We are officially dubbing March the month of music, because Great Southern Nights is back, with the state-wide festival unleashing more than 300 live gigs across New South Wales. Sydneysiders can get their fill of beats, eats and bevvies when the inner city’s Hollywood Quarter (officially the home of one of the coolest streets in the world) is taken over for one-night-only.
Hollywood Quarter’s Gig Trail: What’s in store
From 4pm on Saturday, March 23, the curated Great Southern Nights Gig Trail invites music lovers to stroll through a free live music journey at a range of the precinct’s venues, each of them cultivating a distinctive vibe, including: Ace Hotel Sydney, The Soda Factory, Alberto’s Lounge, The Burdekin, Golden Age Cinema & Bar, Hollywood Hotel, Harry’s, Butter, and The Paramount House Hotel. A band featuring some of Sydney’s most renowned musicians will play in the rich troubadour tradition (roving musicians) along Foster Street, and buskers of all ages will line the streets. In addition to music gigs inside and outside, 11 of the restaurants and bars are slinging special food and drink offers.
The Gig Trail’s Music Curator, Trevor Brown, drawing from experiences playing in Italy, France and Eastern Europe, says you can expect to find music in surprising places and “get ready to explore the back alleys, nooks and crannies of the Hollywood Precinct… Think Moroccan, New Orleans jazz, Haitian, French, Italian, African music blends. Expect us to mix and match with unexpected combinations, and some exciting musical processions.” Find out more at hqsydney.com.
Photograph: Supplied/Hollywood Quarter | Hotel Hollywood
Can’t stop the beat: More gigs from Great Southern Nights
There’s many more memory-making gigs to discover this month too. If you’re up the coast on the weekend, you can try your luck getting into the sold-out Great Southern Nights Street Party in Newcastle (March 23–24).
The Great Southern Nights program is also taking the tunes on the road with gigs in Western Sydney, Wollongong, Northern Rivers, Tamworth and Wagga Wagga. But starting in the city, you can spend your Sydney nights moving to the music of some of the country’s most notable artists including the legendary Yothu Yindi (Mar 8), King Stingray (Mar 11) with their unique “Yolŋu surf-rock” sound, and Gold Fang (Mar 23). Grab tickets to see Jawbreakers at Arq (Mar 22); chill out to one of country's most esteemed performers Fanny Lumsden in Leichhardt (Mar 24); bounce to the beats of rapper Sophiya at Mary's Underground (Mar 23) and hip hop artists YNG MARTYR at Oxford Arts Factory (Mar 22). Then there's Becca Hatch (Mar 21), Big Skeez (Mar 15), KYE (Mar 23), Pop Crimes: The Songs of Rowland S Howard (Mar 10), and many more.
There’s also a load of shows coming to Western Sydney – The Buoys will have the Albion Hotel in Parramatta (Mar 14) attracting punk rockers from far and wide, while the Evan Theatre in Penrith will reverberate with the swing sounds of David Campbell (Mar 23), and soul sisters Vika and Linda (Mar 23) will guarantee a good time at Riverside Theatres.
Time to start planning a roadtrip, because Great Southern Nights is also bringing a bunch more killer shows to regional centres across the state. The Teskey Brothers, Gretta Ray, G Flip and Budjerah are gearing up to embrace the oceanside beauty and coastal ease of Wollongong and Thirroul. Over in the Northern Beaches hip-hop duo Hermitude are taking over Byron Bay’s Beach Hotel (Mar 9), and you can catch Xavier Rudd at The Green Room (Mar 9). Take your music appreciation tour northwards to Tweed to rock out to Bliss N Eso at the waterfront Kingscliff Beach Hotel (Mar 23), then take a drive down south to Lismore where you'll see Jesswar (Mar 23) and Kate Miller-Heidke (Mar 13). You can also catch Ball Park Music (Mar 15), Gordi (Mar 8), JK-47 (Mar 23), and Jon Stevens (Mar 8).
Wagga Wagga will host six headline gigs including country icon Kasey Chambers (Mar 24), metalheads Northlane (Mar 15), Sneaky Sound System (Mar 22) and Tigerlily (Mar 23). The home of the Golden Guitar, Tamworth is getting a visit from the likes of Jessica Mauboy (Mar 21), The Church (Mar 8), The Whitlams Black Stump (Mar 9) and celebrated Aussie rapper 360 (Mar 14).
Wondering how this is all happening? Great Southern Nights is an initiative of Destination NSW in partnership with the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Check out the full line-up at greatsouthernnights.com.au.
