Performers name the Bigsound acts to which they’ll make tracks

It might be the biggest music industry gathering in the southern hemisphere, but it’s not just an event for business opportunities – Bigsound is for anyone who loves new Australian music and keeping an eye on where it’s heading.

Tanzanian-born, Burundi-raised Australian artist Beckah Amani plays The Brightside Outdoors on Wednesday.Credit: BIGSOUND

The conference and showcase series returns to Fortitude Valley’s entertainment precinct from Tuesday to Friday, with panel discussions and workshops by day and a smorgasbord of live music by night.

More than 140 artists will feature this year, taking to the stages of the precinct’s dedicated live music venues, as well as a few unconventional haunts retrofitted for the occasion.

Being able to wander 100 metres in any direction and see live music is an obvious drawcard.

But so is the fact that some of Australia’s biggest names in music – Flume, Courtney Barnett, Thelma Plum, Violent Soho, Gang of Youths and Rufus Du Sol – have appeared at the event over the years.

Joining visitors in navigating the long list of artists to work out who to see this week are the performers themselves.

Between her own sets at The Valley Loft and Soapbox Beer, Australian-Mauritian artist Anieszka will be showing support for her friends.Credit: BIGSOUND

Australian-Mauritian artist Anieszka, whose music fuses R&B and neo-soul, is carving out time between her sets at The Valley Loft and Soapbox Beer to catch pop music duo Foley.

“There are so many amazing acts at Bigsound this year,” she said. “I’m pretty excited to see Foley live.

“I heard their music for the first time about a year ago and met them recently – they’re lovely people. I’m really digging their releases this year. On the Rocks is a fave.”

Ahead of the event, Anieszka said it was refreshing to see more “genre-bending artists in the spotlight”.

“This year I get to see friends like Yawdoesitall, Ruby Jackson and BoomChild perform at Bigsound – there’s a lot of talent coming out of Australia,” she said.

Australian four-piece rock band Moaning Lisa have genre-pushing rock/post punk band Twine on their to-see list.

“Twine are utterly captivating,” the band said. “Their music is gritty and fuzzy, but also just incredibly beautiful.

“They’re one of those bands where all of the instruments interact with each other and fill in the spaces in impossible ways. It might be a violin part, or feedback, or it might be a phantom sound that isn’t there at all but just feels magical.”

If that description piques the interest, Twine’s song Same Old Problems is a good place to start working through their discography.

“I think someone just forgot to tell them what the rules of rock music are,” Moaning Lisa said.

“It’s like they’ve reverse-engineered what people in 1991 thought rock music in 2023 would sound like and then built it up again from first principles.”

That appreciation for hearing noise blended unconventionally perhaps comes from Moaning Lisa’s own experience working outside typical conventions.

Hailing from Auckland, New Zealand, pop duo Foley are taking to the stage over two nights at Blute’s and The Wickham.Credit: BIGSOUND

They’ve graced some of the biggest festival stages in Australia and supported the likes of Midnight Oil with their alternative rock.

Australian singer-songwriter Alex the Astronaut isn’t taking to the stage at this year’s Bigsound to play music, instead joining a panel discussion exploring the contributions of neurodivergent individuals to the creative process.

Outside that, she’ll be seeing Tanzanian-born, Burundi-raised Australian artist Beckah Amani again.

“She supported me at my show in London and her performance was so moving. She’s very talented,” Alex said.

She’s also got Kobie Dee, an artist she discovered during lockdown, on her list.

“I love Kobie Dee’s music and I haven’t seen him play live, so I’ll be front row for that, hopefully.”

See the full 2032 Bigsound schedule here.

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