquer the city’s biggest tower. Although, trust me, it sounds much more strenuous than what it is.

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Monday 17 September 10am Tuesday 25 September 7pm

The Skypoint Climb opened in 2012 and takes visitors to the top of the city’s most iconic residential tower in what is Australia’s highest external building climb. The whole experience lasts 90 minutes from beginning to end, including the safety briefing and being fitted for harnesses (and being breath-tested). After riding the lift to level 77 and getting a glimpse of the incredible views from the Skypoint Observation Deck you make your way outside the building where you’ll take 298 stairs to the summit. There’s plenty of rest stops on the way and the very experienced guides (we were lucky enough to score Dan Burton, who really knows his stuff) interpet some of the local history and both man-made and natural landmarks as you climb higher. With 360 degree views you’ll want to hang around as long as you can, especially on a clear day during whale migration season. The guide takes photos of individuals as well as the whole group and you’ve got the opportunity to hang over the edge of the tower as well (safely connected at all times, of course). We went in the middle of the day, but there are sunrise and sunset options available as well as climb and dine packages. It’s not for the faint of heart. Several in our group had shaking legs and took a while to get over their nerves, but everyone got over their fear to the point of being able to pose for a photo over the edge of the building. Skypoint Climb is one of those bucket list items every Gold Coaster should do at least once and it’s even more perfect as an experience to share with visitors from out of town.

TO REGISTER 1300 308 233 tafeqld.edu.au/online-nursing

Samantha Morris TAFE Queensland RTO NO. 0275 | CRICOS NO. 03020E

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BROADBEACH

Lovers’ retreat needed? How about a girls’ weekend? Looking for that special place to host a family dinner, or just feel like a night on the tiles with mates? When it comes to being spoilt for choice, you can’t go much further than Broadbeach. My partner and I decided to have a little mini-break in our home town, and partake in some of the delights of Broady without having to schlep home at the end of the night. The AVANI Broadbeach seemed like the ticket for accommodation situated as it is, across the road from The Star Gold Coast and a hop, skip and a jump to the Oasis and all the shops and amenities in Broadbeach mall, with secure parking to boot. Our one bedroom apartment was sleek, modern and had that untouched feel that you can only get at new properties. All bright whites, shiny surfaces and crisp linens. Given how new the property is we expected the somewhat restricted size that seems to be becoming a feature of more modern accommodation, however we were surprised at the amount of space in the unit. And you could definitely swing a cat in the bathroom, if you were that way inclined! We had some time to kill before our 2pm check in so we strolled to local fave Harajuku Gyoza and Beer Stadium -

seriously, what kind of weirdo doesn’t love gyozas? - for a tasty lunch and a couple of cold ones before heading upstairs and bingeing a few eps on Netflix before dinner. (TV in bedroom = super comfort). The only trouble with dinner was choosing a place to eat. Do we go the sumptuous steaks of Moo Moo? Take an exotic trip to Meccah Bah? How about the renowned Japanese cuisine at Ten, or the gastronomical gusto of Social Eating House? The list went on. We ended up deciding on one of our favourites, the deceptively simple Double Zero pizza; a true taste of Naples on the Gold Coast. After an incredible nights’ sleep in what has to be the comfiest hotel bed I’ve ever slept on, we woke up and found ourselves, unbelievably, keen for more food. Everyone who’s anyone will tell you that Elk is the breakfast haunt to check out in Broadbeach, so we wasted no time popping there and partaking of the rich and delightful croquettes and the highly Intsagrammable fried chicken and waffles with blackberry butter. With heavy hearts (and bellies), we came back to check out of the AVANI and end our fabulous little overnight homestay. Now with so many Broadbeach delights left to sample, all that’s left is to book the return trip. Natalie O’Driscoll

SUNSET GARDEN BAR

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- T E P PA N YA KI F RI D AY 5 OCTOBER

All Welcome

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- WA T E R F R O N T DINING

INFAMOUS GEARS UP FOR IMMEDIATE RETURN

LET’S TALK ABOUT SEX

If you read our gushing review of Infamous, you’ll know we’re big fans. You can imagine our excitement, then, as we reveal that the adults-only circus cabaret which sold out most nights in the Spiegel Big Top is returning for an unprecedented second season.

‘All The Sex I’ve Ever Had’ sees a group of local over-65s draw on all their wisdom and experience to share true stories of their romantic and sex lives.

“Hearts racing, toes tapping, smiles a mile wide, the crowd piled out of the stunning Spiegel Big Top buzzing with the knowledge that they’d just been treated to an evening of top shelf entertainment that comes along once in a blue moon. If they’d just thrown a toffee apple into the mix, I’d be able to die happy," said Natalie O’Driscoll in her review the show. Running for five weeks at Broadwater Parklands in its first season, the team immediately dismantled the massive circus tent and moved it to its new home – Gold Coast ItaloAustralian Club at Clear Island Waters. Sue Porrett, Infamous Production Manager said they’d been blown away by Gold Coast’s love of the show. “The demand to see the show is still so strong, that we are so pleased to be able to host another season immediately in our brand-new location,” she said. Infamous delivers uncensored burlesque, unlike any circus you’ve seen before. There are no dull spots in the show. You can expect stunning aerial acts and a gobsmacking slack wire-slash-juggling performance fighting for the audience’s love. Every cast member earns their place with sweat, and character. It’s a truly and dizzying spectacle. And it’s strictly for adult eyes only. The second season will run Friday 24 August – Sunday 16 September and tickets are on sale now. There are a bunch of seating options ranging from ringside chairs (we’re you’re basically part of the action) and tables (with cushioned seats, bubbly and desert platter) through to extremely limited premium seats and seven raised rows with a front-on view of the stage.

