Four years ago, Shed Happens Mackay started to celebrate International Men’s Day with a fundraising breakfast, aiming to lift up the men of Mackay.

The 2022 edition of the breakfast is nearing where the Mackay Man Of The Year will be named from nine proud nominees.

Shed Happens Mackay Convenor Frank Cowell said being nominated is an honour.

“We don’t lift up and celebrate the positive things a bloke does very often,” he said.

“The average bloke in the street who does his very best at being a dad, a husband, a provider, that’s not very often celebrated, and the idea of Man of the Year is for that to be celebrated and for people to nominate blokes who might not make the cut, but it identifies their qualities.”

International Men’s Day is structured around six pillars and Mr Cowell said these pillars are qualities a man can aspire to.

Man of the Year nominees provide a written submission which is compared alongside these pillars before an interview takes place.

“When we do the verbal interview, we cover every aspect of a bloke’s life: family life, what he does in the community, what’s his definition of a man,” Mr Cowell said.

“We ask about his history, any awards he might’ve got, those sorts of things.”

Sponsored by DGH Engineering, all proceeds from the International Men’s Day fundraising breakfast will be donated to local groups on the day, to assist them to carry on the valuable work they do in our community.

As with other years, table discussions will be held within the groups seated together, and the results of the table discussions will be disseminated and discussed with the attendees.

As well as the Mackay Man Of The Year Award announcement, there will be raffles drawn throughout the morning.

Tickets are $60.00 per person including breakfast, or $550 for a table of 10, and are available via the Shed Happens Mackay Facebook page.

WHAT: International Men’s Day Breakfast

WHERE: Ocean International Resort

WHEN: November 18, 2022 from 6:45am to 9:45am

CONTACT: Frank Cowell - 0434 908 968

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Friday 4 November

Public Art Walk

Friday, 4:30pm

A free afternoon guided walk exploring Mackay’s public art. Hosted by Artspace Mackay Director Tracey Heathwood, the free city art walk for all ages begins at Artspace Mackay and takes you through the city centre. Along the way, participants will learn about Mackay’s iconic public art installations, and the local, and internationally-acclaimed artists who created them. Whether you’re an artist, art lover, local or visitor to our lovely riverside city, you’ll find this late afternoon public art walk a thoroughly enjoyable experience. Bring friends, family members, or come by yourself - wear a hat, comfortable shoes, bring a bottle of water, and arrive promptly to Artspace Mackay as the group will depart on time.

Artspace Mackay

Ninja Hub Teen Shed Event

Friday, 6:00pm

After their first fun filled Teen Shed event, the teens have asked for more. The Teen Shed event will be back on the first Friday of each month. Event runs from 6pm - 8pm ages 12 to 18. Everyone is welcome. Bookings are required. Cost includes 2 hours non-stop Ninja fun, pizza and drink for $25.

The Ninja Hub

Friday SUN.sets

Every Friday Evening From 6pm

Knock off drinks, lakeside dinner, good friends, and LIVE MUSIC.

Wake House Australia

Creedence Clearwater Collective

Friday, 8:00pm

Creedence Clearwater Collective invites you to join in for a celebration of Creedence Clearwater Revival, as they walk through the life and music of one of the world’s most iconic bands – from the songs they wrote, to the songs covered, to the songs they wrote for others.  The Creedence Clearwater Collective brings to the stage a six piece band – with a guest Saxophonist and a vocalist that emulates John Fogerty’s distinct vocals – to capture the unique CCR sound. You do not want to hear through the grapevine that you missed out on this hit-packed production.

MECC

Saturday 5 November

Mackay Woodturners Christmas Expo

Saturday and Sunday, 9:00am to 3:00pm

Featuring demonstrations and sales of woodturning, scroll sawing, intarsia, wood carving and pyrography. This is a great opportunity to purchase unique, locally handcrafted gifts for Christmas such as bowls, clocks, pens and toys. All welcome. Contact Frank on 0417 625 818 for more information.

Snow Wright Court, Beaconsfield

RADfest '22 Junior Roller Derby Bootcamp

Saturday, 12:00pm to 8:00pm and Sunday, 8:00am to 1:00pm

Mackay City Rollers is hosting the first ever RADfest. Why RAD? Well, it’s all about Regional Alliance Derby, providing an opportunity for regional junior skaters to meet, develop and just have a RAD time skating together. Open to Junior Skaters 8 - 17 years of all skill levels. Featuring special guest coaches to be announced on the event page, on and off skates training sessions, short track and WFTDA rules scrimmages, ramp skating demos and a whole lot of fun in the gorgeous tropical Queensland setting of Mackay. $40 weekend pass, go to the Facebook event to register.

