The Beauty of BIGSOUND
Every year the BIGSOUND lineup is announced and I scroll through scratching my head. Who the hell is that guy? I’ve never heard of her before. I say that in my head about twenty times as only a handful of artists ring a bell. And an even smaller number are featured on my Spotify playlists.
But by the time the week long trek in the Valley comes to a close, my playlists are filled with new voices and sounds that I would never have heard of before if not for BIGSOUND. The beauty of BIGSOUND.
Last year’s BIGSOUND was a highlight of my year; I supported local artists that deservingly played a few showcases through the week as well as stumbled into bars after hearing something interesting amongst the hustle and noise of Fortitude Valley at 10pm. I had a focus on the punk stars of BIGSOUND 2017, specifically Clowns, Boat Show, and local punkers WHALEHOUSE. I fondly remember squeezing against the circumference of the Crow Bar mosh for Clowns’ gig, as the lead singer attempted to walk upside-down on the ceiling; only aided by the mosh underneath him.
And I sit back and look at this new 2018 lineup and wonder, who will be the next Stella Donnelly? The Perth indie-darling that captured everyone’s hearts with her charming, humble and laid-back demeanor. And then shattered our emotions as her hauntingly beautiful vocals and politically charged lyrics rang through the speakers. Who will be the next Stella Donnelly? I’m keen to find out. And that’s the Beauty of BIGSOUND.
For the purpose of this article, I’ve put all the artists on the lineup that I know in bold. And after BIGSOUND, I’ll do a sequel to this and highlight all the bands I now know. Because I’m sure to learn something from being out in the Valley every night for a week, living off of beer and hotdogs.
BIGSOUND 2018 first line-up
· A Swayze & The Ghosts
· Adrian Eagle
· Alice Skye
· ARSE
· Arteries
· Asha Jefferies
· Bin Juice
· Blank Realm
· Bugs
· Butterfingers
· Cable Ties
· Cast Down
· CLYPSO
· Cry Club
· CXLOE
· DEAN FOREVER
· Dreller
· Eat Your Heart Out
· Eilish Gilligan
· Eliott
· Elizabeth
· Ella Hooper
· Emma Anglesey
· Estère
· Gabriella Cohen
· Genesis Owusu
· Georgia Mulligan
· Good Doogs
· GRAACE
· Gravemind
· Greta Stanley
· Hachiku
· Hazlett
· Hobsons Bay Coast Guard
· Imogen Clark
· James Wright Trio
· JEFFE
· KAIIT
· Kaitlin Keegan
· Kian
· Kota Banks
· Kult Kyss
· Kwame
· MANE
· Miss June
· Moaning Lisa
· MOOKHI
· Oh Pep!
· Olympia
· Paces
· Pink Matter
· Pool Shop
· Rachel Maria Cox
· RAT!hammock
· Riley Pearce
· Ruby Gilbert
· Samsaruh
· Sleep Talk
· Slowly Slowly
· Stevie Jean
· Sumner
· Sunscreen
· sweater curse
· SŸDE
· T$oko
· Tape/Off
· The Chats
· The Merindas
· TOTTY
· Triple One
· Two People
· Tyne-James Organ
· Voiid
· Wax Chattels
· yú yī
