Sydney may be settling in for another prolonged period at home, but just as they did in 2020, entertainers of every kind are pivoting their talents into the digital space. In lieu of IRL musical festivals and gigs, last lockdown we welcomed a swathe of live streams featuring everything from garage band setups to the home studios of big-name musicians. So it's no surprise that the most successful online gig platforms are once again coming to a screen near you, and some are even upping the ante for lockdown 2.0.
After debuting in March last year as a livestreamed two-day event, Isol-Aid is back and bigger than ever before. Partnering with 99designs by Vistaprint, Isol-Aid presents Homegrown, a 16-week program where emerging acts from across Australia and New Zealand are invited to perform alongside established artists. Streaming live on TikTok and isolaidfestival.com every two weeks, the gigs kick off on Wednesday, July 14 from 6-7.30pm.
The first line-up features soulful Indigenous singer-songwriter Emily Warramurra; sister duo, Charm of Finches, who specialise in “haunted folk tunes about love, grief and whispering trees with tight sibling harmonies”; and crooner Lakyn, known best for his spell on The Voice Australia.
Fans and bands can nominate their favourite Aussie and Kiwi acts (or themselves) to be a part of Isol-Aid Homegrown via 99designs.com/homegrown. One act will be selected by a panel of judges to receive a $10,000 grant to boost their career and creative growth, alongside a dedicated mentoring session from Killing Heidi singer and solo artist, Ella Hooper. A further 25 acts will also receive $2000 worth of design work from professional freelance artists from the 99designs community to create promotional materials such as T-shirts, posters, album art or other merch, which will be produced by Vistaprint.
Emily Ulman, the Melbourne-based creator of Isol-Aid, said: “This next chapter of Isol-Aid is particularly exciting. It’s wonderful to be able to continue delivering incredible live local talent toaudiences on TikTok, regardless of their location or lockdown, and it’s extra amazing to now be able to offer Homegrown musicians the opportunity to collaborate with incredible designers who can make their artistic visions for merch, tour posters, album art, etcetera, become a reality; to literally grow.”