DUBBO REGIONAL COUNCIL SUPPORTING REGIONAL ARTISTS
It’s just days until local artists will be joining the likes of Thirsty Merc and Little Quirks for the Under Western Skies Festival. Dubbo Regional Council (DRC) is proudly sponsoring this year’s event, which supports the emerging music industry in the Dubbo region. There are seven events over four days, across a number of different locations around Dubbo this weekend from Thursday 18 – Sunday 21 March, 2021.
Event organiser Fred Randell said that the weekend-long music festival will support metropolitan, regional, and local artists.
“We’ve got two performances happening Friday night at local venues, so we’ve got the Commercial Hotel kicking things off with Andy Nelson with a bunch of local and regional artists, and also on Friday night, at the Amaroo we’ve got the rock show, This goes to 11! kicking off with Red Bee from the Mountains,” said Mr Randell.
All-ages gigs are happening across the weekend, including the kick-off shows on Thursday, performances at Church Street Rotunda on Saturday, and a Saturday night show at the CWA Hall.
“Then on Sunday to wrap it all up, we’ll have Little Quirks and The Safety of Life at Sea and Civil Hands performing in the courtyard at the Western Plains Cultural Centre, which is a beautiful little venue perfect for what we want to close off the festival,” said Mr Randell.
DRC is sponsoring the event, with $3,000 in funding to put the festival together. The funding will help attract more people to the festival, particularly from out of town.
“We’ll primarily be using the funds for advertising, which is a big thing for us. Particularly reaching people with the news about our event, is always very difficult. Focussing solely on online or traditional advertising never seems to net the audience that you need it to, you need to tackle a few different avenues, like radio, print and posters. Just getting the word out to people can be a bit of a challenge, so the money from Dubbo Regional Council will certainly help us further those ends,” said Mr Randell.
Mayor of the Dubbo Region, Councillor Ben Shields, said that the last 12 months have had a devastating impact on our live entertainment and events industry due to covid and he’s excited to see events reignited in our region.
“Under Western Skies will deliver a number of events including a family-friendly event at the Western Plains Cultural Centre. Council has provided $3,000 in funding for this event, under the Event Assistance Program’s (EAP) Community Events Fund, which supports local events that deliver social and cultural benefits to the region,” said Councillor Shields.
There are expected to be more than 800 people across the three days of music, and tickets are still available. More information is available by visiting uwsfest.com, to see which musicians are playing, and where.
ENDS
Editor’s note: Interview with Fred Randell is available for download here:
Last Edited: 17 Jul 2023