BRUNSWICK MUSIC FESTIVAL RETURNS IN 2021 - EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST OPEN NOW!

After an abrupt stop and a long pause, Moreland City Council is gearing up to hit play on Brunswick Music Festival again in March 2021. Things are going to look, feel and potentially sound, different. This is the new normal after all, but it’s the re-imagining that makes it so exciting. So, where to from here?

To accomodate for COVID-19 restrictions, the BMF team will be keeping things as flexible as possible while still finding ways to deliver special collaborations and events and fantastic opportunities for local artists, venues and audiences – dedicated and excited to bring the relief of live music to you in whichever way they can.

Since the needle skipped on this year’s event, the world as we know it has been turned upside down. Now more than ever, music feels essential and the tenets that Brunswick Music Festival is built on – neighbourhood and community, inclusivity, diversity and sustainability along with creating a sense of place and safe spaces – seem less like ideals and more like non-negotiables.

With the confinement cultivating a hotbed of creativity, the BMF team are keen to pick up what you want to put down by providing a platform for your audacious ideas, born under the cover of isolation, to be liberated through presentation in their next festival.

They want to work with you to realise your multifaceted, music-based vision in a special one-of-a-kind festival show, in all its boldness and daring, as it speaks to the new world we find ourselves living in.

They also want to hear from musicians, music groups, bands, ensembles or venues in the Brunswick area, who wants to be involved in the 2021 festival.

Local legend and champion of the music community Emily Ulman will once again take charge of expertly crafting the 2021 program, which is set to comprise a collective exhale, a healthy dose of togetherness, a huge cup of joy and some really, really, really great live music experiences.

BMF X ONE-OF-A-KIND FESTIVAL SHOW EOI

What’s your big idea? Your out-of-the-ordinary live music show concept that is oh, so excellent. The kind of “hell yeah” moment that people will lose their minds over.

The BMF team are looking to co-produce your one-of-a-kind festival show that:

Is presented in postcode 3056, 3055 or 3057
Speaks to current issues and trends both in the world at large and the contemporary music landscape
Champions the festival tenets:
- Neighbourhood and community
- Inclusivity, diversity and sustainability
- A sense of place
- Safe spaces
Engages with their priority communities (women and gender diverse, ATSI, people with a disability, migrant and refugee, and LGBTQI+)
Fosters local audiences, their existing audience or brings new audiences to the festival
Can be flexible and respond to COVID-19 restrictions as required

Your one-of-a-kind festival show can comprise live music and performance, be a happening, an exhibition, activation, workshop, talk, industry development idea or any other form of expression that brings together your original ideas to make something entirely new that would find a perfect outlet in a festival context.

It can be many things – conceptual, fantastical, multi-sensory, wonderful, colourful, collaborative, unconventional, extraordinary, thought provoking, awe-inspiring, moving or straight up entertaining.

Examples from previous years include:

Dolly: A Tribute – a night of re-interpreted classics and rarities from the Queen of Country courtesy of five incredible Melbourne musicians that had the whole room dancing in the aisles
Seen and Believed – an exhibition of photo-documentation of Melbourne’s diverse and intricate underground music scene curated by Naomi Lee Beveridge
Undone at 31 – Martin Frawley’s solo album launch that happened 21 times over 21 nights in a Sydney Road shopfront converted into the artist’s bedroom with surprise special guests nightly
Brunswick Music FEASTival – a tasty sold out show that featured a degustation of six epic food themed bands
Music in Exile/Bedroom Sucks presents Music at Home – a laid back afternoon of music, poetry and food, centred around ideas of place, identity and international displacement

The festival team are open to different models of partnership, so be specific about what you need to make your dream materialise. This might be cold hard cash, production and technical support, or assistance with audience development. All events presented will benefit from the festival marketing campaign.

Before applying, please contact Amber Stuart – Brunswick Music Festival Executive Producer at festivals@moreland.vic.gov.au or on 9240 2376 to discuss your idea.

APPLY ONLINE HERE

Please note: This EOI is not a call out for performers, bands, artists or community groups. The BMF team are specifically seeking ideas for curated one-of-a-kind festival shows that feature a specific theme and concept, multiple artists, speakers or activities. Moreland-based performers, bands, artists, community group and venues interested in getting involved in the 2021 festival, please check out the BMF X MORELAND COMMUNITY EOI BELOW.

BMF X MORELAND COMMUNITY EOI

Calling all musicians, bands, community groups and venues

Do you or any of your bandmates live, work or study in Moreland? Are you a member of a Moreland-based community music group or a school with an awesome music program? Are you a local venue that presents live music? The festival team want to know who’s out there and who’s keen to be involved with BMF 2021!

For 2021, things will be done a little differently, focusing the call out on uncovering and discovering the incredible talents that lie closest to home. They’re looking for solo artists, bands, choirs, orchestras and more plus any local venues who want to be a part of the 2021 BMF program.

Your expression of interest does not guarantee a spot in the festival but could lead to being programmed for indoor shows, outdoor line-ups, surprise locations and more, or your venue featuring in the 2021 program. If you have a particular idea about where you would like to perform or what you would like to do, they’d love to hear about that too!

For more information visit brunswickmusicfestival.com.au
Applications close 5pm, Sunday 20 September.