Mackay PCYC

Last Latin Night for the Year

Saturday, 7:30am

Latin dance fusion with Indigenous dance. Maria Eugenia Alvarez with special guest Patrick Thaiday will perform together for the first time in Mackay for this special night. An incredible night for all to be part of this experience.

Palace Hotel

Chess the Musical

Saturday, 8:00am to 10:00pm and Sunday, 2:00pm to 4:00pm

As another chess drama plays out in the real world, join Mackay Choral Society as they present the exciting Chess the Musical at the wonderful Conservatorium Theatre.

Central Queensland Conservatorium Of Music

Sunday 6 November

Sunday Live Music – Leyon Milner & Zoey Mills

Every Sunday, 2:00pm to 5:00pm

Music every Sunday from 2pm - 5pm. Head down to the Seabreeze Hotel this Sunday for some fresh tunes, delicious food, and ice-cold brews.

Seabreeze Hotel

Monday 7 November

National Recycling Week recycling facility tours

Monday to Friday, 12:30pm to 1:30pm

Would you like to learn what happens to your recyclables when they reach council’s Materials Recovery Facility? Book a tour any day during National Recycling Week (November 7 to 11) from 12.30pm to 1.30pm.

Materials Recovery Facility, Paget

Founders Allegiance

Monday, 5:30pm to 7:00pm

Free business start-up support and assistance. If you are a budding entrepreneur, monthly check-ins are a fantastic way to keep up to date with business trends and create business opportunities and relationships. You will have honest conversations about your business dreams, strategies and goals. Split Spaces wants your business to succeed and has the networks to help get you there. This is a monthly check-in designed to help you maintain your goals and stay on track. This group will help you troubleshoot your hurdles and connect you with industry members and opportunities to connect with fellow entrepreneurs.

Split Spaces

Tuesday 8 November

Be Storm Ready - a workshop for the Mackay Multicultural community

Tuesday, 10:30am

Are you from the Mackay Multicultural community and have you lived through a storm season, cyclone or natural disaster in Mackay? Would you like to know more about what the recently announced La Nina weather event will mean for the Mackay region this spring/summer season? Do you want to be able to work through a plan for your own family with resources to take home and use to prepare for storm, flood, cyclone and other natural disasters? You’re invited to attend this session which will be run by the Mackay Regional Council Disaster Preparedness team along with the State Emergency Service (SES). You will have a chance to talk to you about your own experiences, ask questions and what it means to prepare fully for a storm season in North Queensland. Lunch will be provided. Children welcome. RSVP: clairec@tnhub.org.au by Friday November 4 for catering purposes.

The Neighbourhood Hub

Wednesday 9 November

Mackay Farmers’ Market

Every Wednesday, 6:30am to 10:30am

The market is a showcase of our region’s amazing produce direct from the farmer.

Bluewater Quay

Healthier Parents Program – Activate Mackay Region

Every Wednesday, from 9:30am

Following the success of the recent pilot program and overwhelming interest, the Healthier Parents program has become part of Activate Mackay Region and will continue to be conducted at the Andergrove Hall by Lauren Neill of Women’s Health Physio Mackay. The subsidised class is part of Activate Mackay Region at a cost of $5 paid directly to the service provider. To find out more about these classes, visit council’s website.

Andergrove Hall

Soul Jam Wednesdays at The Kooyong Hotel

Every Wednesday, 6:00pm to 9:00pm

Soul Jam has an intimate room where they will be hosting another friendly space to share your originals, jam with others and experiment with music. Supplied is a drum kit and bass guitar. All artists welcome including slam poets and comedians.

The Kooyong Hotel

Sugar City Rock and Roll Mackay Club Wednesday Night Lessons

Every Wednesday, 7:00pm

Why not come along and learn to rock ‘n’ roll in a friendly and fun atmosphere with the Sugar City Rock ‘n’ Rollers Mackay Club? Previous experience is not required. Everyone learns at their own pace and, even better, the first lesson is free on your way to learning the four step style of rock ‘n’ roll. $5 for members and $8 for non-members after that. The club caters for social activities for club members with regular dances with live bands in attendance and away trips. For further enquiries call 0408 983 911.

58 Macalister St, Mackay

Call for singers: Christmas at St Paul’s

Register today for the choir for Christmas at St Paul’s. Have fun, make friends, and help lead worship at Christmas time in the beautiful acoustics of St Paul’s Uniting Church. It doesn’t matter if your voice is a bit squeaky! Join the St Paul’s Singers by contacting the church today on 4957 3557 or ucamackay@optusnet.com.au.

