Opera at Jimbour: University of Southern Queensland to study social, cultural impact of music festivals

A university study is underway to explore the cultural and social significance that festivals such as Opera at Jimbour have on regional communities, to see if tourists, performers or host towns benefit more from them.

UNIVERSITY STUDY: The incredible 'Opera at Jimbour' is being studied by the University of Southern Queensland. Picture: Peta McEachern

A university study has been undertaken to assess the social and cultural impact of festivals on regional communities such as the Opera at Jimbour.

University of Southern Queensland’s senior research fellow Dr Geoff Woolcock has asked if these stellar events benefit tourists, the performers, or the host communities more through a commissioned evaluation of the social impact of the newly established Queensland Music Trails, an initiative from Queensland Music Festival (QMF).

The series of events for The Outback Trail kicked off in southwest Queensland with the well-established Opera at Jimbour in late June, and will conclude with the Big Red Bash in Birdsville this week.

Funded by QMF, Dr Woolcock in conjunction with USQ partner researcher Dr Meg Forbes, will specifically focus on how festivals may lead to greater social inclusion, a sense of belonging and pride, and increased knowledge of local indigenous cultures.

“There are so many different layers to what festivals and tourism can do for a small town and essentially this evaluation is assessing how cultural music performances can significantly contribute to regional revitalisation,” Dr Woolcock said.

“We conducted interviews with performers and host community members before the festival started and another round with both groups as well as audience members during the first week of performances that included Charleville, Quilpie an Windorah.

“We’ll do the final interviews with all cohorts in the month following the completion of the music trail.”

The incredible 'Opera at Jimbour' at the Saturday Eastern Lawn Gala on June 26, 2021. Picture: Peta McEachern

Dr Woolcock said while common questions were posed to all three different groups, there were specific areas key to each research cohort.

“Community wellbeing is the main focus for host towns but for performers and the audience, this is about bedding down the sustainability of the live music industry across Queensland, particularly as it seeks to recover from the continued impact of Covid,” he said.

“These events have the potential to be a really strong source of tourism and revenue for all the participating communities so it’s important these questions are asked to ensure events like the music trail are sustainable long-term for everyone who benefits from them.”

He said it would be interesting to gather responses from different groups around the types of shows put on in different regions.

Dr Woolcock used performances by singer Kate Miller-Heidke and musician William Barton in Charleville as an example, and said they were “very much designed” for local audiences as opposed to visitors.

The Queensland Music Festival was created in 1999 to give all Queenslanders access to world-class live music.

QMF’s remit has evolved over the past 20 years to incorporate a diverse range of music programs that respond to Queensland’s social, cultural and economic challenges.