WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.000 Welcome to the Deep Dive. If you are watching 00:00:03.000 --> 00:00:05.200 our video feed right now, you can already see 00:00:05.200 --> 00:00:07.379 that our backdrop has completely transformed. 00:00:07.540 --> 00:00:09.640 It looks incredible. Yeah, it's really matched 00:00:09.640 --> 00:00:11.960 to the sheer scale of what we are covering today. 00:00:12.279 --> 00:00:16.699 We've got this beautiful, bustling Brisbane cityscape, 00:00:16.780 --> 00:00:20.579 but it's dramatically overlapping with this vast... 00:00:20.859 --> 00:00:24.579 almost endless, starry Australian outback. And 00:00:24.579 --> 00:00:27.079 weaving through all of it, visually tying the 00:00:27.079 --> 00:00:29.559 high rises of the city to the red dirt of the 00:00:29.559 --> 00:00:32.340 desert, are these floating sheets of music. It's 00:00:32.340 --> 00:00:34.560 quite the visual. It really is. And it perfectly 00:00:34.560 --> 00:00:37.479 sets the stage for an exploration of, well, a 00:00:37.479 --> 00:00:40.060 truly incredible cultural phenomenon. Oh, absolutely. 00:00:40.380 --> 00:00:43.820 Today, we are unpacking a stack of sources detailing 00:00:43.820 --> 00:00:47.460 the Queensland Music Festival. Or QMF, as we'll 00:00:47.460 --> 00:00:50.200 probably call it. Right, QMF. This is a uniquely 00:00:50.200 --> 00:00:53.520 massive Australian musical event, and our mission 00:00:53.520 --> 00:00:55.579 today is to figure out exactly how it achieved 00:00:55.579 --> 00:00:57.740 such an unprecedented scale. Because it didn't 00:00:57.740 --> 00:01:00.439 start that way. No, not at all. We want to know 00:01:00.439 --> 00:01:03.939 how something starts as a highly concentrated, 00:01:04.260 --> 00:01:07.900 very traditional city -centric biennial and somehow 00:01:07.900 --> 00:01:11.159 evolves into this sprawling statewide cultural 00:01:11.159 --> 00:01:14.379 juggernaut that just refuses to be confined by 00:01:14.379 --> 00:01:16.519 geography. It's a massive shift. So whether you 00:01:16.519 --> 00:01:19.319 are a dedicated arts enthusiast, someone who 00:01:19.319 --> 00:01:22.159 geeks out over truly mind -boggling logistical 00:01:22.159 --> 00:01:25.500 feats, or you're just insanely curious about 00:01:25.500 --> 00:01:28.140 how live music actually reaches some of the most 00:01:28.140 --> 00:01:30.819 remote, isolated corners of the globe this deep 00:01:30.819 --> 00:01:32.790 dive is for you. For sure. Okay, let's unpack 00:01:32.790 --> 00:01:35.409 this. It really is a master class in challenging 00:01:35.409 --> 00:01:37.689 the boundaries of what an arts organization can 00:01:37.689 --> 00:01:40.030 be. When you dive into the source material, the 00:01:40.030 --> 00:01:42.250 most striking realization is that a festival 00:01:42.250 --> 00:01:44.730 of this magnitude does not just happen by accident. 00:01:44.849 --> 00:01:46.790 Right, it's not spontaneous. No, it requires 00:01:46.790 --> 00:01:49.290 a sequence of highly intentional, deeply visionary 00:01:49.290 --> 00:01:51.709 choices. And that's coupled with a willingness 00:01:51.709 --> 00:01:54.790 to completely dismantle the original, comfortable 00:01:54.790 --> 00:01:59.069 blueprint that most arts festivals rely on. And 00:01:59.069 --> 00:02:01.750 to really grasp the scale of the demolition, 00:02:01.750 --> 00:02:03.890 we have to look at that original blueprint. Yeah. 00:02:03.969 --> 00:02:06.810 Because the origins of this festival were, frankly, 00:02:07.010 --> 00:02:09.569 incredibly conventional. Very safe. Yeah, safe. 00:02:09.870 --> 00:02:13.210 So let's rewind to the 1990s. The festival didn't 00:02:13.210 --> 00:02:15.830 actually start out as the massive, boundary -pushing 00:02:15.830 --> 00:02:18.370 Queensland music festival we know today. Right. 