St Paul’s Uniting Church, Macalister Street

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A Mackay-based filmmaker has entered her short film into an international competition, asking for local support to put Mackay on the filmmaking map.

Writer, director and producer (among many other duties and talents) Alle Segretti has been making films for over 20 years, her films winning awards and screening at festivals all over the world.

‘Golden Hour’ is currently running in the Zhiyun Annual Short Video Contest and stars Damien Thomas and Laura Galley as a couple throwing items at the sun, attempting to induce a sunset.

Filmed on a property south of Mackay in August, ‘Golden Hour’ was made for the Sydney Underground Film Festival’s 48-hour film competition TAKE48, tasking filmmakers with incorporating a particular object, honey, and a line of dialogue, “This is your last chance,” into their films.

“We’d been having these really amazing sunsets, which were caused by the Tongan volcano,” said Alle.

“I thought, ‘Sunsets, golden hour, honey, it all makes sense. Why don’t we just have someone throwing something at the sun trying to turn it into a sunset?’”

Shooting wasn’t without drama, with solar mass ejections causing equipment faults.

“At the particular time of day that we were shooting to get the sun at the right angle, we actually had equipment fails,” said Alle.

“The drone went off in its own direction, the camera stopped working, radio mics stopped recording.

“All of this was happening at exactly the same time on both days.”

‘Golden Hour’ has been entered in the Narrative category of the Zhiyun Annual Short Video Contest, with five judges of varying professional backgrounds to announce the winners on November 20.

“If we could get a good range of people watching that film and hitting that like button, then that’s going to influence those judges to say, ‘Hey, we need to look at this and give it a bit more attention,’” said Alle.

Alle said she often experiences cast and crew shortages when making films in Mackay, with ‘Golden Hour’ stars Damien being a local friend and Laura coming from Rockhampton.

“He (Damien) actually says that acting is harder than working in the mines on a 12-hour shift and I had to bring Laura up from Rockhampton because I couldn’t find anyone locally,” she said.

Alle said she is addressing these shortages by taking interested filmmakers on board for projects.

“I am very willing for people to come out and work on what I call ‘gateway projects,’” she said.

“Over two or three projects, not only do you get a bit of training, but we get to find out where your talent lies and give you access to the equipment and resources necessary to actually make a film.”

Those interested are asked to email mackay@venimentus.com and to view ‘Golden Hour’, visit youtu.be/vQ3dHqmGQM8.

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Each Year on World Scout Day, (August 1), Scouting Leadership Awards are announced. The Awards are presented at Government House. If recipients aren’t able to go to Brisbane to receive their award, they have the option of it being presented at a suitable function in their own District.

The Hibiscus Coast District (HCD) awards were presented at a special parade which was held on Saturday 15th October at the JOTA JOTI weekend at Rowallan Park when there were many youth members and leaders present to join in celebrations.

It was announced that former Banksia Venturer Scout Leader Mrs Joann Brzozowski would be presented with the Silver Emu Award for contributing significantly to the Wellbeing of Scouting. Joann has been instrumental in having a large number of Venturer Scouts achieve their peak award which is the Queen’s Scout Award.  Joann will be presented with her award at a suitable time. Joann is now a Qld Branch Advisor to the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme with Scouting.

The Silver Koala Award for a high level of distinguished service were presented to Greg Milne and Dougal McWhinney. Central Coast Region Commissioner Dougal McWhinney received his award prior to the presentation at Rowallan Park, however Greg Milne, Group Leader of Mackay City Central Scout Group received his award at the special parade at Rowallan Park.

Silver Wattle Awards for 10 to 12 years performing at a consistently high standard, were presented to Rowan Cahill, District Scout Leader HCD and District Commissioner HCD Katrina Hoare. Assistant Region Commissioner Jason Hazell was absent from the District when the awards were presented so a suitable time for his presentation will happen in the near future.

Special Service Awards for Noteworthy contribution to supporting, developing and management to the Scouting Movement were presented to three Rover Scouts who regularly support leaders at group and at District Events as well as planning and carrying out the activities. They were Kaitlin Allen, Jim McIntyre and Tristan Archibald.

Two Venturer Scouts, Ethan Cahill and Emily McVeigh, who received their Queen’s Scout Awards late last year were presented with their certificates which are usually presented at Government House.

Congratulations to all leaders and Rover Scouts in particular the ones who have performed above and beyond what is expected of them. Scouting is in Good Hands with the standard and qualifications that is required of the Scouting Leaders of today.

Contributed by Mary Wallace

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Don’t miss the opportunity to see Mackay Musical Comedy Players’ final production of the year!

