THE CHATS, THE DREGGS, PIERCE BROTHERS, BUGS, SAHARA BECK + MORE ANNOUNCED FOR ALL AGES THREE DATE DRIVE-IN AIRWAVES FESTIVAL ON SUNSHINE COAST

It’s the cosmic brainchild from the creative team behind Australia’s largest busking festival, Buskers by the Lake and they are pleased to announce AIRWAVES as their first-ever Sunshine Coast event – just over an hour’s drive from Brisbane. Those eager to smell, see, hear and taste live music again will be able to drive in, park up and enjoy a night out under the stars. AIRWAVES sees some of Australia’s best punk, indie and folk performers including The Chats, The Dreggs, Pierce Brothers, Bugs, Sahara Beck and more to be announced hitting the stage across three nights.

Move over NASA and Space X. With ‘outer space’ themed astronaut ice-cream and flying saucers taking over Nambour space station, organisers are encouraging all punters to get creative and don their best galaxy-themed threads.

Known for breaking boundaries and her ‘think outside the box’ ideas, Event Director, Cindy Jensen has been carefully planning the event for months and says the driving force behind the event was an article published by the ABC detailing the very possibility that festivals may not roll out across the country for at least two summers thanks to Covid19. “Reading it set off a rocket launch fire inside me and I wanted to bring some confidence back into an industry that has been so hard hit and affected. I miss traveling and the freedom it brings and the spacesuit represents the feeling COVID-19 confinement has had on me personally”, she says.

Division 10 Councillor David Law said supporting innovative concepts to get the arts and cultural industry up and running as quickly as possible was critical.

“It is fantastic to see local and Queensland performers being offered work in what has been a tough time for our cultural industry. Using new event approaches to leverage our assets such as the Nambour Showgrounds and drive opportunities to showcase our town is a big part of the Reimagine Nambour strategy which I enthusiastically support,” Cr Law said.

There have been a few highly successful drive-in raves and concerts take place across Europe and announcements have just started for roll-outs in Australia over the past weeks. Event Manager, Joel Jensen hopes AIRWAVES will also inspire other organisations around Australia to follow suit, to help re-boot the country’s entertainment industry. “It’s not just the performers who have been severely impacted, it’s everyone from the large scale production companies and venues, to the family-owned festival hire businesses and supply stores,” he says.

The festival includes two events on the evenings of Friday 10 and Saturday 11 July, along with a late Sunday afternoon session on 12 July, kicking off at 4.00pm with tickets for each night sold separately.

All festival-goers will be COVID covered with the team implementing procedures including contactless ticketing, door delivery of the festival’s “Cosmic Crave” snack packs, hand sanitiser distribution thanks to Greenfest Solutions and constant reminders of the 1.5metre distancing by the sub-station crew.

Sunshine Coast Council have been integral in helping bring the vision to life. The Sunshine Coast is a true events destination and a place that celebrates with live music year ’round, with Caloundra Music Festival, The Big Pineapple Music Festival and Buskers by the Lake on the region’s annual events calendar.

Parking spaces on the Nambour Showgrounds shuttle deck are extremely limited and on sale now through OzTix, on the Airwaves Festival Instagram and Facebook pages, as well as through http://www.airwavesfestival.com.au/