00:02:18.810 --> 00:02:22.289 Back in 1991, it was born simply as the Brisbane 00:02:22.289 --> 00:02:25.409 Biennial Festival of Music. Which firmly anchors 00:02:25.409 --> 00:02:27.729 it to the capital city. Completely. It was operating 00:02:27.729 --> 00:02:30.110 on that very standard, recognizable festival 00:02:30.110 --> 00:02:33.099 model. You know, you bring international and 00:02:33.099 --> 00:02:35.340 national talent into the major metropolitan hub. 00:02:35.539 --> 00:02:38.680 You utilize the existing high quality infrastructure, 00:02:39.080 --> 00:02:41.860 the concert halls, the theaters, the established 00:02:41.860 --> 00:02:44.099 ticketing networks, and you expect the audience 00:02:44.099 --> 00:02:45.740 to come to you. Right. They had to travel to 00:02:45.740 --> 00:02:48.080 the art. And they had some serious heavyweights 00:02:48.080 --> 00:02:50.000 steering that ship in those early days. Oh, yeah. 00:02:50.060 --> 00:02:52.539 Some massive names. The founding artistic director 00:02:52.539 --> 00:02:55.000 was Anthony Steele, who directed the inaugural 00:02:55.000 --> 00:02:58.159 1991 festival and then returned for the 1993 00:02:58.159 --> 00:03:01.240 edition. A very steady hand to start. Exactly. 00:03:01.819 --> 00:03:05.879 Then as we move into 1995 and 1997, you have 00:03:05.879 --> 00:03:08.879 Nicholas Hayward stepping in as CEO. Working 00:03:08.879 --> 00:03:11.620 alongside Jonathan Mills and Richard Mills as 00:03:11.620 --> 00:03:14.340 artistic advisors. Yes. And these aren't just 00:03:14.340 --> 00:03:16.840 random names. These are major figures in the 00:03:16.840 --> 00:03:19.020 Australian arts scene. Oh, absolutely. So throughout 00:03:19.020 --> 00:03:21.300 the 1990s, they are successfully building this 00:03:21.300 --> 00:03:24.139 solid, critically acclaimed reputation, but they 00:03:24.139 --> 00:03:27.000 are doing it entirely within the safe confines 00:03:27.000 --> 00:03:30.319 of the Brisbane city limits. And that phase is 00:03:30.319 --> 00:03:33.120 crucial. You really can't bypass that step. Really? 00:03:33.219 --> 00:03:35.599 Why not? Because an organization needs to build 00:03:35.599 --> 00:03:38.180 that initial bedrock of artistic credibility 00:03:38.180 --> 00:03:40.419 and financial stability before it can afford 00:03:40.419 --> 00:03:42.479 to take massive risks. Well, that makes sense. 00:03:42.560 --> 00:03:44.060 You have to prove you can walk before you try 00:03:44.060 --> 00:03:46.199 to spread across the outback. Exactly. But the 00:03:46.199 --> 00:03:48.620 true turning point, the moment where this organization 00:03:48.620 --> 00:03:50.819 looks at its own success and decides to completely 00:03:50.819 --> 00:03:53.020 rewrite the rules of engagement, that happens 00:03:53.020 --> 00:03:55.060 right at the end of the decade. Right. 1999. 00:03:55.879 --> 00:03:58.099 This is the year the sources highlight as the 00:03:58.099 --> 00:04:01.180 major pivot. A huge year. We see a complete shake 00:04:01.180 --> 00:04:04.439 -up in the leadership structure. Claire Booth 00:04:04.439 --> 00:04:06.800 is appointed as the executive director, and Simone 00:04:06.800 --> 00:04:08.939 de Haan steps into the role of artistic director. 