With a haunting contemporary score, NEXT TO NORMAL is an emotional powerhouse of a musical about a family trying to take care of themselves and each other.

This deeply moving piece of theatre addresses such issues as grieving loss, ethics in modern psychiatry and suburban life.

NEXT TO NORMAL's themes of mental health and our human need for connection are still relevant in 2022. Despite some of the emotional darkness, the musical offers hope and light – two things we need more than ever today.

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Mackay Regional Council’s Australia Day event grants are now open and local community groups are encouraged to apply.

Mayor Greg Williamson said council was excited to offer the Australia Day event grant funding once again for 2023, especially considering the COVID-19 event blues of 2022.

“We had a number of events postponed earlier this year, due to COVID-19 event restrictions, so we are looking forward to a full lineup of exciting Aussie Day events in 2023,” Mayor Williamson said.

“Not-for-profit community groups can apply for up to $1000 to support their Australia Day event and celebrate what they love about our region,” he said.

“From beach games and park barbecues to awards ceremonies and morning teas, the events are a great way to lift community spirit.

“The events are held at various times throughout the day and are a celebration of the amazing region we live in.”

To be eligible for funding, events need to be held on Australia Day 2023 (Thursday, January 26), be free for all to attend and held within the Mackay Regional Council area.

Organisers also need to be a registered not-for-profit group or have a letter of support from a registered group.

Applications are now open via the council website and will close midnight Sunday, November 20.

Australia Day event grant application forms and guidelines can be found on the council website at mackay.qld.gov.au/ausdaygrants.

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Bradley Short, owner and gallerist at Milton House Gallery, has a love for plein air painting, the practice of experiencing painting and drawing in the landscape, which he shares with fellow artists; Tim Allen, Rhett Brewer, Chris Langlois, Steve Lopes and Ron McBurnie.

Having painted with these artists around Australia for the last 12 years, Mr Short welcomed them, most from Sydney, to the Mackay region last year.

“I get to travel all around Australia and I thought I’d bring them to our country up here to give them a taste of our area, a very different landscape to what we’ve painted down south,” Mr Short said.

The group travelled to Seaforth from which they spent four days exploring the islands by boat in resplendent north Queensland sunshine.

“We just travelled around, finding spots and just dropping the guys off to paint and they would just spend the day making art on location,” Mr Short said.

Mr Short said the artists were blown away, walking away with a whole new respect for the area.

“As artists, we just spend the whole day looking,” he said.

“You just sit and look and appreciate and study what you’ve got in front of you as a plein air painter.

“I think they just thought it was amazing, they’ve absolutely raved over it.”

The result of the trip is ‘A Bit Further North’, on show until mid-November at Milton House Gallery.

The exhibition’s opening night saw a large crowd of excited art lovers and creatives from all corners of Queensland make their way to Mackay.

The exhibition was officially opened by Member for Whitsunday Amanda Camm and with a live performance by local country music legend Graeme Connors, who was also a part of the travelling group of artists.

The artists were all in attendance, sharing tales from their trip and the inspiration behind their work.

“The really important part is bringing artists into our area,” Mr Short said.

“It’s great to have fresh art coming into our area and presenting fresh art to Mackay artists, too, and seeing other people’s takes on our area.”

The exhibition is open to view until November 16 at Milton House Gallery, Milton Street Mackay and online at miltonhouse.gallery.

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A circus like no other is coming to Mackay next week bringing sexy circus acts, raunchy dancing and cheeky comedy that will have you crying with laughter.

Infamous combines the energy and excitement of the circus with the intimate and unique setting of a cabaret show.

Performer Bekki Ashton is a sixth-generation circus performer, with her family ties to the circus reaching back to 1850, and has performed in Infamous since it was conceptualised by her brother six years ago.

“We used to have a family-style circus and five or six years ago we thought we’d give this a crack, doing it just for adults, by incorporating a bar and making the numbers a bit sexier,” she said.

“I call it sophisticated.

“It’s just that little bit teasy, raunchy, that you don’t want the kids to see, and the comedy’s a little bit more adult than the usual.”

In the current iteration of the show, Bekki performs a flying trapeze trick and a duo aerial act alongside her sister, saying aerial tricks are her speciality.

“I’d like to say the flying trapeze, but any aerial act has been my main profession,” she said.

“It doesn’t matter what you do in the circus, everybody chips in and does a little bit of everything.”

The show also incorporates a wheel of death, acrobats, contortionists, art acts, dancers and comedy.

The 18+ event also encompasses delicious treats and snacks, VIP table service and a choice of alcoholic beverages.

“There’s something for everyone and a little bit more for others,” said Bekki.