In this taboo-busting tell-all, the spotlight is, at last, shone on a part of the population too often rendered invisible, with a show that has touched and tickled audiences all the way from Portland to Prague, Scotland to Singapore. ‘All The Sex I’ve Ever Had’ will be performed at HOTA in early October and the team behind the show, internationally renowned Canadian performance company Mammalian Driving Reflex, are just about to conclude their auditions for cast members. The show is a tender encounter with real people who are happy to open-up about their lives, sexual experiences and the unexpected twists and turns of their relationships. They will divulge stories like first crushes, turbulent affairs, unexpected pregnancies and deaths of loved ones. The show will see the performers chatting with the audience, toasting to important milestones and some may even break out into a dance on-stage. ‘All the Sex I’ve Ever Had’ is an opportunity to acknowledge that our elders have a lot to teach us, a lot to share, and that ageing can yield a way of being in the world that is open, generous and fearless. HOTA CEO Criena Gehrke said she is delighted to welcome Mammalian Diving Reflex as they take up residency at HOTA, Home of the Arts in September. “Previous performances of ‘All the Sex I’ve Ever Had’ have been thought provoking and truly heartwarming and we can’t wait to see what happens when the show takes on a Gold Coast flavour,” Criena said. Natalie O’Driscoll

If you missed the first season, you’ve really got no excuse this time. Samantha Morris

FROM ANGELS TO DEVILS: BRISBANE WRITERS FESTIVAL HAS THE LOT This year, the Brisbane Writers Festival will once again transform South Brisbane’s State Library precinct into a bustling playground of ideas. First presented as the Warana Writers Convention in 1962, just six sessions were presented over one day. The Brisbane Writers Festival now present over 150 events, with more than 20,000 literary lovers descending onto State Library Queensland and QAGOMA annually in September to hear from their favourite authors. This year's program includes young storytellers education program Word Play, young adult appreciation fest Love YA, travelling First Nations artwork and pop-up venue Angel's Palace, as well as special events such as 'Detours' with You Am I frontman Tim Rogers, an Evening with Veronia Roth and Friends on Dytopian Futures, and exciting signature event, Dinner with Lauren Weisberger, author of 'The Devil Wear Prada'. Ticket holders will have the chance to meet best-selling author Lauren in person as she talks with Marie-Louise Theile about her new bestseller 'When Life Gives You Lululemons' - an alluring look into a sexy, over-the-top world of Greenwich, Connecticut where the women are as perfectly manicured as the lawns and everyone has something to say about their infamous new neighbour. Dinner is a lavish three course banquet with matched wines by the award winning team at Gerard's Bistro. The erudite and always-fascinating Dr Karl is slotted for a closing address at this year’s Festival. Natalie O’Driscoll

The 2018 Festival will run from 6 - 9 September at State Library Queensland, the home of the Brisbane Writers Festival. Tickets are available at bwf.org.au.

‘All The Sex I’ve Ever Had’ runs from 3-5 October at HOTA, Home of the Arts. Tickets at hota.com.au.

Infamous returns until Sunday 26 September. Tickets at infamous.net.au.

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BUSKERS LANDS THE FLYING DUTCHMEN

After 30 years of performing together, you and Jean-Michel Paré must be like family. What do you think it is about your partnership that works so well, and in what ways do you drive each other crazy?

What are your favourite tricks to perform? Skipping rope on a 6 foot unicycle is a fun trick to perform. Juggling 7 balls is always a challenge. So this is always fun, because challenges are fun. :-)

We are quite different. That works really well in the show, but not always the rest of the time, in the beginning. For a show it is good to have two different characters. So you can play of each other. One is the clown, the other the straight man. In real life, sometimes it is not easy for the clown to deal with the ways of the straight man and vice versa. But we have learned to accept that in each other and realise that when sometimes it can be annoying, it is also what makes the show work.

Have you performed on the Gold Coast before? What's your history with touring Australia? We have performed in Sydney, Brisbane, Perth and Tasmania. But all of them quite a while ago. We have always loved performing in Australia, but since it is so far, we haven't done it much in the last years. But now the kids are a bit older, so we do some further (and longer) trips. What can Gold Coast audiences expect from your show at Buskers by the Creek?

How do you keep each performance fun for yourselves and stop yourselves from burning out or getting tired?

We have a so called "old school" show. There is lots of tricks and comedy. You can expect a fun show in a relaxed atmosphere. We have been performing together for thirty years. So you can expect a lot of experience on stage!

It is always nice to keep looking for improvements. Even the littlest things. A phrase came out to quickly, the timing of the joke wasn't good etc. How can we make it better. This is a never ending quest. Also, we perform the show in several languages. English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Dutch and Japanese. There are always differences in each show, so it is never the same. The show in Japan is quite different from the show in German for example. This also keeps it fresh. And always looking for new jokes in a foreign language. A challenge, but fun!

