The Australian Hotels Association NSW (AHA NSW) is preparing for the grand final of its prestigious live band competition, Rockin’ the Puburbs, which has a new format this year.
Live music is massively important to pubs across NSW, and beyond, accounting for 65,000 full-time and part-time jobs, but it has been decimated by the pandemic with some reports saying Australia’s live music industry lost $1.4bn in 2020 alone.
Rockin’ the Puburbs celebrates live music from across the state and so it is only fitting the bands are given the opportunity to battle it out for the win in a live grand final, which will take place at the iconic Selina’s Entertainment Centre within the Coogee Bay Hotel on Thursday, 23 February.
“We felt it was important this year to make sure that the connection between live music and local pubs played an important role in the campaign,” AHA NSW Director Liquor and Policing John Green said.
“In past years the competition has been mostly online but post-pandemic, it’s never been more important to support our live music industry in every way possible. One of the best ways to do that is with boots on the ground – turning up at gigs.
“So for us, it made sense to do this live and what better place than Selina’s which has been showcasing some of the country’s best live music acts for decades.”
After an extensive statewide search, with hundreds of submissions received, judges have now selected five finalists to compete in the live grand final event.
Finalists include:
- Dande and The Lion – Manly, NSW
- Jamie Lindsay – Central Coast, NSW
- LamBros. – Northern Beaches, NSW
- Roar Sky Harvey – Marrickville, NSW
- Wicked Things – Sydney Inner West, NSW
“We have been thrilled by the level of talent and diversity of our Rockin’ the Puburbs entrants,” Green said.
“These five finalists represent a number of musical genres from indie to country, rock, and folk.
“While these are very different styles of performance, they are a perfect representation of the diversity of music found in pubs right across NSW.”
The five finalists will battle it out, live on stage in the Rockin’ the Puburbs Grand Final event to be held at Selina’s – Coogee Bay Hotel, from 7pm on Thursday, 23 February.
Guest judges on the night will include The Hon. John Graham MLC and 24-Hour Economy Commissioner Michael Rodrigues with others to be announced soon.
The winner will take home a $15,000 prize package including an East Coast pub tour, dedicated tour publicist and cash.
Click here to access limited free tickets for the Grand Final.