This event will showcase new musical talent from bands across the Hunter Valley region of New South Wales, Australia. It aims to promote these up-and-coming bands and give them exposure to new fans. The performances will take place at the Newcastle Entertainment Centre and include a variety of musical genres. The goal is to support independent musicians and help launch local bands to wider success.

1. New Newcastle Music
A musical showcase

2. The event
 This event will showcase the musical talents of new bands in the Hunter
Valley. It aims to promote these bands, as well as to be a fun day out for
teenagers and young adults. Alcohol and illicit substances will be
prohibited at this event, as the focus is on enjoying the new music.

3. The location
 The location chosen for this event is the Newcastle Entertainment Centre,
due to its proximity to a train station and its successful use as an
entertainment venue for many other events. The majority of the
performances will take place inside the centre itself, although bands that
require more space will be playing outside (weather permitting).

4. The bands
 The bands will be selected from all of the towns in the Hunter Valley, both
Upper and Lower. This is to include as much new musical talent as possible.
Bands and performers of all genres will be included, and a full list of bands
and their respective genres will be available both on the day and on our
website.

5. Why local music?
 It is important for indie bands to get their sound out there. While the internet
does provide a very good outlet for this, a live event will enable the bands
to see what fans they already have as well as new fans. Many performers
have reported that this is an enjoyable part of their performances.

6. Music and place
 Music can have a connection with a place, in this case the place is all of
the Hunter Valley. The music will celebrate the place that it comes from,
and fans will enjoy seeing that their town is capable of producing such
talent. Many towns, especially the smaller ones, have no cultural output, so
this event will help to enhance that and showcase it.

7. Music and place (2)
 Local spaces are very important for independent bands to spread their
sound. They often cannot afford the big venues that bigger, more well-known
bands can. Indie music, however, does have many spaces with
which its music can spread, from small cafes to universities. This event is just
one of those places on a larger scale.

8. Music and social practices
 Music can help to reaffirm social norms, but indie bands aren’t restricted by
the same kinds of expectations that larger bands are. This means that indie
bands will be able to suggest new social norms. Rather than hearing about
sex, drugs, and rock and roll, it is hoped that the audiences will instead be
hearing about more important issues and learning better habits.

9. Music and social functions
 Studies have shown that music is listened to differently in a social situation
than it would be otherwise. The people who took part in these studies, most
notably Hargreaves’ one on music’s uses, reported that music was more
enjoyable when listened to with friends, and that it gave them something
to talk about with their friends. Thus, music serves the purpose of erasing
antisocial tendencies.

10. Music and identity
 It has been demonstrated that music is a powerful tool when it comes to
shaping an identity. Teens will still be in the process of this identity shaping,
so the wide variety of musical styles will enable them to play with their
identity and hopefully find one that they are comfortable with.

11. Music and audiences
 Audiences are vital to music, especially music that is only just getting off the
ground in the larger picture of big-name bands. It is hoped that the
audience that this event attracts will help to promote the bands that they
listen to, and in return the bands will get a greater audience. More
importantly, their name and sound will be out there.

12. Music and lifestyles
 Different music genres have their own lifestyles that go along with them- the
happy-go-lucky lifestyle of pop, rural lifestyle of country, and devil-may-care
lifestyle of rock bands. In this event, many different lifestyles will be
mixing together, so fans of all will be able to see the different lifestyles and
see if that particular one appeals to them.

13. The importance of live music
 Live music is vitally important and enjoyable to both fans and performers.
Many musical experts agree on this, adding that “the primary function of
live performance is to promote the sales of recordings” (Auslander, 2). Fans
are able to hear new music easily at live events, and the crowd
atmosphere will make it more enjoyable.

14. Music subcultures
 Fans have a feeling of togetherness when they are listening to their
favourite band together. There are many musical subcultures, all gathering
around certain genres. It is possible to belong to more than one subculture,
so many subcultures can be present in the one person or even the one
subculture. Music subcultures are especially important to indie groups, so
this blending of them will be good for them.

15. Extra detail
 The event will also have posters up for the bands performing, as well as CD
sales both in the foyer of the entertainment centre and at individual booths
for each band around the outside of the centre. Bands will also be able to
sell other merchandise such as t-shirts and DVDs, and will be encouraged to
sign them for an extra cost from fans. This is all to promote them as well as
gain them money.

16. Indie bands need support
 Indie bands need support more than any other band, both monetary and
just general people support. This events hopes to give both the funds they
need and the extra audience to take them from a small, local band to a
big one. They will be able to afford better equipment, and they may even
gain more gigs in places around the Hunter. It will be the stopping stone
they need to reach the big time.

17. More information on our website
 For further information, both about the event and the bands that will be
performing there, visit out website at www.newnewcastlemusic.com.au.
There, we also have a shop with band merchandise as well as links to indie
bands that could use some support.

18. Thank you for your consideration

19. References
 Auslander, P. (1998). Seeing is believing: Live performance and the discourse of authenticity in rock culture. Literature and
psychology, 44(4), 1-26.
 Frith, S. (2007). Live music matters. Scottish Music Review, 1(1).
 Holt, F. (2010). The economy of live music in the digital age. European Journal of Cultural Studies, 13(2), 243-261.
 Kruse, Holly (2010) Local Identity and Independent Music Scenes, Online and Off, Popular Music and Society, 33:5, 625-639
 Jensen, Patrick Dylan. A Virtual and Actual Subculture: The Independent Music Scene in the Digital Age. 2013. Available
electronically from http://hdl.handle.net/10066/11536.
 Hargreaves, D. J., & North, A. C. (1999). The functions of music in everyday life: Redefining the social in music
psychology. Psychology of music, 27(1), 71-83.
 Juslin, P. N. (2011). Music and emotion: seven questions, seven answers. Music and the mind: Essays in honour of John
Sloboda, 113-135.
 Lonsdale, A. J., & North, A. C. (2011). Why do we listen to music? A uses and gratifications analysis. British Journal of
Psychology, 102(1), 108-134.
 North, A. C., Hargreaves, D. J., & Hargreaves, J. J. (2004). Uses of music in everyday life. Music perception, 22(1), 41-77.