“There’s not one moment in the program where you’re twiddling your thumbs waiting for something to happen.”

This will be the show’s third visit to Mackay and the last time anyone in Queensland will see this tour and Bekki urges everyone to check it out whether you’ve been before or not.

“If you have seen the show before, you will notice some new acts and new faces, but all your favourites are still in there,” she said.

“We’re always changing things up so if you’ve seen the show before, don’t be shy to come back.”

WHAT: Infamous

WHERE: Mackay Showgrounds

WHEN: Friday, November 11 to Sunday, November 27

TICKETS: infamous.net.au

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On a mission of making a difference in the lives of victims of domestic violence and disadvantaged people in our society, Jules Thompson, founder of Broken Ballerina Inc. is partway to putting together her own pieces.

Describing herself as having been that broken ballerina, Jules turned her trauma into triumph, taking hands that once inflicted damage upon her and turning her own hands into a welcoming refuge for those in our society fleeing domestic violence abuse.

At the Broken Ballerina Ball held last weekend, Jules unveiled her long awaited autobiography with a stunning one-off handmade copy presented to her by her book editor, Miki Ponting-Boyd, which was auctioned for charity.

Thanks to the generosity of the Lamb family, the copy sold for an incredible $3,000, which will help countless people in their time of need.

Jules is hosting her book launch at Mt Pleasant Shopping Centre on the centre stage on November 11 and 12 from 10am until 2pm. A percentage of sales will be donated back to Broken Ballerina Inc.

1 Image: Jules Thompson’s handmade autobiography was auctioned at the Broken Ballerina Ball for $3,000. Pictured are Jules’ husband Pete Thompson, winning bidder Max Lamb Snr, Max Lamb Jnr, Jules Thompson, Kim Tower, and book editor Miki Ponting-Boyd

2 Image: A great time was had at the Broken Ballerina Ball, hosted by Jay and Dave from Triple M, which embraced an 80’s theme

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The weekend music lovers have been waiting for is finally here and partygoers from around the country, state and region are settling in for a weekend of sweet tunes and rocking beats from some of the most talented musicians around.

Strap-in, sit-back and enjoy the ride – watch as the whole of Airlie Beach is transformed into a musical mecca where we all worship the Gods of Party and Paradise who unite to create a festival-goers utopia.

Headlining acts include The Animals, Loonaloop, Ben Lee, Eskimo Joe, Jon Stevens, Rogue Traders, The Badloves, and Mi-Sex who will each rock-out at the unique waterfront main-stage at the Whitsunday Sailing Club.

Food vans, craft beer stalls and pop-up bars are located inside the vast big-top tent, creating a fun festival village with little need to leave the main venue.

When you do, however, you will notice the town of Airlie Beach is rocking out too – there are a total of 16 different venues across town that will be hosting a variety of performers – the sound of epic riffs and original music will be spilling out across the streets and the whole town will moving to the same beat for one wild weekend.

This years’ official festival venues include Anchor Bar, Bar LV, Beaches Bar and Grill, Boaty’s, Coral Sea Resort, Fish D’vine, Hog’s Breath Café, Hush Bar, KC’s Bar & Grill, Magnums, Paradiso, Paddy’s Shenanigans, Sorrento Restaurant and Bar, Red Plate Korean Restaurant, and Airlie Beach Treehouse.

After three full days of partying in paradise, the special 10-year official after party wraps up the event at Northerlies on Monday afternoon.

Kicking off at 1pm, acts will include Noah Robertson, Lash 78, Matty Rogers, Bill Chambers, Sam McCann, and Sarah McLeod.

Tourism Whitsundays Chief Executive Officer, Rick Hamilton, said all the ingredients for festivalgoers to enjoy a rockstar experience in paradise were now in place.

“The Airlie Beach Festival of Music is a true destination event in every sense, with the perfect mix of location, activities and of course music,” he said.

“It’s an event I urge everyone to experience at least once, and what better time to do that than now, at the culmination of an entire decade of bringing live music to the Heart of the Great Barrier Reef.”

WHAT: Airlie Beach Festival of Music

WHEN: This weekend! Friday, Saturday and Sunday – 4-6 November

WHERE: Whitsunday Sailing Club and 16 venues across town

TICKETS: $300 for the weekend or $140 per day

PURCHASE: airliebeachfestivalofmusic.com.au or from ticketing desk at the tent

Airlie Beach Festival of Music main-stage tent at the Whitsunday Sailing Club overlooking the turquoise Coral Sea

Inside the tent – the party goes off!

