New South Wales concert series Great Southern Nights has announced its full-scale return for March 2024, with hundreds of gigs set to take place all across the state and several major Australian artists set to participate.
Along with shows in cities like Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong, Great Southern Nights will also see shows take place in various key regional centres. Ball Park Music, for instance, will be playing in Brunswick Heads for the first time in their careers as part of the series. “A few of us grew up in this area so it feels really special to come back and play,” the band said in a press statement. “We’re extremely excited to be involved again with the Great Southern Nights program.”
Other artists set to perform in the 2024 program include Jessica Mauboy playing in Tamworth, Sarah Blasko performing in Thirroul, Northlane performing in Wagga Wagga, Midnight Oil‘s Peter Garrett performing in Newcastle and Kate Miller-Heidke performing in Lismore. The full program can be found on the Great Southern Nights website, with many shows already on sale.
Along with the chance to see bigger artists in smaller venues, Great Southern Nights 2024 will also offer two major comeback shows. The Presets will perform their first headlining live show in nearly four years at Newcastle’s newest venue the King Street Bandroom, while Jimmy Barnes is scheduled to perform his first gig following his open heart surgery at Sydney’s Enmore Theatre.
Jimmy Barnes – ‘Working Class Man’
In his own statement, Arts Minister John Graham said that Great Southern Nights is “more than a series of live gigs”. Rather, he views it as “a display of how the collective passion for live music can deliver rich cultural moments that resonate with locals and visitors alike.”
“Bringing back Great Southern Nights is part of our dedication to backing live music and a shift in focus from destination travel to experience tourism with an emphasis on creating a cultural identity for the state,” he said. “We are creating memorable experiences for visitors to Sydney and across NSW, with diverse entertainment options when people step out at night.”
Great Southern Nights originally took place in 2020, at a time when live music was only slowly starting to return to New South Wales and had heavy restrictions imposed on it. Last year’s program featured performances from Courtney Barnett, Alex Lahey and the late Archie Roach. A teaser program of gigs ahead of the 2024 program announcement also took place last month, with performances from Alex The Astronaut, Thy Art Is Murder and freshly-minted ARIA Hall-of-Famers Jet.
Further Reading
Twilight at Taronga 2024: Ball Park Music, Meg Mac, The Cat Empire + More
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