The Australian music scene has taken a cruel beating from the pandemic this past year with disgruntled music lovers silently fuming over cancelled mainstays like Bluesfest, among many others, it’s no surprise that the first-time running Byron Music Festival is a sell-out show.

Festival Director, Nick Sergi said this demonstrates the need in the community for live music and how much people want events like this.

“I am so grateful for how many people have backed us and supported our dream to bring a grass-roots, community focused music event back into Byron town. 

“We’ve worked really hard to bring it to life in the most challenging of circumstances and we’re so excited to share it with everyone.”

The new festival will bring together the best talent from across the region, followed by Byron’s inaugural Music Industry Conference on Sunday as the perfect recovery.

Lismore singer songwriter Sophie Ozard has been making waves across the country bringing genre-bending tunes to scores of festivals and sharing stages with the likes of Bernard Fanning and Dami Im.

Ms Ozard will feature this weekend at the Byron Music Festival alongside Wolfmother, Hayley Mary and Tijuana Cartel. 

Other celebrated Southern Cross University alumni on the line-up include four-piece WHARVES, drummer Jason Cunneen from Drop Legs, and another of Sophie’s bands ‘C.A.T.S’ – Cupid and the Stupids – where she features on keys and backing vocals.

Local four-piece Wharves: Matthew, Mike, Fraser and Scott will bring their guitar-driven indie rock to BMF 2021.

"We are so stoked to play such a great festival in our local area. 

"We are really grateful anytime we play live because we know how easy things can get cancelled due to COVID so huge respect to the organisers and everyone that bought a ticket!"

Upcoming band Loose Content also features guitarist Sam Sanders the teenage son of highly respected and long-standing Southern Cross Uni drum lecturer and author, Dave Sanders.

As a proficient solo singer and guitarist, Sophie is stage-fit after a string of shows and festivals so far in 2021, and off the back of an epic ‘Great Southern Nights’ tour of regional NSW supporting Phil Jamieson and Pat Davern of Lismore band, Grinspoon fame. 

“I’m so stoked to be on the line-up for Byron Music Fest alongside some of my mates’ bands,” Ms Ozard said. 

“At first, I was a bit sceptical with all the tours and gigs being cancelled, but the beauty of this one is all the bands, organisers and panellists are local and not impacted by any border closures, and this event has just been put together so well.

Ms Ozard will be showcasing some new songs during her solo set.

“I’m planning on recording them for an EP that I’m hoping to put out by the end of the year. 

“Some of the songs are inspired by all the far-flung places we got to visit on tour.”

Course Coordinator of Contemporary Music at Southern Cross University, Leigh Carriage said having so many talented Southern Cross University alumni grace the stage of the Byron Music Festival showed the high calibre of the inaugural hyper-local music celebration.

Ms Carriage will kickstart the Inaugural BMF Industry Conference at Byron Theatre on Sunday with an industry panel chaired by General Manager Byron Community Centre Louise O’Connell, with Koori Mail General Manager and Chairperson of First Nations Media Australia Naomi Moran, Arts Northern Rivers CEO Peter Wood, and Roots artist Nathan Kaye.

Five panels will cover issues including the value of arts to our region, empowering youth through music, reflect and reimaging: how the past can shape our future, sustaining wellbeing in music and a keynote address: Drawing Back the Curtain: How to be a Conscious Music Consumer and lastly the fifth panel: Music Changemakers: In Conversation with the Tambah Project (special feature: film, panel, performance). 

“We’ll discuss the importance of music here in this region, the importance of music in the community and how to support one another from the ground up,” Ms Carriage said.

There will also be a youth stage on Sunday at the Byron Youth Services YAC centre.

The event opening night kicks off tonight, Friday 18 June with the main event on Saturday followed by the industry conference and showcase on Sunday.