In 2024, Adelaide's Semaphore Music Festival celebrates its 20th anniversary with a line-up of alt. country, roots, and blues artists-musicians descending on the seaside suburb the Labour Day long weekend (4-7 October).
Festival organisers have dug into their bag of nostalgia, booking beloved local blues-roots act and three-time ARIA Award winners (Best Blues & Roots Album: 2006, 2008, 2011) and AMC SA Music Hall of Fame 2023 inductees The Audreys, who will headline the Monday instalment creating a full-circle moment, the alt-folk-roots act having played the inaugural Semaphore Music Festival in 2005.The band are also working on a new album – their first since 2014's 'Till My Tears Roll Away'. The Audreys will be joined on the Monday bill by local country artist Kelly Menhennett, Nancy Bates (Archie Roach's former backing vocalist and rhythm guitarist), Adelaide pop-folk band Axe & The Ivory, and indie pop singer-songwriter My Cherie.
SA Music Hall of Fame inductees, reggae-rock Indigenous band Coloured Stone with Bunna Lawrie highlight the Sunday line-up alongside funk-blues-rock artist and Hammond Organ specialist Lachy Doley Group, blues-rock guitarist Stefan Hauk, country-soul rockers Hana & Jessie-Lee's Bad Habits, indie rock darlings Oscar the Wild and local singer-songwriter Emerauld.
The Sunday After Party features Paul & the Road, Courtney Robb, and Snooks La Vie for an electrifying public holiday eve session at the Semaphore Workers Club.
Semaphore Music Festival kicks off Friday night with Dusty Lee's Blues Jam at the Semaphore Workers Club, hot off his solo show at the Adelaide Guitar Festival. The Saturday instalment sees Hana & Jessie-Lee's Bad Habits joined by alt. country band Mark Curtis and the Flannelettes at the Semaphore Workers Club.
The community-driven festival also returns to the Semaphore Foreshore Reserve (where it all began) for the first time in six years featuring carnival rides, gourmet food trucks, and craft brews alongside the live-music action. Other venues include Mr V Music, The Cumberland, The Exeter, Sweet Amber Brews, The Palais Hotel, and St Bede's Anglican Church.
Emerging talent takes the spotlight at The Cumberland Hotel on Saturday, with a fresh line-up to be announced soon. Meanwhile, Mr V Music will curate an exciting mix of indie pop and rock across Saturday and Sunday, along with the always-popular Mr V Music Record Fair at St Bede’s Church.
The Semaphore Music Festival is proudly supported by the SA Government through the Music Development Office, the Australian Government via Creative Australia, and the City of Port Adelaide Enfield.
Tickets are on sale.
Semaphore Music Festival (Adelaide) takes place 4-7 October.
Semaphore Music Festival 2024 Line-up
The AudreysBunna Lawrie & Coloured Stone
Lachy Doley Group
Kelly Menhennett
Nancy Bates
Dusty Lee's Blues Jam
Hana & Jessie-Lee's Bad Habits
Mark Curtis And The Flannels
Paul And The Road
Stefan Hauk
My Cherie
Courtney Robb & Snooks La Vie
Axe And The Ivory
Oscar The Wild
