REGIONAL SOUNDS, LOCAL VOICES, SHARP CONTENT
CURRENTLY TRAVELLING THROUGH: TENTERFIELD
YESTERDAY WE TRAVELLED THROUGH: TOOWOOMBA > BRISBANE
TOMORROW WE’RE TRAVELLING TO: LISMORE
latest travel video:
AUSTRALIA’S LIVE MUSIC CRISIS
Across social media feeds, news channels and radio broadcasts, the live music cultures of major Australian cities have dominated our media landscape for decades.
Non-metropolitan creative hubs have been severely underrepresented by mainstream media outlets for years. However, according to the comprehensive Victorian Live Music Audit of 2025, a massive 45% of our nation’s music venues are regional.
This is good news for gig-goers living outside city limits. Sadly, many regional or disaster-affected towns like Lismore, Mullumbimby, Port Augusta and Warrnambool have suffered sharp drops in the consistency of their original music scenes since the start of Australia’s COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020.
The rate of regional venues hosting at least one gig per week has dropped by 19.4%. A staggering 68.3% of regional music venues now host less than one live gig per month.
These venues want to host gigs, but without promotion and touring circuits, they can’t. We want to change that.
WHAT WE’RE DOING ABOUT IT
Amplified Regional is an independent content creation and promotion service, founded in the Blue Mountains of NSW in March 2026 by journalist-musician Corin Shearston.
Katoomba is our bohemian hometown, situated two hours west of Sydney. It’s another regional area, and a launchpad for a deeply-interconnected network of local artists, venues and agencies.
According to an ABS census from 2006-2007, Katoomba has the highest number of artists, per capita, of anywhere in NSW. Our 8000+ population also contains NSW’s highest number of tertiary-educated people to own the least amount of money.
An estimated 60% of the greater Blue Mountains population either support or are involved in the arts.
By travelling into the heartland of this massive country, across Aboriginal land, Amplified Regional hopes to discover and uncover voices from similar creative scenes.
The same scenes that have had their originality, integrity and uniqueness long underrepresented in mainstream media.
“You’re standin’ on solid rock
You’re standin’ on sacred ground
You’re livin’ on borrowed time
The winds of change are blowin’ down the line…”
– Goanna, ‘Solid Rock’ (1982)
