Over the past three years Big Sky Girls has become a crucial annual event supporting and mentoring young, regional women in music across Queensland.
The project returns in 2019, this time on a much grander scale having been extended to include applicants across Victoria, New South Wales and Northern Territory.
Big Sky Girls was first launched in 2017 and has uncovered some of the most exciting young female talent in regional Queensland, including Tia Gostelow, Asha Jeffries, Ruby Gilbert, Zoey Mills, Doolie, Jamison Kehl, K-la, Amber Farnan and many more.
"Being part of the Big Sky Girls mentoring programme had a really significant impact on me and helped me to explore and evolve as a female songwriter," Asha Jeffries says.
"Big Sky Girls is an incredible experience to work one-on-one with fabulous mentors," adds Ruby Gilbert, "with real industry experience. It also opens up new opportunities and you'll make lifelong friend."
Click here to meet the Big Sky Girls 2018 class.
The expansion of Big Sky Girls across the four states has been made possible by the continued support from the Australia Council for the Arts, Arts Queensland, APRA AMCOS, I Heart Songwriting Club, Virgin Australia and new partner Backbone Youth Arts.
"This is our next generation of female artists," Project Manager Deb Suckling explains. "Fostering and nurturing artists on both a creative and industry level is crucial for young artists in regional areas.
"Big Sky Girls aims to give these young women an opportunity to not only pursue creative careers, but also to forge their own network with other young women facing similar challenges faced by artists in regional and remote areas."
Big Sky Girls focuses on songwriting and performance skills, industry knowledge, recording and a whole lot of fun building friendships and self-esteem.
The project also helps establish important networks and industry knowledge for those involved and plays a key role in assisting young women access professional resources, which can be limited in many regional areas.
The project includes intensive multi-day workshops and recording sessions in Brisbane with all travel, accommodation and meals covered for participants. Additionally, they'll see one of their songs professionally recorded and mastered.
The mentors participating in the 2019 programme will be announced shortly and will represent the diversity of established songwriters and the music industry across several states.
Applications for Big Sky Girls 2019 close 10 August, with mentoring workshops and recording taking place 25-28 September and 7-15 December.