Natalie O’Driscoll

Catch The Flying Dutchmen as well as an array of other mind-boggling acts, fabulous tunes and delicious food when Buskers by the Creek hits Winders Park, Currumbin 3on-135andOCTOBER 14 October 2018. Buskers by the Creek is a FREE, family-event. More at 2015 buskersbythecreek.com.au.

2015 2 8 3S- E5POCTOBER - 2 OCT 2018 ART

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A TRIENNIAL SCULPTURE WALK ALONG THE FORESHORES OF BRUNSWICK HEADS N.S.W

40 NATIONALLY RECOGNISED ARTISTS WORKING WITH ENVIRONMENTAL THEMES

: www.facebook.com/BrunswickNatureSculptureWalk : Brunswicknaturesculpturewalk

GOLD COAST 27 OCT

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ONE ARTS TAKES IT TO THE STREETS IN SEPTEMBER “Street art unifies and uplifts our local communities. We enjoy inspiring others to be creative,” Joanne tells us. Dean fell in love with graffiti at 12 years of age. “It was the thrill, chill n’ grill of it all” says Dean. He possesses an ability to paint any character in aerosol freehand and describes his art as “abstract poly flavour”. Shaun bring a different skill set again, working with graphic art and street art projects, mixing mediums and aerosol. His hand style is found in his Urban Art creations recognised as modern Polynesian designs. Together, they have contributed to live painting displays at festivals such as the Poly Fest Broadbeach, Samoan Independence Day, Waitangi Day Festival and the French

Bonjour Festival, and have worked with Manukau City Council curating group exhibitions in New Zealand. They were also recently commissioned by the City of Gold Coast to paint the Surfers Paradise Bruce Bishop Cark Park (first level), and to provide artwork for the City’s traffic boxes as well as State school murals. So chances are, you’ve encountered their work without even realising it. But ‘Line by Line’ is a unique opportunity to get up close and personal with the crew and their pieces as they share an impressive combination of rare street art canvases and Pacific art works at One Arts Gallery throughout September. Natalie O’Driscoll Hit up One Arts Gallery, Isle of Capri, Surfers Paradise for opening night of ‘Line by Line’ on Friday 7 September. Audiences can also expect hip hop and entertainment including live art, dance, spoken word and hair art. The exhibition will run until the end of September.

Image / Clayton Blake Safe Photography Kit Wise

‘Line By Line’ is an upcoming urban art installation by passionate street artists Dean Purcell, Shaun Purcell and Joanna Purcell, otherwise known as Deep Fried Theory. Born in South Auckland and now based in Gold Coast, the trio have travelled Australia and New Zealand, sharing their passion through public installations, workshops and awareness programs for local youth.

14 – 23 September VISIT QUEENSLAND’S LEADING SCULPTURE FESTIVAL TO EXPERIENCE WORKS OF ART BY LOCAL, NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL ARTISTS ALONG CURRUMBIN BEACH. Delve deeper with artist talks, twilight walks, Northerly SWELL, a figurative masterclass, plein air painting, life drawing and kids workshops. Book now! Pacific Parade, Currumbin Beach, Gold Coast

www.swellsculpture.com.au FREE

weekend park&ride

@swellsculpture

PEOPLE.ART.PLACE

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abc.net.au/goldcoast

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SWELL is supported by the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland and Tourism and Events Queensland.

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THE LOVECHILD

SUBSTANCE ESPRESSO

Several years ago, a place like The LC would have seemed impossible. But, we’ve moved from Meat-Free Mondays to a full embrace, The LC providing a beautifully inclusive dining destination for everyone, vegan or not. It’s our first shiny new collective of plant-based restaurants and a bar, all housed under the one roof in a pretty white building in Miami.

‘Success breeds success,’ they say, and for Substance Espresso that’s certainly true.

With differing stores in the venue open seven days a week spanning breakfast until dinner, The LC (from Love Child’s Abbey Jones) has two levels. Five restaurants and a bar serving sustainably-produced beer and cocktails are located downstairs, a soon-to-be-opened second storey housing Lovechild Place clothing yet to come. Out the back is a dining deck punctuated by greenery, but we choose out front under cover, shaded from the sun.

But there were better things coming, with the pair opening a coffee shop, Substance Espresso, in Runaway Bay.

2176 Gold Coast Highway, Miami

We dine for brunch at 10.30 to find Flour of Life Bakery and Flora By Greenhouse open, with Gigi Pizzeria, i like ramen and Burgers vs Kebabs opening from 11am until late, along with the bar. No worries! It’s an excuse to take a look around, embarking on a plant-based feast in two steps; a true brunch. Flour of Life, who opened their bakery in Helensvale over a year ago, is renowned on the Coast for their vegan baked goods: doughnuts, tarts, vanilla slices, tasty meatless sausage rolls and pies. We buy one of their delicious small fruit tarts to share as dessert. Flora by Greenhouse, from the original Greenhouse Factory crew, serve Allpress coffee (made on your choice of a range of nut or soy milks), hot brekkies, sandwiches, salads, kombucha and freshly made juices. We order scrambled tofu with baked beans and hash browns, as well as waffles, rice paper bacon and a crispy hash topped with coconut-based ice cream and fresh strawberries. It’s a wonder! First course done! Now onto our seconds… i like ramen has been a market and popup vegan favourite for some time, and we’ve been hanging out to try their wakame-packed spicy ramen and sides. We get to meet the bearded chef (and his impersonation on the wall!) Besides the ramen, we’re particularly taken by their panko-crumbed mushrooms (and just manage to hold ourselves back from ordering a second serve) and the non-meat soy-based protein used in their ramen. Very tasty indeed! There’s no room left for gluten-free pizza with vegan cheese or even gelato from Newtownbased sensation Gigi’s Pizzeria, nor for a seitan (think gluten steak) kebab or cheeseburger from BVK (Burgers vs Kebabs), brought to us by Abbey Jones and Flour of Life. Instead, we go back to our fruit tart, box up our leftovers and head off. Even the Main Squeeze meat-eater is silent after a spicy ramen and tart, and he hasn’t discovered the bar yet! All happy…except for one thing… As vegan, gluten and dairy-free are part of our mob, we return to The LC to dine at night, only to find that we miss out on Flora and Flour of Life (which closes at 4pm). When the big drawcard is having five plant-based venues under one roof, it's a shame to have to pick your time to find them all open! Just saying...