The Animals will be headlining the 10th annual festival

Known as one of the Whitsunday’s most celebrated local events, the Airlie Beach Festival of Music (ABFoM) has travelled a long way to reach this pinnacle of success.

Marking its 10th year in 2022 and awarded Festival of the Year at the Queensland Music Awards, it seems there is no stopping this iconic local festival.

It’s been a big year and an incredible decade which all started when festival founder Gavin Butlin (known affectionately as ‘Butto’) had a conversation with local musician Kieran McCarthy.

Sharing his vision for the festival, Butto felt sure that Airlie Beach was the perfect destination for a music festival.

“I thought there was no better place for a festival,” he said.

“It’s based a bit on Tamworth which is spread all over the town and we wanted to do something similar.

“10 years down the track and it’s all happening – this is the only festival that brings the whole town together as one event.”

In the years before the first ABFoM, two other festivals had tried and failed to succeed, meaning that when Butto started out, there was a lot of scepticism.

Determined to prove them wrong, Butto knew that by choosing to hold the event at the Whitsunday Sailing Club people could be within walking distance to the town.

Deciding on the location was a pivotal moment for Butto.

“At first no-one wanted to be part of it,” he said.

“But thankfully they trusted me and here we are 10 years later!”

Over the years a core group of organisers and volunteers, known as the ‘Festival Family’, have been the cornerstone of the event.

“So many of them have been part of the festival for the whole 10 years,” said Butto.

“They live and breathe the festival – some of them even take a week off work to be here – it’s incredible, without them we wouldn’t have a festival!”

Over the past decade, ABFoM has evolved and developed to become a largescale operation regularly attracting thousands of people who enjoy the easy vibe and creature comforts of the event.

“Every year’s got better and better – we’ve be learning as we go – whatever goes wrong one year we fix for the next,” explains Butto.

From introducing a shuttle bus service to putting food vans inside the venue, every effort is made to make the festival as easy as possible for attendees.

Another key element that makes ABFoM stand apart from the rest is its ability to attract the big-name performers while offering a platform for emerging artists.

“Local bands never get a chance to play at a festival, so we try and support them,” said Butto.

“We like to give smaller bands a crack and have 10 local bands playing this year - 50 in total – it’s going to be amazing!”

Festival Founder Gavin ‘Butto’ Butlin (centre) with workmates just after the first tent was put up 10 years ago

Volunteers and organisers known as the Festival Family

Iconic UK band The Animals have been touring Australia for the last month or so, making a stop at the Airlie Beach Festival of Music before they head home. John Steele is the band’s drummer and only remaining original member and he can’t wait to get in the Whitsunday sun.

You’ve been touring Australia for the last few weeks; how have those shows been going?

They’ve been going very well actually. We seem to be doing pretty good business everywhere we go, standing ovations, which can’t be bad, we must be doing something right. We’re coming to the end of our tour. We’ve got two gigs in Western Australia and then we’re flying back to Queensland.

Growing up in the UK, what was your perception of Australia and what was it like to tour back in the day?

Actually, the original Animals, we never did get to Australia. When the original band broke up in 1966, Eric Burdon, the lead singer, formed a new band called Eric Burdon and the Animals and he did tour Australia but unfortunately, I wasn’t able to do it.

Right, so what’s it like to finally get over here?

Lovely! Apart from the past two and a half years, obviously, but from the mid-90s, we’ve been here quite a few times and we really enjoy playing Australia, it’s a great country. Usually, we come over in either November, December or even January or February and it’s always been wonderful weather but this trip, it’s been awful.

It has been a bit all over the place. I can promise you it’s been nice and warm up here, so you’ll be able to get out in the sun.

We arrived in Perth last night and I think it’s the first time we’ve seen the sun since we came over. I’ve been keeping an eye on the weather forecast and it does look nice for the Airlie gig.

What does your role in the band as a drummer usually look like?

Pretty good actually, I’ve always had a bit of a jazz background which came in quite handy. Me and Charlie Watts (The Rolling Stones) had very similar backgrounds musically, so we always had a swinging feel to our drumming and that made us different from the rest. I’ve always had a bit of a jazz influence in my playing.

What drummers were you looking up to when you first started playing drums?

When I first started playing drums, I was listening to jazz a lot. I was 16 when I first started drumming which was right in the middle of the 50s, so we were listening to Fats Domino, Little Richard, Elvis, Eddie Cochrane, Buddy Holly. All of those guys were influencing me and at the same time I was also listening to jazz with people like Art Blakey and Buddy Rich and all those great jazz drummers, a bit of a mixed bag, really.

How excited are you for Airlie Beach Festival of Music?