00:04:09.300 --> 00:04:12.020 And the very first bold move they make is changing 00:04:12.020 --> 00:04:15.120 the name. Yes, it officially becomes the Queensland 00:04:15.120 --> 00:04:18.060 Biennial Festival of Music. What's fascinating 00:04:18.060 --> 00:04:20.439 here is that altering the name wasn't just some 00:04:20.439 --> 00:04:23.079 superficial rebranding exercise to sell more 00:04:23.079 --> 00:04:26.259 tickets. It represented a fundamental philosophical 00:04:26.259 --> 00:04:29.459 shift in the organization's mandate. How so? 00:04:29.740 --> 00:04:32.740 Well, the 1999 program was explicitly extended 00:04:32.740 --> 00:04:35.879 to include regional Queensland. They deliberately 00:04:35.879 --> 00:04:38.180 took the focus away from just the capital city 00:04:38.180 --> 00:04:40.399 and declared that this festival belongs to the 00:04:40.399 --> 00:04:42.959 entire state. Wow. Now, if you know anything 00:04:42.959 --> 00:04:45.160 about the geography of Queensland, you know how 00:04:45.160 --> 00:04:47.699 incredibly audacious that is. Audacious is putting 00:04:47.699 --> 00:04:49.860 it mildly. I actually have to push back a little 00:04:49.860 --> 00:04:52.519 here because from a purely logistical and financial 00:04:52.519 --> 00:04:54.759 standpoint, this sounds like an absolute nightmare. 00:04:54.980 --> 00:04:56.879 It really does. I mean, Brisbane in the late 00:04:56.879 --> 00:04:59.100 90s was really coming into... its own culturally. 00:04:59.300 --> 00:05:01.819 They had a captive, concentrated audience, proven 00:05:01.819 --> 00:05:04.920 venues, and guaranteed box office returns. Very 00:05:04.920 --> 00:05:07.959 safe bets. Right. So why on earth would you risk 00:05:07.959 --> 00:05:10.699 all of that momentum to pack up lighting rigs, 00:05:10.699 --> 00:05:13.540 sound systems, and international artists and 00:05:13.540 --> 00:05:15.860 ship them out across thousands of kilometers 00:05:15.860 --> 00:05:18.740 of remote outback? Because if you only ever cater 00:05:18.740 --> 00:05:21.680 to the capital city, you are fundamentally limiting 00:05:21.680 --> 00:05:24.579 the cultural life of the state. I guess that's 00:05:24.579 --> 00:05:26.779 true. You are totally right, though. It is a 00:05:26.779 --> 00:05:30.040 massive financial and logistical risk. You are 00:05:30.040 --> 00:05:32.740 abandoning the easy ticket sales of a concentrated 00:05:32.740 --> 00:05:36.000 urban population. But the new leadership recognized 00:05:36.000 --> 00:05:38.579 that a Queensland festival shouldn't just be 00:05:38.579 --> 00:05:41.319 a Brisbane festival in disguise. I love that 00:05:41.319 --> 00:05:43.379 phrasing. Yeah, they wanted to build a decentralized 00:05:43.379 --> 00:05:46.740 model meant to reach far -flung communities that 00:05:46.740 --> 00:05:49.800 usually get entirely bypassed by major cultural 00:05:49.800 --> 00:05:51.959 events. And what's wild to me is that they didn't 00:05:51.959 --> 00:05:54.240 just make this terrifying leap into the regions. 00:05:54.569 --> 00:05:56.670 and settle into a new routine. No, they didn't 00:05:56.670 --> 00:05:58.410 coast at all. They kept throwing curveballs. 00:05:58.689 --> 00:06:00.850 Let's look at the leadership carousel that followed, 00:06:01.009 --> 00:06:03.490 because the sources lay out a succession of artistic 00:06:03.490 --> 00:06:06.529 directors that completely defies how these massive 00:06:06.529 --> 00:06:09.009 arts organizations usually operate. It's so unusual. 