Marj Osborne Read more of Marj’s reviews on foodgoldcoast.com.au 42

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10-12 Lae Drive, Runaway Bay

There were tears when Jareth and Leah Smith sold Daark Espresso in Chirn Park, in fact the lights dimmed a little on the northside of town.

The murky shores of a shopping centre may not seem like an ideal setting for a trendy café, but the venue is separate and far enough away to be a drawcard on its own merit, while still catching some of the post-shopping flotsam. Win, win! “It made sense to open a place on the northern end of town as we all live up this way,” Leah tells us. Having already established that if you ‘build it, they will come’ with their previous business, the owners proceeded to gut the former Crust pizza shop, transforming it into a bright and comfortable space. The indoor and outdoor seating makes the most of the open façade with the shady ambience of a sprawling Poinciana tree right outside the front door. Turn around and you catch glimpses of the purpose-built open kitchen, servery and espresso bar. In the café, all bases are covered. With Leevai Smythe (ex-Melbourne's Mesa Verde and Diplomat) as chef and Jareth pumping out the coffee, there’s also a lot of love in the service department, an area where their previous business also shone. Drawing our attention from the start is the full table service, a rare pleasure in an era of economic rationalism. Complimentary still or sparkling water also draws our love. Continuing their use of Yatala's Open House Roasters’ beans, Jareth's barista skills serving their Family Blend ensure a continuous flow of patronage. And then there’s the food, with so many standouts that it’s difficult to choose. The all-day menu brings world flavours to great food, all with an extra twist to pique our interest: simple favourites like Eggs on toast using Brasserie’s (ancient grain) Emmer sourdough, Pork belly baguette with apple slaw, blue corn chips and salsa verde or the Substance grass-fed beef burger with shoestring fries; international flavours with French Dip – a fresh baguette packed with roast beef, Swiss cheese, a bite of horseradish cream, caramelised onion and red jus with a side of waffle fries; touches of Mexican with Achiote chicken salad, and a Cal-Mex Brekkie burrito; but most of all some good home cooking with a Brisket hash and House made crumpets with berries and compote. Oh, how we love homemade crumpets! Topping it all off are ingredients of the moment – coconut yoghurt and cacao nibs accompanying the berries and lemon curd on the crumpets, agave syrup with poached peaches and passionfruit panna cotta on the house granola, and bagels with hot smoked salmon that always goes down a treat. Referencing not only the weighty ‘substance’ of their experience, the nature of a founding ingredient – coffee, and the periodic table, Substance’s contribution to northern dining is already drawing appreciation. Looks like ‘The Dark Side’ has just gained a very worthy new local! Marj Osborne Read more of Marj’s reviews on foodgoldcoast.com.au

GOLD COAST OPEN HOUSE ANNOUNCES NEW AMBASSADOR On Saturday 27 October 2018, Gold Coast Open House returns for its fourth year, opening the doors of interesting and architecturally significant buildings and locations, and inviting the public to take a behind the scenes look at places they may have only glimpsed from the street. This year, Gold Coast Open House will present around 40 sites from The Seaway to Bilinga, from heritage buildings to schools and university spaces, churches, stunning private residences, and television and radio studios, alongside some of the Gold Coast’s most architecturally inspiring landmark buildings and workplaces. The Gold Coast Open House team has announced a new ambassador, Tim Ross - comedian, radio host, architecture enthusiast and television presenter of ABC series ‘Streets of Your Town’, which examined the changing aesthetics of Australia’s suburban housing.

Tim’s passion for all things architecture and design led to the creation of his unique stand-up show called ‘Man About The House’, set in significant architecturally designed houses or buildings around Australia. With sellout seasons across Australia, London, Palm Springs and New Zealand, the show continues to tour globally. His interest in architecture has seen him speak at the opening of the new London Design Museum, write on architecture for The Guardian and The Saturday Paper and he was recently awarded a National Trust Heritage Award for Advocacy for his activism on modernist architecture and promoting its conservation. Tim says his interest in architecture was sparked at a young age. “I was a kid of the suburbs and I was intrigued by the interesting houses around me and that were being built.” “The best Architecture is open to all of us and it should be for all of us. The Open House program is about getting out and taking a sticky beak and letting design wash over you, move you and inspire you. “I encourage everyone young, old and in between to get involved. To look up, to look across and back in time and to the future. To let it move you.”

The Gold Coast Open House full program of buildings and spaces will be announced on goldcoastopenhouse.com.au on Friday 14 September. Pre-registrations will open online on Friday 21 September.