Before we left the UK, I had a look on the website and it looks really, really, really nice. Lots of people that have been over here told me to expect a really good gig. We’re looking forward to a good show.

What can crowds expect from the Animals?

We get to do the singles, obviously, we’ve got some great stuff to work with. Songs that really stand the test of the time - ‘House of the Rising Sun’, ‘We’ve Got to Get Out of This Place’, ‘Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood’, ‘It’s My Life’, ‘Don’t Bring Me Down’, ‘Bring It Home To Me’ – they’re great songs and they seem to hit the right spot for every generation. We get plenty of young people coming to the shows and they know all the words, they sing all the lyrics, its brilliant. Then we’ve got quite a bag of album tracks and B-sides, so we shuffle them about a bit to keep the sets fresh. We’ll always play the hit singles, but the rest of the set will be a mixture that we just pick and mix.

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Released in July 1993, The Badloves’ debut album ‘Get On Board’ spent a massive 69 weeks in the charts. Going from strength to strength over the years, lead singer Michael Spiby had a chat about what keeps bringing him back to music.

So, you’re in the studio today?

Yeah, at the moment we’re cooking up a new record to go and record at the end of the month, live in the studio – live as in just performing and recording it. Because it’s a Badloves thing, I always try and get as much of it down live first because we’ve got a fabric, we knit a fabric together because we’ve been playing together so long, it’s crazy to record any other way.

Do you usually record live?

Live as in we learn the songs as we would play them live but then of course we haven’t played them live, we’re just going into the room to track them, and keep as much as we can. To be honest, over the years, we’ve actually tried replacing things that we’ve recorded, thinking, ‘I can do much better than that,’ and it just loses something in translation; yes, it’s more precise and technical, but it doesn’t have the spirit of the original. It doesn’t knit with the other instruments in the same way.

Being a band since the 90s, you’ve taken a few breaks over the years. What brings you back to music after those breaks?

There’s a bit of a joy that you get in relationships. When you get back together, it’s like a good catch up, and that then leads to more and more shows. You can try and simulate that in various ways and I’ve played with lots and lots of great players over the years. The current line-up, we’re about seven years in, and that’s a lot of crocheting. Over the years, we’ve pulled it together, even to the point where, if we haven’t played for several months, it takes us a couple of weeks to really hit our straps again. But, from the very first show, it surprises everybody how much is still there. The band is something very special, I’ve learnt over the years. It’s the ego, I think, that you think you can pull anything together with any players, but it doesn’t work that way. There’s certain music dialogue built from years and years of playing together and can’t be substituted. It’s amazing, always humbling.

There’s been a few changes to the line-up over the years, how do you go about finding new musicians to tour with?

We’ve been really lucky because there’s only been a few times where we’ve had to approach people cold. For example, seven or so years ago our drummer, Jeff Consi, I heard him play on some other people’s music and each time I heard it, I just went, ‘My god, that’s exactly what we need in the band’. With the Badloves, it’s always about songs first and style or instrumentation comes second. In his case, I knew he was the one, so I just had to go chase him. But quite often, we get great recommendations, like our Hammond (organ) player Sam Cope. Incredible, because there’s a whole generation of young Hammond players which totally shocked me, I thought it was a dying breed and over the past decade or two you could count good ones on one hand in the country. Now, it’s just fabulous, there’s incredible players, well-versed and with the real equipment, so that’s a very important thing for this project.

Do you notice a change in the crowds or the industry or even yourselves after a break?

I guess the most explicit one is the Covid thing, and I was quite shocked at the audiences and the musicians. I guess, we can be accused, quite rightly, of being self-centred as an industry, we get on with what we’re doing and please ourselves a fair bit. Coming out of the Covid thing and back on stage, we played an iconic venue called the Festival Hall in Melbourne, which was long deserted, it had the Beatles and Ray Charles back in the 60s. We jumped in there and did some live podcast things because we couldn’t have an audience and we realised how much we missed that joyous dialogue between players. When we took that on the road eventually, the audiences, I could see them re-immersing themselves in something they took for granted which was live music. Everything was different, the energy onstage was highly aware of the privilege of us being onstage and the audience, I think, were reinvigorated by the fact that something that had been taken away from them was actually important to them, and that was the live experience and the joy of intermingling between musicians and audience. That was a very humbling experience.

Speaking from experience, those first few gigs after a couple of years of no live music were some of the most memorable because you had that new level of appreciation.