00:06:09.230 --> 00:06:11.689 Right. Instead of finding one successful director 00:06:11.689 --> 00:06:13.589 and locking them in for a decade of stability, 00:06:13.889 --> 00:06:16.709 they brought in a rotating cast of visionaries. 00:06:16.889 --> 00:06:19.829 It is a brilliant structural decision. By design, 00:06:20.050 --> 00:06:22.069 they ensured the festival's identity would never 00:06:22.069 --> 00:06:24.800 stagnate. Let's track how that stylistic whiplash 00:06:24.800 --> 00:06:26.560 actually played out, because it's fascinating 00:06:26.560 --> 00:06:29.000 to see how the festival morphed under different 00:06:29.000 --> 00:06:30.779 artistic backgrounds. Yeah, let's go through 00:06:30.779 --> 00:06:34.279 them. After Simone de Han's pivotal 1999 festival, 00:06:35.000 --> 00:06:37.720 Lyndon Teresini takes the reins from 2001 through 00:06:37.720 --> 00:06:41.139 2005. Now, Teresini comes from a deep background 00:06:41.139 --> 00:06:44.300 in opera and large -scale performing arts. So 00:06:44.300 --> 00:06:46.879 suddenly you have this incredible sense of grand 00:06:46.879 --> 00:06:49.860 theatrical scale being exported to the regions. 00:06:50.139 --> 00:06:52.730 Exactly. You go from establishing the regional 00:06:52.730 --> 00:06:55.430 footprint to suddenly injecting it with grand 00:06:55.430 --> 00:06:57.850 operatic ambition. And then the pendulum swings 00:06:57.850 --> 00:07:00.610 again. Right, because in 2007, Paul Grabowski 00:07:00.610 --> 00:07:03.490 steps up. Grabowski is a legendary jazz musician 00:07:03.490 --> 00:07:06.730 and composer, and 2000 is another major milestone 00:07:06.730 --> 00:07:09.850 year, according to the sources, because Grabowski 00:07:09.850 --> 00:07:12.050 oversees the final evolution of the festival's 00:07:12.050 --> 00:07:14.990 name. They drop the biennial part. Yes. They 00:07:14.990 --> 00:07:17.689 officially drop the word biennial, and it becomes 00:07:17.689 --> 00:07:20.800 simply the Queensland Music Festival. trimming 00:07:20.800 --> 00:07:23.019 that word down does a couple of things it makes 00:07:23.019 --> 00:07:25.680 the branding punchier of course but it also reflects 00:07:25.680 --> 00:07:28.399 how ingrained the event was becoming in the cultural 00:07:28.399 --> 00:07:30.720 calendar it was becoming an institution exactly 00:07:30.720 --> 00:07:33.480 and didn't need the formal biennial tag anymore 00:07:33.480 --> 00:07:36.339 it was an established institution even as it 00:07:36.339 --> 00:07:38.639 constantly shifted its musical focus and the 00:07:38.639 --> 00:07:41.339 rotation just keeps going yeah Deborah Conway 00:07:41.339 --> 00:07:44.100 takes over as artistic director for the 2009 00:07:44.100 --> 00:07:46.420 and 2011 festivals. Bringing a completely different 00:07:46.420 --> 00:07:48.819 vibe. Oh, totally. She brings a gritty, contemporary 00:07:48.819 --> 00:07:51.480 indie pop and singer -songwriter sensibility. 00:07:51.920 --> 00:07:55.360 Then James Morrison steps in for 2013 and 2015. 00:07:55.759 --> 00:07:57.740 And with his background, you suddenly have this 00:07:57.740 --> 00:08:00.519 massive focus on jazz and community engagement. 00:08:00.779 --> 00:08:02.939 Right, getting massive brass bands together in 00:08:02.939 --> 00:08:06.439 remote towns. And after that, Katie Noonan is 00:08:06.439 --> 00:08:10.060 appointed in 2016. directing the 2017 and 2019 00:08:10.060 --> 00:08:13.259 festivals, bringing her virtuosic, vocal, and 00:08:13.259 --> 00:08:15.459 highly collaborative classical meets contemporary 00:08:15.459 --> 00:08:17.860 edge. When you lay it out like that, you really 00:08:17.860 --> 00:08:20.240 see the genius of the model. It's kind of staggering. 