GOLD COAST SHOW SET TO DAZZLE ON THE BROADWATER In case you haven’t heard, the Gold Coast Show has announced a new waterfront home. This year's show, which runs 31 August - 2 September will take place at Broadwater Parklands, becoming the only agricultural show in Australia to be held beside the water. And there's more. For the first time in the Gold Coast Show's 112 year history, the event will be completely free to attend. Broadwater Parklands will come alive from the Southport Aquatic Centre through to the Sundale Bridge with everything you'd expect at a show. Side-show alley, woodchopping, baby animals, arts, camel rides on the beach, live music, show food, roving entertainment and fireworks and of course, the Showbag Pavillion. The Show's footprint will also extend beyond Broadwater Parklands with a satellite location at Owen Park and the Southport Pony Club. There you'll find a full equestrian program, cattle and highly popular dog show. And organisers are marrying the traditional with the contemporary revealing earlier this month that Southport CBD will also be transformed into a nightly feast for the senses with LuminoCITY set to deliver "spectacular installations". Rides, Dagwood dogs, fairy floss, feats of strength and skill, animals, family-fun and fireworks. What's not to love? Organisers recently completed applications from musicians and entertainers to audition at NightQuarter to perform on main stages at the Show. Art and craft entries have closed and indoor exhibitor space has sold out. Casey Barnes has already been announced as headliner for Friday night festivities, backing up his epic Groundwater Country Music Festival performances from 6.00pm. He's making a monumental impression on the Australian country music scene, so it's fitting that he's kicking things off for the Gold Coast show in serious country style. All things point to a massive year for Gold Coast Show at its new home. See you at Sideshow Alley. Samantha Morris

The Gold Coast Show takes place 31 August - 2 September at Broadwater Parklands, Owen Park and Southport CBD with all venues located on the light rail network. www.blankgc.com.au

BRUNSWICK NATURE SCULPTURE WALK For The Planet’s Sake

Image by Lamp Photography

SWELL SANDY SUNDAYS SWELL Sculpture Festival has a long history of exhibiting innovative works by emerging artists, and this years’ crop is certainly poised to uphold the tradition.With only a couple of weeks until the Currumbin foreshore is once again transformed into a spectacular outdoor gallery, we got a sneak peek at ‘Sandy Sundays’, a fabric sculpture representing the evolution of Australian beach culture from the early 1900s to now. Artist and designer Kannitha Ly gave as an insight into her inspirations for the work.

There is little doubt that the planet is in trouble. With the onset of global warming, rising sea levels, overfishing, coral bleaching and the enormous amounts of waste generated by Australians every year, the need to take action - or at the very least become more informed – grows daily.

“The concept of ‘Sandy Sundays’ was initially inspired by the bathing pavilions and bathing boxes of the Gold Coast and the role that these structures played in Australian beach culture and the realisation of the Gold Coast as a leisure destination,” she explains.

This year’s Brunswick Nature Sculpture Walk (BNSW) aims to raise awareness of environmental issues in a completely holistic manner; via its actual sculptures, the materials used, and the setting of the exhibition itself.

“During society’s conservative past, the bathing pavilions in particular provided a means that allowed the public to enjoy the beach.” The idea of the beach as the epitome of the Australian character was not always present. With public bathing on the beach once only permitted for men, and strict rules around beach attire for women in place, bathing boxes and bathing pavilions played quite a role in the realisation of tourism as a commodity of the Gold Coast and contributed to a sense of liberation for beachgoers. Kannitha has attempted to capture the sense of people and their experiences past and present through the use of recycled clothing. “I felt that clothes that had once been worn has an inherent story and embodies the presence of its past owner. The clothes also reference the bathing regulations of the past which inhibited what was once considered indecent exposure. “Sourcing recycled clothing by scouring through op-shops as well as combining the pieces of clothing together was time consuming, yet enjoyable. Forming the frame for the fabric posed the greatest challenge in the project.” A first time exhibitor at SWELL, Kannitha has found the process both daunting and exciting. 46

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“One of the great things about the SWELL Sculpture Festival is the outdoor aspect. It offers an opportunity for all to enjoy the pleasures of art in a familiar and playful environment,” she tells us. “I’m honoured to be taking part in Swell this year, especially since it is a Gold Coast based exhibition which is where I have lived for the majority of my adult life. “’Sandy Sundays’ is a small piece in my evolving artistic journey,” Kannitha continues. “I enjoy working with fabric and appreciate the lightness, tangibility and movement that it creates. I am still experimenting and feel that the choice of materials, techniques and forms that I use varies depending on the particular concept. The conceptual idea behind the artwork is what drives the visual outcome of my work.” Given the conceptually-driven nature of the piece, I wonder what Kannitha’s hopes are in terms of the audience takeaway. “I hope that people will be able to appreciate the subtleties of the beach - the feeling of the sand, the sun, the smell and the calm; and reflect on the journey that has contributed to what the beach culture on the Gold Coast is today.” Natalie O’Driscoll

Catch Kannitha Ly’s ‘Sandy Sundays’ when SWELL Sculpture Festival takes over Currumbin Beach from 14-23 September 2018. Visit swellsculpture.com.au for more.

