BIGSOUND. 150 bands from all over Australia, covering all genres, playing across 17 venues in Brisbane’s bustling Fortitude Valley. This is the music industries chance to find the next big acts to froth over. And froth we did!

Here are the acts that we need you to add to your ones to watch list asap – it won’t be long before you’re telling your friends ‘oh yeah, I’ve been following them for ages’.

Kwame

Kwame was the talk of BIGSOUND – it was difficult to find someone who hadn’t seen him perform or wasn’t planning on seeing him perform. Luckily for us, he performed multiple times so we got to watch his high energy showcases again and again. It’s hard to believe Kwame turned 21 during BIGSOUND – his raw natural talent made it seem like you were watching a rapper who has been on the scene for a long time. It’s safe to say that he will be one of Australian raps next big things.

Photo credit: Jarrad Aspden

 

Cxloe

Cxloe (pronounced Chloe) recently released her single Show You. This single showed us that she has the lyrics to back up her intense and catchy sound and her live performance showed us that she has the star quality to back up all the recent talk we’ve been hearing about her. We can’t wait for her to show us more.

Photo credit: Tiffany Williams

 

Bugs

Bugs were the surprise act of BigSound for us – we arrived at the Levi’s Showcase hoping to get a good position for Kwame just as Bugs were starting their set. Our prematurity worked out perfectly – we got to witness one of the more entertaining performances of the week. Their catchy tunes, fun lyrics and overall energy had us wanting more (don’t worry, we satisfied our thirst 3 hours later at their own showcase!).

Bell City Square

Think The 1975 but more electronic and poppy. These Melbourne based guys have got all the right ingredients to make it BIG. We caught both shows at BIGSOUND and both times were blown away. The energy, their sound and the fact that the guys looked like they were genuinely blown away by the crowd’s reactions to them made it feel like you were witnessing the birth of a band that will be playing some of the biggest venues in the world before too long.

Eliza and the Delusionals

One of the most exciting indie rock bands on the scene right now did not disappoint. This four piece rock band has done a lot of touring and it shows. They are slick, well known and really know how to connect with their audience. The waves they’ve been making will only continue to grow and we can’t wait to see what’s next for them. Check out our feature on Eliza and the Delusionals in our Ones To Watch earlier this year.

Other Highlights…

  • Moaning Lisa
  • Arno Faraji
  • GRAACE
  • Keelan Mak
  • Port Royal
  • The Chats
  • Loose Tooth
  • Clews
  • Swayze and the Ghosts
  • Kaiit
  • No Mono
  • Genesis Owusu
  • Emerson Snowe