00:08:20.459 --> 00:08:23.019 Every one of those directors brings a completely 00:08:23.019 --> 00:08:25.660 different network of international artists, a 00:08:25.660 --> 00:08:28.579 different musical philosophy, and a different 00:08:28.579 --> 00:08:30.959 way of engaging with local communities. So it's 00:08:30.959 --> 00:08:33.500 never the same festival twice? Never. For the 00:08:33.500 --> 00:08:36.090 audiences across Queensland, The festival is 00:08:36.090 --> 00:08:39.289 a constantly moving target. It forces the festival 00:08:39.289 --> 00:08:42.309 to reinvent itself every two years. But again, 00:08:42.389 --> 00:08:43.889 I have to play devil's advocate here. Go for 00:08:43.889 --> 00:08:46.889 it. If you have a brand new director with a totally 00:08:46.889 --> 00:08:48.590 different musical agenda every couple years, 00:08:48.909 --> 00:08:51.289 doesn't the festival risk becoming disjointed? 00:08:52.190 --> 00:08:56.169 How do you maintain a loyal audience when the 00:08:56.169 --> 00:08:59.529 vibe constantly shifts from grand opera to indie 00:08:59.529 --> 00:09:02.789 rock? to big band jazz. That is the exact risk 00:09:02.789 --> 00:09:04.470 they were willing to take, and it paid off because 00:09:04.470 --> 00:09:06.509 the variety became the brand. Oh, I see. The 00:09:06.509 --> 00:09:08.690 audience doesn't buy a ticket expecting a specific 00:09:08.690 --> 00:09:10.669 genre. They engage with the festival expecting 00:09:10.669 --> 00:09:13.389 to be surprised. The constant reinvention is 00:09:13.389 --> 00:09:15.549 exactly what fueled their growth rather than 00:09:15.549 --> 00:09:17.649 hindering it. And speaking of growth, that brings 00:09:17.649 --> 00:09:20.789 us to the sheer jaw -dropping scale of what QMF 00:09:20.789 --> 00:09:23.730 became by the time Katie Noonan directed the 00:09:23.730 --> 00:09:26.950 2019 festival. The numbers are wild. The sources 00:09:26.950 --> 00:09:29.750 give us an astonishing metric here. By 2019, 00:09:30.350 --> 00:09:32.710 QMF had grown from that original, traditional 00:09:32.710 --> 00:09:35.929 biennial event into a creator of annual festivals 00:09:35.929 --> 00:09:39.029 and events, producing, and this is not a typo, 00:09:39.070 --> 00:09:42.350 over 800 live music experiences in that single 00:09:42.350 --> 00:09:45.990 festival year. Over 800 live music experiences. 00:09:46.149 --> 00:09:48.070 I really want us to pause and think about the 00:09:48.070 --> 00:09:50.509 sheer weight of that logistic sheet. It's honestly 00:09:50.509 --> 00:09:52.850 hard to fathom. That requires an absolute army 00:09:52.850 --> 00:09:56.070 of sound engineers, stage managers, local coordinators 00:09:56.070 --> 00:09:58.649 and artists, all operating across a geographic 00:09:58.649 --> 00:10:00.649 footprint that is roughly two and a half times 00:10:00.649 --> 00:10:03.029 the size of Texas. That puts it into perspective. 00:10:03.409 --> 00:10:05.509 And it's so massive that the source material 00:10:05.509 --> 00:10:08.990 highlights a pretty bold claim. The text states 00:10:08.990 --> 00:10:11.450 that by its geography, length, participation, 00:10:11.809 --> 00:10:14.110 and attendance, the Queensland Music Festival 00:10:14.110 --> 00:10:16.509 is the largest live music festival in the world. 