All of the participating artists have created sculptures from recycled or re-useable materials that reflect themes of the environment, drawing attention to issues surrounding current ecological issues or highlighting the need for us to conserve, reuse and recycle, rather than continue to live in such a disposable society. “We’ve destroyed the world with plastics especially in the ocean. Both the Brunswick Nature Sculpture Walk and my sculptures are really relevant in bringing attention to these environmental issues,” says exhibiting artist Lynne Adams. Lynne has created a life-like fish sculpture using leftover plastic bottles and bags to make the body and scales. Lynne says she has thousands of recycled plastic bottles stored at friend’s places around the Shire and was initially inspired to work with plastics when she noticed her own collection of bottles building up. “I was horrified at the amount of bottles I had lying around and decided to cut them up and create something new,” she said. “I love the fact my sculptures breathe life into unwanted things however, in saying that people need to question where their waste goes and encourage each other to find solutions. It’s our waste and we need to be responsible for our own actions,” she said.

A range of masterclasses and hands-on workshops will also be held during the event. Combining themes of recycling, the environment, conservation and sculpture, the workshops - run at the Tweed Regional Gallery and onsite at the BNSW - will teach participants a range of art techniques and skills, such as weaving, making art from recyclable materials and creating ephemeral art toolboxes. Artist Shona Wilson is running a workshop entitled Collaboration with Nature, a land art workshop in which participants can only use what is found on site on the day to create a piece – and here’s the kicker - without tools. “It’s really about engaging with what’s given to us in a surprising and resourceful but fun way,” Shona explains. “These workshops are about bridging art and nature,” she continues. “It’s about finding an intimacy with the natural world around us. Hopefully from that, a state of mindfulness or presence will occur as well as the creativity party of it and the sustainability aspects too. We leave behind what we make and only take photographs away.” And for those who may be concerned at creating something amazing under those circumstances, Shona says it’s really nothing to worry about. “People always surprise me with what they come up with. Everyone is so unique in the way they respond to a place and the materials… The pressure is off in terms of creating a beautiful artwork. It’s a processbased experience.” By Prudence Clark and Natalie O’Driscoll

The Brunswick Nature Sculpture Walk is a free event in Brunswick Heads that runs from 28 September to 2 October. Visit brunswicknaturesculpturewalk.com for more.

It’s SWELL time Visit Queensland's leading sculpture festival this September to experience works of art by local, national and international artists along Currumbin Beach, Gold Coast. The collection of unique and inspiring sculptures promises to captivate with thoughtprovoking messages, tactile constructions and intricate detail and, enormity as they create striking silhouettes along the shoreline. Share in the storytelling with artists' talks, a series of interview-style chats with select exhibiting artists to give visitors a unique opportunity to meet the maker. Art lovers of all levels will also have the opportunity to engage in a variety of workshops throughout the exhibition. SWELL runs from 14 – 23 September 2018. More at swellsculpture.com.au.

Take in the Sunset at Southport Yacht Club When was the last time you checked out the Southport Yacht Club? If it’s been too long (or not at all) then it’s definitely time to hit up the Sunset Garden Bar, and indulge with mates are you overlook the shimmering lights of the Gold Coast Broadwater. The First Friday of each month sees mouth-watering monthly specials (7 Sept is pig on a spit yummm) and pizza every second Friday. With live music and utterly spectacular views, the Sunset Garden Bar at Southport Yacht Club has something for everyone. Oh, and don’t forget the Waterfront Restaurant is open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner, and brekky on the weekends. When are we going?!

Mass ensemble 52 Strings will astound 52 Strings pairs two astonishing works that bring together Camerata – Queensland’s Chamber Orchestra, with talented string students and educators from the Gold Coast to create a mass ensemble of 52 strings. Local players will be invited to play in a rare live performance of Penderecki’s 1960 ‘Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima’, which brings to life the terrifying sounds of war. The full orchestra will also tackle one of the most glorious and well-loved works of the string orchestra, Vaughan-Williams’ ‘Fantasia on a Theme’ by Thomas Tallis. Camerata - Queensland’s Chamber Orchestra completes the program with music from its Helpmann Award nominated concert, ‘Home’. One night only, Saturday 8 Sept at HOTA, Home of the Arts.

Mo’s is all in Much of the artistic community would be aware that to keep Mo's Desert Clubhouse in Burleigh functioning as a creative space, they need to undergo a DA Impact Application with the Gold Coast City Council to change the use of the space to a ‘Creative Industry’ zone (a zone that does not currently exist.) The application is expensive and is not guaranteed approval. Although Crowdfunding is a cringeworthy word to the Mo’s crew, anything helps right now! It is also a way to keep the community and the wider creative industry informed of every step of the application. To help save this important creative space, you can visit readyfundgo.com/project/ mosdesertclubhouse.

Musical Theatre summer school at HOTA Applications are now open to be a part of The Musical Theatre Summer School at HOTA, Home of the Arts for people aged 14 – 26+. All genres and experience levels welcome to apply. The Musical Theatre Summer School is a three week one-of-a-kind experience that integrates performance-based training across two programs, The Performers Stream and The Technical Stream, in all skill levels. Each program students will work alongside industry professionals in singing, dancing, acting and technical production while working and rehearsing in a professional theatre environment. All participants of The Musical Theatre Summer School will culminate their experience by performing in the fully staged production of FAME -The Musical at HOTA, Home Of The Arts from Thursday 24 to Saturday 26 January 2019. Visit famethemusical.com.au to apply.

