Last Thursday night saw the grand finale of a year of hard work for seven local musical acts and their mentors at Southern Cross University in the form of a boutique performance event.
SCU’s Studio One29 was transformed into a lantern-lit venue for the occasion, marking the completion of Connect, a six-month program auspiced by Arts Northern Rivers aimed at linking talented local musicians with out-of-town experts in particular fields.
The project, which was funded by the Arts NSW Regional Partnership program, wasn’t so much about expanding their musical skills as partnering the artists with people in the biz who could help them develop their off-stage expertise.
SupaFresh were matched up with Anthony McFadden, tour manager at Live Nation (currently on tour with Alicia Keys).
Starboard Cannons’ Ash Bell and Matt Bone were mentored by Clara Iaccarino, manager of Mama Kin and Tinpan Orange.
And Andrea Soler was mentored by Frankie Kimpton, co-director of Melbourne-based boutique artist booking agency, HUB Touring.
Other artists selected for the mentorship program were the Black Lullaby, Shiny Shiny, Sara Tindley and Jacob Pember.
Flying interstate to attend the evening were special guests from Music NSW, Alberts Creative team, prominent music managers and booking agents, who were joined by local media identities, music producers, publicists and Lismore mayor, Cr Jenny Dowell.
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