00:10:16.629 --> 00:10:19.009 Wow. Now, I do have to point out a brilliant 00:10:19.009 --> 00:10:21.490 little quirk in our Wikipedia source here, which 00:10:21.490 --> 00:10:23.669 gave me a good laugh. Right after that massive 00:10:23.669 --> 00:10:25.789 claim, largest live music festival in the world, 00:10:25.909 --> 00:10:28.330 there is a classic Wikipedia bracket saying, 00:10:28.450 --> 00:10:31.230 citation needed, right next to it. Yeah. I love 00:10:31.230 --> 00:10:34.360 that. the wikipedia editors remain ever skeptical 00:10:34.360 --> 00:10:37.320 but honestly even with the citation needed tag 00:10:37.320 --> 00:10:41.440 the sheer volume of 800 events across that kind 00:10:41.440 --> 00:10:44.980 of vast punishing terrain makes it a statistical 00:10:44.980 --> 00:10:48.559 behemoth whether it holds the exact verifiable 00:10:48.559 --> 00:10:52.480 global title or not the scale is undeniable absolutely 00:10:52.480 --> 00:10:55.700 but a footprint that large brings up a very practical 00:10:55.700 --> 00:10:59.580 inescapable reality let me guess how on earth 00:10:59.950 --> 00:11:03.230 Do you pay to move 800 events across the desert? 00:11:03.409 --> 00:11:06.029 Exactly. You cannot pull off an event of this 00:11:06.029 --> 00:11:08.370 geographical size with just box office sales 00:11:08.370 --> 00:11:10.110 and a few corporate sponsors. It's financially 00:11:10.110 --> 00:11:12.330 impossible. The who pays for it. Right. Well, 00:11:12.389 --> 00:11:14.669 the sources outline exactly who is footing the 00:11:14.669 --> 00:11:17.490 bill for this colossal undertaking. And it reveals 00:11:17.490 --> 00:11:19.929 a lot about how deeply embedded this festival 00:11:19.929 --> 00:11:22.409 became in the public interest. It had huge backing. 00:11:22.590 --> 00:11:24.330 It's heavily supported by the Queensland government, 00:11:24.529 --> 00:11:27.360 specifically through Arts Queensland. But it 00:11:27.360 --> 00:11:29.440 doesn't stop there. No, they had partners everywhere. 00:11:29.860 --> 00:11:32.379 The Brisbane City Council is a major backer, 00:11:32.379 --> 00:11:34.899 as is the Federal Australia Council, alongside 00:11:34.899 --> 00:11:37.480 a really wide range of other partners. Which 00:11:37.480 --> 00:11:39.820 tells us everything we need to know about the 00:11:39.820 --> 00:11:42.840 secret to sustaining massive community arts initiatives. 00:11:43.179 --> 00:11:45.539 Which is? It requires multi -tiered government 00:11:45.539 --> 00:11:48.179 support. You have the state level, the local 00:11:48.179 --> 00:11:50.559 level, and the federal level all bought in. That 00:11:50.559 --> 00:11:53.519 alignment is incredibly rare. I imagine it's 00:11:53.519 --> 00:11:55.909 tough to get everyone on the same page. Securing 00:11:55.909 --> 00:11:58.409 funding from one tier of government is hard enough. 00:11:58.889 --> 00:12:01.929 Securing it from all three shows that the festival 00:12:01.929 --> 00:12:05.509 successfully proved its immense value. They convinced 00:12:05.509 --> 00:12:07.830 all these different stakeholders that bringing 00:12:07.830 --> 00:12:10.629 high -end music to the absolute margins of the 00:12:10.629 --> 00:12:14.110 map was worth the heavy investment. Here's where 00:12:14.110 --> 00:12:16.610 it gets really interesting. Because when we talk 00:12:16.610 --> 00:12:18.629 about the margins of the map, we aren't just 00:12:18.629 --> 00:12:21.179 speaking metaphorically. Right. We mean literal 00:12:21.179 --> 00:12:24.120 remote locations. The sources give us some incredible, 00:12:24.279 --> 00:12:26.960 vivid glimpses into exactly what these remote 00:12:26.960 --> 00:12:29.860 performances look like. For instance, the text 00:12:29.860 --> 00:12:32.740 highlights that in 2005, the festival featured 00:12:32.740 --> 00:12:35.299 performances by the Huli Wigmen. Which is an 00:12:35.299 --> 00:12:37.759 extraordinary cultural exchange to facilitate. 