Ocean Film Festival offers $1,000 for hero image Planning is well underway for the 2019 Ocean Film Festival. This means they are looking for the image that will represent the tour all around the globe. This year they are putting a call out to photographers amongst the community to submit their ocean photos. One photo will be chosen and the winning photographer will receive $1,000 and photo credits. The annual festival image is used on all marketing material which includes posters, postcards, banners, website, festival brochures, festival programs, and social media. Enter by 2 October via oceanfilmfestivalaustralia.com.au.

www.blankgc.com.au

Arts Theatre

Kids Take Over

SUN EARTH & WATER creative concepts for home and garden

See you at the Botanical Bazaar We’ll be giving a free gift with every purchase! Find us on facebook for more details or contact us on

0409 058 716

Chelsea Flower Show

London | Tunbridge Wells | Windsor 7 D AY S • 6 N I G H T S 1300 100 410

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Kristy Scougall

A U S S I E N AT U R O PAT H

Spinifex Country Products High quality sustainably produced Charcoal and Biochar for your soils microbe & plant health.

Show this ad at Botanical Bazaar to receive 10% off

Wellness program for food sensitivities Ph: 0406 616 368 www.aussienaturopath.com.au

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Call us on 0448 955 101

Botanically hand dyed Scarves & Artworks pertaining to the Australian Landscape.

Milkshakes aren’t necessary when your yard looks this good!

Local family farm

OPERATING SINCE 2001 BRINGING EXPERT KNOWLEDGE & CUSTOMER SERVICE www.michelleohara.com

1800 ALLTURF www.allturfsolutions.com.au

Buy direct from the grower

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Gold Coast’s Largest Gardening Festival!

Sunday 16 Sept 9am - 4pm Country Paradise, Nerang Adults $15 | Kids FREE Celebrity Gardeners Green Marketplace Sustainable Living Family Activities Food & Entertainment

inspired

graphic design & ART DIRECTION

Good. Fast. Cheap. Pick 2

Surfers Paradise Golf Club

30th September 8am - 11am Green Marketplace with entertainment, nature play & delicious breakfast options.

email adam@afarmlife.com

phone 0411 763 442

www.botanicalbazaar.com.au

The Green • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Airplant Designs Aizlewoods Broms All Turf Solutions Australian Cannabis University Australian Institute of Horticultre Award Plants Back-roads Touring Bamboo Down Under Brisbane Garden & Plant Expo Brisbane Lawn Chairs Broadcroft Design Composta Australia CutAbove Tools Qld Direct Compost Solutions Earthlife Rock Minerals Edible Landscape Garden Fire Ant Program Flowers by Julia Rose Forbidden Fruits Nursery Friends of the Gold Coast Regional Botanic Gardens Inc. Gold Coast Butterflies Gold Coast Guinea Pig Resuce Gold Coast Rose Society Inc. Grandma’s Garden Greenscene Nursery Gutterknight

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Homemade Preserves Lyn Russell Designs Mellum Creek Nursery Mudbrick Cottage Herb Farm Natural Areas (City of Gold Coast) Peaces Nurseries Queensland Succulents RAMESA Nursery Red Soil Organics Scenic Rim Lavender Shogun Tools Short Stuff Creations Space Plants Spinifex Country Products Sun Earth and Water Outdoor Designs Sustainable Cuisine Synlawn The Ikebana Co. The Railway Sleeper Co. TyTags Australia Vanderbyl Vireya Nursery Vegepod Vulnerable Species (City of Gold Coast) Watersaver Gardens Wood Sky Sage Woodrock Turning

Food Village • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Barraca Brazza BBQ Buchi Kombucha Churros de Oro Gunter’s Flammkuchen Happy Soul Bowl Jabbawocky Grind Coffee Juice Power Monte Lupo Coffee Cart Mr America Hotdogs and Fries Nera’s cakes Paella Magic Pots of Produce The Roaming Pig Yummi Fruit Ice-Creamery Zicatela Woodfired Mexican

Mini Scapes • • • •

Artisan eco-arts and gardening by EdibleScapes Inc Black Hawk Designs Tea Cup Gardens Upcycled Art

Medicinal Herb & Health Hut • • • • • • • • • •

Aroma Wellness Aussie Naturopath Eternal Phoenix Life cykel Self Help SupHerb Chocolate Tea Therapy The Herbal Gardener The Spiritual Realm Urban Health

The Barn

• • • • • • •

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

• • • •

Bee All Natural & Organic Bee Yourself BEE ZONE Apiaries Flow Hive Brights Natural Beeswax Brisbane Backyard Bees Gold Coast Amateur Beekeepers Society inc Know Bees Now Meadowvale Honey Moore Bee J Products The Woodsman

The Shed

Botanica Art

• • • • • • •

• • • • • • • •

ATM First Aid Information Love Local Garden Bar Plant Crèche Raffle Table Workshop Meeting Zone

Carolyn Delzoppo Judy Oakenfull Julie Barron Narelle Bretherton Phil Barron Rebecca O’Connell Robin Saunders Tara-Dyson Holland

Lake

Food Villiage

Community Gardens

Fencing

ww w.botan icalbaz aar.com.au

16 2018

Kids Hub

Food Villiage

Animal Farm

Sept

Tipi Hire Co.

