The five-day Sound West has been announced for March 31 in 2022.
The festival will feature intimate and large performances from established and emerging artists and a two-day music and technology conference at CommBank Stadium, including sessions, workshops and mentoring from some of Australia’s biggest tech brands and music industry leaders.
NEC Ambassador Dylan Alcott, along with Greater Western Sydney talent comprising hip hop star L-FRESH The LION, multi-platinum Grammy-nominated producer and composer Khaled Rohaim and digital NFT artist Serwah Attafuah, are amongst the first to be announced presenters and performers for the event.
Sound West Technology & Music Conference
The Sound West conference will provide young music enthusiasts, creators, professionals and entrepreneurs within the technology and music industry the opportunity to explore and experience the unique pathways that exist in their fields in 2022.
The conference will incorporate keynote addresses, workshops, panels, one on one mentoring sessions, live podcasting and unique interactive activations.
Sound West Live Music + Events
Additionally, Sound West will come to life through a number of live music experiences running from the 31st March – 3rd April 2022, featuring local, national, and internationally established and emerging artists. The festival will be a mix of stand-alone events, integrating existing live event promoters, live performance venues, festival/tour promoters, music companies, brands and industry bodies who will produce their own events.
Stuart Ayres, Minister for Tourism and Western Sydney, with longtime media executive, now with NEC, David Borean
Appearing on behalf of Sound West foundation technology partner NEC Australia, Dylan Alcott will discuss his ground-breaking endeavour Ability-Fest, the world’s most accessible music festival, L-FRESH The LION will collaborate with APRA AMCOS on a variety of Western Sydney songwriter initiatives, producer Khaled Rohaim will talk about his journey producing music from his Western Sydney studio for some of the world’s biggest artists including Rihanna, Ty Dollar $ign and Australia’s own The Kid Laroi. Serwah Attafuah, with her recent notable achievements including participation in Sotheby’s ‘Natively Digital’: A Curated NFT auction, will be educating audiences about her work in NFTs and its significance in the music industry.
Sound West will feature brands such as NEC Australia, The Edge (ARN), TikTok, Shopify, Warner Music, Universal Music Australia, Live Nation, Rolling Stone, SAE Creative Media Institute, The Area Movement, Apple Music, ARIA, APRA AMCOS, ACCLAIM and Complex, The Music, Purple Sneakers, The Brag, Information and Cultural Exchange, who will host sessions, workshops and activations.
Milly Petriella, Director of Member Relations & Partnerships, APRA AMCOS said: “We’re excited to help shine a light on the immensely talented, culturally diverse music creators of Greater Western Sydney. Together with L-FRESH The LION, we look forward to discovering and developing talented songwriters, producers and artists through collaborative opportunities at Sound West. We’re aiming to lay the foundations for Greater Western Sydney artists to be propelled onto the global stage.”
Warner Music CEO Dan Rosen said: “Warner Music is proud to be an industry partner of the inaugural Sound West Festival. Greater Western Sydney is home to a community rich in cultural influences with many stories to tell and has become an incubator for future recording artists, producers and industry professionals who are now ready to showcase their talent to the world. We look forward to contributing to the vision and long-term ambitions of Sound West to be a landmark event for Australia.”
Sound West is supported by an alliance of organisations from both government and enterprise including The NSW Government via Destination NSW, City of Parramatta, Western Sydney Business Connection, Western Sydney Business Chamber and Foundation Partners NEC Australia, The Edge (ARN) and SAE Creative Media Institute.
Emily Copeland, General Manager, The Edge said: “The Edge is proud to be the foundation media partner of Sound West. We have been championing the sounds of Greater Western Sydney and connecting local artists with passionate music fans for many years via 96.1FM. We look forward to sharing the stories and music of Sound West, while helping to build this exciting new Australian festival.”
Sam Jackson, Director Premium Media and Sound West Executive Producer said: “Premium Media has embarked on an extensive process of stakeholder, industry and community engagement to curate a festival that will deliver real value to audiences and professionals. We are proud to be involved in a project that has ambitions to develop the next generation of artists, professionals and entrepreneurs through exposure to the music and technology industry.”
EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST ARE NOW OPEN for producers and promoters to hold live music events during the first-ever Sound West Technology and Music Festival, taking place in Parramatta from Wednesday 30 March to Sunday 3 April 2022.