Congratulations to Dylan Lindquist (Clawmachine), Laura Bamford (Laura Louise), Rob Bryant (Big Foot Mafia), Sam Krzewina, Tom Gillespie (Venice on Fire) and Victoria Jenkins (Fragile Animals). The BIGSOUND Bursary, now in its second year, will cover the winner’s flights, accommodation and purple passes to Australia festival of new music and conference, BIGSOUND Festival this September 4-7 in Brisbane.
Spanning from the Cairns to Toowoomba the young music business start-ups are participants of QMusic’s flagship professional development program, Industry Connect. The program has helped 1190 artists and music industry practitioners navigate the contemporary music industry landscape since 2017, with support from Arts Queensland.
Tom Gillespie of Toowoomba act Venice on Fire is thrilled to win the BIGSOUND bursary, citing the disadvantages regional artists face.
“On top of the obvious tyranny of distance, you have to work twice as hard to network, befriend and otherwise insert yourself into industry and social circles. You're constantly behind the eight ball, so this is a magnificent chance to rise above that. It will offer me a chance to meet professionals I would otherwise have no access to”
Tom Gillespie
Venice on Fire
“As a band, we want to explore more touring opportunities, so I'm hoping to meet with booking agents and venue owners to not only highlight our work, but find out what they're looking for,” said Gillespie. Ipswich singer songwriter Sam Krzewina echoes similar plans, “winning the BIGSOUND bursary gives me solid 'boots-on-the-ground' experience and first rate connections to backup all of what I learned and discovered with QMusic.”
Looking to 2019 and developing his career post Industry Connect, Gold Coast's Dylan Lindquist says “this is a huge opportunity for me to learn a lot which will have a huge impact and inform a lot of my plans for the next year.
Take a listen to all our 2018 BIGSOUND Bursary winners below!
GOLD COAST
Clawmachine is the kaleidoscopic creation of young new producer, Dylan Lindquist. He keeps up with the progressive state of the music industry by producing works that are an amalgamation of genres, combining indie, electronica, pop and psychedelia.
BRISBANE
Brisbane based solo artist Laura Bamford grew up in country South East Queensland and moved to Brisbane in 2007. Formerly one half of duo Bamford Cook, in 2017, Laura decided to pursue a solo career as Laura Louise and is currently working on her debut release.
CAIRNS
Bigfoot Mafia is a 3 piece Hard Rock band from Far North Queensland. Blending elements of hard rock, classic rock and grunge to create their sound, their high energy stage show has been capturing the attention of audiences and winning them fans wherever they go.
IPSWICH
There is nothing Sam Krzewina won't try. The genre-defying Ipswich based songwriter draws from the classics of Django Reinhardt and Miles Davis through to the modern acts like Gareth Liddiard and the Beastie Boys.
TOOWOOMBA
Venice on Fire are a head-banging alternative rock band that wear their hearts on their sleeves. Their new single ‘My Friend Mal’ is due for release in September and will feature a massive east coast tour later this year.
SUNSHINE COAST
Sunshine Coast band Fragile Animals create breathtaking music that moves with an effortless glide. The shoegaze three-piece introduced themselves impressively on their debut EP, Light That Fades.
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