Me di He cinal r He b & alt Hu h t

c niS

Proudly supported by

Bee Zone

Sunday 9am - 4pm ADULTS $15 | KIDS FREE

Country Paradise Parklands 74 Billabirra Crescent, Nerang

The Green

Garden Bar The Shed

P $

Entry & Exit Botanica Art Exhibition

Councillor Peter Young Division 5

Bee Zone

Big On Hats Blossom and Bee Flowers Boomerang Bags Earth Fibre EasyOven Flo Gardens Funky Creature Features Glass Creatures Green Living Australia Grow Eat Flourish Kokedama by Jac Monte Lupo Norwex Peekay’s Gift Simply Soft and Sweet Tropical Fruit World Tweed Real Food Windemere Orchid Farm Wollumbin Gourmet Mushrooms

The Barn Time

Speaker

Presentation

9.30am

Councillor Peter Young

Offical Opening

9.45am

Phil Dudman

No Dig Gardening

11am

Jerry Coleby-Williams

The 21st Century Cottage Garden (highlighting sustainable food production)

12.15pm

Claire Bickle

Growing something a little different spices, subtropic greens, fruits and more!

1.45pm

Patrick Regnault

Designing an all inclusive landscape and play space

2.45pm

Amy McDonald, Kieran Richardt, Dr Mark Runkowsk

Native Gardening for Biodiversity

Medicinal Herb & Health Hut Time

Speaker

Presentation

9.45am

Wise Women of Herbs

Herbal healing traditions

11am

Dolph Cooke

Cannibis - Understanding the oldest and newest herb

12pm

Dr Doug English and Bernie Winter

Not all Turmeric is equal

1pm

Kyle Lazich

Cocoa & Tonic Herbs

1.45pm

Lise Racine

Herbal oils and ointments

2.30pm

Gina Winter

Nourishing Herbal Infusions

3.30pm

Sandra Nanko

Methods of Tincture Making

Bee Zone -

Presented by Gold Coast Amateur Beekeeping Society

GARDEN FESTIVAL FLOURISHES IN 2018

Time

Speaker

Presentation

10am

Kathy Knox

Beginning in backyard bees

11am

Colin Mancey

Plants and flowers for pollinators

12pm

Sarah Hamilton

Native Bees

1pm

Kathy Knox

Honey production and its properties

2pm

Kathy Knox

Beginning in backyard bees

The Botanical Bazaar is expected to see more than six thousand gardening enthusiasts walk through the gates to the Country Paradise Parklands in Nerang on Sunday, 16 September. More than 100 green inspired exhibitors will showcase their cherished plants, talents and products, which includes plant nurseries, herbalists, botanical artists, horticulturalists and sustainable living concepts.

The Green Time

Speaker

Presentation

10.30am

The Micro Gardener Anne Gibson

How to Grow Microgreens’ and easy plant parenting skills

12.30pm

The Micro Gardener Anne Gibson

What to Plant Now’ with seasonal gardening tips on what grows well in our climate

1.30pm

Watersaver Gardens

Chance to WIN a Watersaver Garden Kit valued at $380

2.30pm

The Micro Gardener Anne Gibson

Crops in Pots’ - edible gardens in creative containers

The Tipi Hire Co Kids Hub Time

Speaker

Presentation

10am

Josephine Romeo

Butterfly Gardening

11am

Hedrick Kwan

Getting giggly with greens

12pm

Natura Education

Kids composting and worm farms

1pm

Hedrick Kwan

Pick and taste food discovery

If you have pre-booked a workshop, meet at The Shed 5mins prior.

Beginning four years ago, Botanical Bazaar started as a seed of an idea that has flourished into the Gold Coast’s biggest gardening extravaganza.

Throughout the day celebrity gardeners such as ABC’s Gardening Australia, Jerry Coleby-Williams and Phil Dudman will take to the stage and present educational talks on various gardening topics. Presentations include; No Dig Gardening Concepts, Native Gardening for Biodiversity plus Herbal Healing Traditions to name just a few. There will be a large variety of plants for sale from succulents to fruit trees, garden supplies and tools, small space gardening materials, botanical homewares, the Gold Coast Amateur Beekeeping Society open day and even a botanica art exhibition.

“New to the festival, there’ll be a Medicinal Herb and Health Hut with free workshops and demonstrations by qualified herbalists and healing practitioners,” she said. Young minds will be fertilized with lots of fun and interactive green learning. They can play with baby farm animals, be surrounded by beautiful butterflies, make flower crowns and see fairy gardens. Live entertainment, a delicious variety of local foods plus for the over 18’s the ‘Love Local Garden Bar’ will be open offering limoncello spiked cactus lamingtons and botanical inspired cocktails! With the environment always top of mind, there’ll be a ban on the sale of single use water bottles. “To help reduce our landfill, we’re asking everyone to bring their own reusable water bottle and fill up at the free water station on the day,” said Stacey. Natalie O’Driscoll

According to Event Manager Stacey Panozzo, it’s a full day of green goodness for all ages of nature lovers.

This year’s event is supported by Councillor Peter Young from Division 5, City of Gold Coast and will be held at Country Paradise Parklands Nerang on Sunday, 16 September from 9am to 4pm.

“If you're a keen gardener or have an interest in sustainable living, a visit to the festival is a must! It will be a fantastic day out with bucket loads to see and do.”

Tickets are $15 for adult and children are free. In addition, those who purchase tickets online will receive a free gift. Tickets are available at the gate or online from botanicalbazaar.com.au.