Qld’s green and gold highway now has its own soundtrack thanks to a curated music tour

The Queensland Music Trails team has curated a musical tour of the Sunshine state with some major gigs announced and more still to come. Find out who is already signed up to perform.

31/01/2023: musicians Jem Cassar-Daley and Karl S. Williams at the launch of the Queensland Music Trails at River Stage, Brisbane. Pic Lyndon Mechielsen/Courier Mail

In case you need an excuse to go out and discover your own state Queensland Music Trails is a curated musical tour of the cities and far flung regions. The program for the first half of the year was launched at Brisbane’s River Stage on Tuesday with Tourism Minister Stirling Hinchliffe, Arts Minister Leanne Enoch and Queensland Music Festival (QMF) Chief Executive Officer, Joel Edmondson, talking up a QMF initiative that is catching the attention of Aussies and hopefully the rest of the world.

What’s on in Brisbane: Major Events set to wow in 2023

Minister Hinchliffe said Queensland Music Trails, which begins with the Outback Trail on April 13, would bring people on a “journey to the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games, not on the yellow brick road but on “the green and gold highway”.

Queensland Music Trails is also being referred to as “a musical Route 66 of Queensland”.

Among the acts we will see on the road for the first three trails announced for 2023 (Outback, Scenic Rim and Southern Queensland Trails) are homegrown stars such as Jem Cassar-Day and Karl S. Williams who were on hand Tuesday for the big reveal.

Gold Coast based musician Karl S. Williams can’t wait to hit the road for Queensland Music Trails. Picture: Supplied

Williams said he had recently toured the outback as part of the Festival of Small Halls and could not wait to go bush again, while Jem Cassar-Daley confessed she was excited to be hitting the road to play at St George in April.

They will be joined on the road by Lime Cordiale, C.W. Stoneking and His Primitive Horn Orchestra, Hatchie, Emma Donovan, Sycco, Opera Queensland stars and others who will feature in a series of concerts at St George, Cunnamulla, Charleville, Tambo, Canungra, Jimbour, Winton and Longreach with more trails and destinations, including the big smoke of Brisbane, to be announced in May.

Musicians Jem Cassar-Daley and Karl S. Williams are ready to hit the road at the launch of Queensland Music Trails at River Stage, Brisbane. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen

Tourism Minister Stirling Hinchliffe said these were “first class destination music events to encourage visitors to explore more of Queensland’s great lifestyle and awe inspiring tourism experiences”.

“Whether it’s Opera in the Outback or Indie favourites Lime Cordiale playing the Long Sunset at Canungra, Queensland Music Trails have something for everyone,” he said.

“Queensland Music Trails brings the arts and tourism together. The (Annastacia) Palaszczuk Government is investing $20 million in the Qld Music Trails because we know destination events bring visitors, who support local jobs and local economies.”

Arts Minister Leeanne Enoch said events such as the Festival of Outback Opera and Opera at Jimbour with Opera Queensland are “signature cultural events”.

Opera Queensland CEO and Artistic director Patrick Nolan said the company was “committed to sharing the wonder and joy of opera with regional audiences”.

QMF CEO and Creative Director Joel Edmondson thinks an Outback Queensland town might be the next Glastonbury, with Queensland Music Trails drawing crowds to the regions. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen

Events such as these will help put outback towns on the global cultural map according to QMF CEO Joel Edmondson, who said the tourism and adventure opportunities of Queensland Music Trails would be “something that people from all over the world can come and enjoy”.

He gave the example of Glastonbury in the United Kingdom, a relatively unknown town before its music festival made it globally famous. Mind you that festival is just as famous for its mud and there may be less of that in Queensland’s Outback.

For more information please visit qldmusictrails.com

Originally published as Qld’s green and gold highway now has its own soundtrack thanks to a curated music tour