West Australian Music (WAM), WA’s peak body for original contemporary music, has come out strongly against Celebrate WA, the organisation responsible for curating the WA Day Festival, over its decision to headline non-WA bands.
The decision to feature artists from outside of Western Australia on the 2023 WA Day Festival line-up drew negative feedback from the WA music community – concerns which WAM clams have gone unaddressed.
WAM’s Executive Director, Livia Carré, says, "The East Coast headline acts have garnered significant attention and media coverage over the weekend. While they may be seen as a drawcard, this approach misses the point. WA talent is not only exceptional but also abundant and should not be overshadowed by East Coast artists, especially on the one weekend a year, dedicated to celebrating our pride in being West Australian."
The statement from WAM reads in full:
West Australian Music (WAM), WA’s peak body for original contemporary music, expresses disappointment over the news that the top-spot on Sunday 2nd June, has been given to an artist from the East Coast of Australia.
Following the the 2023 event, which prominently featured non-WA artists on the WA Day Festival lineup, WAM’s concerns and those expressed by the WA music community have gone largely unaddressed. We had hoped that, Celebrate WA, the organisation responsible for curating the WA Day Festival, would have reconsidered their approach. However, they have elected to feature two East Coast artists to headline the main event. This decision is in direct contrast with Celebrate WA’s mission “to honour and celebrate Western Australia's unique culture and talent”.
While WAM is pleased with the inclusion of WA artists on the lineup, we believe that Sunday’s headlining slots represents a missed opportunity to fully showcase the best our state has to offer. Western Australian’s take great pride in their rich cultural heritage and vibrant artistic community, and WA Day activities should reflect these values in its programming decisions. From 2012 to 2021, Celebrate WA presented State of the Art Festival (SOTA), which exclusively showcased talent from both metropolitan and regional WA. The event featured multiple stages, diverse, inclusive and dynamic programming, with a 100% West Australian lineup embodying the essence of our great state.
West Australian artists are more than good enough to take up all positions on the lineup and the approach taken by Celebrate WA tells us they disagree.
WAM calls for WA-only line ups at all future WA Day festivals.
As advocates for Western Australia’s vibrant music scene, WAM opposes and questions the inclusion of non-WA headline acts at the expense of home-grown talent in our state’s celebrations. WAM calls for a WA only line up in future. Our local artists should be provided with equitable opportunities to showcase their talent.
As we prepare to celebrate WA Day, let's remember the importance of celebrating everything that is special about WA including our incredibly rich pool of WA musical talent.
