As the mercury drops, Adelaide's live music scene fires up for the third annual Umbrella: Winter City Sounds.
In its third year, Umbrella: Winter City Sounds expands to feature over 300 live music events across more than 100 venues in the Adelaide CBD and outer-city suburbs.
Umbrella: Winter City Sounds is an annual, two-week event that presents a part-curated and part-open access programme that sees local and out-of-state musicians activating venues and performance spaces throughout Adelaide.
First held in 2016 as a way to keep the fires buring for live music during the colder months, the winter music festival has quickly become integrated into Adelaide's calendar of events, with over 1,300 performers playing to some 50,000 people during last year's run.
With the support of the City Of Adelaide, Umbrella in 2018 presents a diverse, curated programme of events: scones with a jam (session) at the Country Women’s Association, foot-stomping Americana with warm, open fires and a celebration of South Australia’s finest Aboriginal song-women during NAIDOC week.
Returning for its second year is Music SA's signature event, Scouted, which showcases the best of Adelaide's unsigned bands and gives them the opportunity to perform for music industry representatives in town for the Australian Independent Record Labels Association (AIR) Awards.
The AIR Awards remain one of the highest honours for Australian independent musicians and being held in Adelaide as part of Umbrella gives local artists and performers direct access to some of the biggest names and decision-makers in the industry.
Click here to read our recent Q&A with AIR General Manager Maria Amato.
In another boon for indie music-makers, the Indie-Con music conference will again be held in conjunction wth the AIR Awards and Umbrella: Winter City Sounds. Indie-Con was established in the UK and made its Australian debut in Adelaide as part of last year's festivities.
The two-day music conference is the first to address the concerns and issues facing artists and labels operating in the independent music sector
Click here to read our review of last year's Indie-Con Australia conference.
In grand tradition, Umbrella kicks off with a big party held by Music SA to get everyone in the festival mood. The Umbrella Opening Street Party takes place in the newly developed Bank Street with a celebratory evening of live music, art food and dance.
Premier Steven Marshall is pleased to support the winter music festival as Adelaide continues to grow its reputation as a leading global UNESCO City of Music:
“The winter music festival is a fantastic platform for local artists to showcase their talent, and moreover, it continues to add carriage to Adelaide’s reputation as a leading UNESCO City of Music,“ Premier Marshall says.
Lisa Bishop, General Manager of Music SA, is looking forward to seeing the same success of the city’s music festival spread to the suburbs for the first time in 2018.
“Adelaide has many jewels in its live music crown including some iconic suburban based venues and arts–focussed councils that see the economic and social value live music brings to local communities. It’s great to see them supporting a winter based festival and working with Music SA to spread cultural activity to a quieter time of the year,” Ms Bishop said.
Click here to read our recent Q&A with Music SA's Lisa Bishop.
Umbrella in 2018 also features the return of the much-loved Guitars In Bars, presented by the Adelaide Guitar Festival. A tribute to the axe-wielding South Australians that lovingly support the state's live music scene, Guitars In Bars strums its way through pubs, clubs, bars, restaurants and exhibition spaces with a series of free and ticketed gigs.
And when it rains, it pours. Umbrella: Winter City Sounds is running a competition thanks to Jetstar where one lucky person will win a $500 travel voucher, two nights’ accommodation, tickets to the AIR Awards and a pass to Scouted, valued at $2000.