Yeah, the senses were heightened by new experiences of not having it. That’s something that’s really informed a lot of our music, it creeps into the music making process as well because you realise the responsibility you have. It doesn’t mean you doctor the music according to what you think’s going to be successful, but you are definitely aware of doing something meaningful and not being flippant with your music. We realised that it was important to people and that’s something that I’ve always brushed off myself but now I’m really aware because people came back with stories to tell about what they’d missed and how deeply they relied on music while they were isolated. You realise, ‘Actually, I’ve got an important job, not just a self-indulgent, solo trip’.

Do you think the pandemic affected the themes of what you were writing about?

I guess it did. I tend not to be very good at being topical. The obvious example of somebody who did operate in that era of his was (Bob) Dylan. He was quite journalistic, actually, in his writing. I tend not to be like that. I seem to have to process things for a while and things come out a bit abstract. One example, I guess, where it did affect directly was, I had a recurring dream for one of the songs that we ended up recording. That was quite troubling and that was that I wouldn’t be able to feed my children because we were struggling, and it was very real and I woke up one morning and that was a song called ‘Tribal’. I just took dictation of the dreamscape that I’d come out of and that’s unusual for me, I never remember dreams. I just think everybody’s got a new awareness of that.

How excited are you for Airlie Beach Festival of Music?

We’re really excited about it because it means we escape the ridiculous weather down south, that’s me personal, selfish reason for coming up. But also, it’s a wonderful bill, and it looks like it’s been a pretty important festival up north, from what I can see, if it’s ten years in the making. If you go hunting, let’s face it, that’s what festivals are best out, if you go for a deep dive. There were 20 names I don’t know, it’s amazing, it’s like going into op shops looking for treasures. That’s what I find really exciting. Maybe it’s courtesy of the weather, but I find people are lot looser and happier to enjoy themselves.

What can crowds expect from the Badloves?

We’ll be doing a bunch of stuff from our earlier recordings. Just a mix, really, of old recordings and the new stuff that we’re putting down at the end of the month, and a couple of singles. It changes on the day, to be honest. I always draw a setlist up for the boys, and that’s a good indication of probably what we won’t play on the day. Depending on the audience is like, we chop and change. It’ll be great fun, both on and off stage.

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An Airlie Beach local who is best known for her involvement in Young Buskers and Open Mic Nights at KC’s Bar and Grill, is introducing some of her own original music at Whisper Gin Bar and Restaurant over the festival weekend.

Peta Richards has been playing country music since she was eight years old and is an award-winning singer-songwriter who took home the Best Overall Prize with her girl group, Shiraz, at the Charters Towers Country Music Festival back in 2008.

Having performed country music for over 30 years, Peta will bring a mixture of cover songs and original music to her performance at Whisper Bar.

With a guitar in her hand and music in her soul, she is looking forward to bringing her music to a new venue.

“The crowd can expect a lot of good old classics from any genre – songs that everyone knows and loves,” said Peta.

“I will also be introducing some of my own music – I’ll try and keep it very low-key, get into the vibe of the festival - easy listening for everyone to enjoy.”

Located at Mirage Resort in Cannonvale, Whisper Gin Bar and Restaurant is open to day guests who would like to soak up the holiday ambience and stunning sea views while enjoying some live music.

If you are looking for a hidden gem, a place to chill out and some of the best daiquiris in town, then make sure you come to see Peta play.
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Moment with a muso:

Favourite artist: Shania Twain

Least favourite music: Rap – I like to have a storyline

Last thing you listened to: Luke Combs
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Peta Richards will perform at Whisper Gin Bar and Restaurant. Photo credit: Shutter Fox photography

Looping folk groove

With a Blue Mountain vibe through and through, artist Jason Daniels settled quickly into the Sunshine Coast musical landscape and its lifestyle, making a name as one of the most versatile and talented looping soloists in the scene.

Now, the young singer-songwriter - who spends much of his time gigging around the great southeast of Queensland – is heading to Airlie Beach Festival of Music, bringing his looping tracks, where he live records vocals and notes, then has them replay, merging and creating magic, to the coastal town.

“I think for me, looping music, you can jam to it. Building layers with loops, it becomes so much more engaging. I think that element of it is why I’m really drawn to it,” Daniels said.

“I’ve always wanted to play Airlie and I’m so excited.

“I think for me, from a young age, song was king, and that’s what I try to bring to my gigs.” The fact you can tell stories, get to know people, and connect to such an interesting side of humanity through song is why I was drawn to folk. You get to put your heart on your sleeve, which I love.”

Daniels will perform at The Rocks this Sunday from 10am.
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Moment With A Muso:

Favourite band?: That’s like picking a favourite child! I’ll say Dayglow.

Genre you just can’t ‘groove’ with: I have respect for all music, but free jazz I have a lot of questions…

Last song you listened to?: Less or More by Wild Rivers

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