00:12:38.159 --> 00:12:40.000 It really is. And for those who might not be 00:12:40.000 --> 00:12:43.019 familiar, the Huli Wigmen are this renowned, 00:12:43.179 --> 00:12:46.460 iconic indigenous people from the Gila province 00:12:46.460 --> 00:12:48.809 of Papua New Guinea. Truly fascinating culture. 00:12:49.029 --> 00:12:50.990 They are famous for their incredibly elaborate, 00:12:51.389 --> 00:12:54.169 beautifully ornamented wigs made from human hair, 00:12:54.409 --> 00:12:57.149 their vibrant face paint, and their powerful 00:12:57.149 --> 00:13:00.149 traditional chants. The visual and sonic impact 00:13:00.149 --> 00:13:02.970 of their performance is just staggering. And 00:13:02.970 --> 00:13:06.100 QMF brought them in to perform. The sources also 00:13:06.100 --> 00:13:08.659 note events being staged in places like Cooktown. 00:13:08.759 --> 00:13:11.080 Way up north. Right, which is way up in far north 00:13:11.080 --> 00:13:13.340 Queensland. Historically incredibly isolated. 00:13:13.659 --> 00:13:15.759 They also talk about performances taking place 00:13:15.759 --> 00:13:19.100 in Jimbor, known for its massive heritage -listed 00:13:19.100 --> 00:13:22.080 sandstone house and spalling plains. We're talking 00:13:22.080 --> 00:13:25.029 about taking... heavily produced world -class 00:13:25.029 --> 00:13:28.149 music far, far away from the usual stadium circuits 00:13:28.149 --> 00:13:30.950 and dropping it into these deeply historic regional 00:13:30.950 --> 00:13:33.029 landscapes. What stands out to you about that? 00:13:33.269 --> 00:13:34.649 Well, when you picture a major international 00:13:34.649 --> 00:13:36.909 arts festival, your mind almost defaults to a 00:13:36.909 --> 00:13:39.330 metropolitan grid. You picture fighting for parking. 00:13:39.950 --> 00:13:42.490 high -rise luxury hotels, and packed concrete 00:13:42.490 --> 00:13:44.690 arenas. Yeah, that's the standard experience. 00:13:45.110 --> 00:13:47.570 But taking a festival of this caliber, bringing 00:13:47.570 --> 00:13:50.269 international acts like the Hooliwigmen to places 00:13:50.269 --> 00:13:54.190 like Cooktown or Ajdor, completely shatters that 00:13:54.190 --> 00:13:57.169 mold. It actively breaks the monopoly that major 00:13:57.169 --> 00:13:59.570 cities usually hold on live music experiences. 00:13:59.929 --> 00:14:01.870 It really challenges the idea of who gets to 00:14:01.870 --> 00:14:04.450 experience high art, doesn't it? Exactly. It's 00:14:04.450 --> 00:14:08.179 a profound social equalizer. The underlying philosophy 00:14:08.179 --> 00:14:11.480 here is vital. Why should someone living in a 00:14:11.480 --> 00:14:14.639 regional or rural area be starved of top -tier 00:14:14.639 --> 00:14:17.139 cultural events simply because of their zip code? 00:14:17.299 --> 00:14:20.019 We shouldn't be. Right. By bringing the festival 00:14:20.019 --> 00:14:22.519 to them, QMF essentially decided that geography 00:14:22.519 --> 00:14:25.299 should not dictate your access to the arts. It's 00:14:25.299 --> 00:14:27.139 a beautiful way to frame it. And the sources 00:14:27.139 --> 00:14:29.279 show that they didn't just passively bring art 00:14:29.279 --> 00:14:32.480 to these regions. They actively created art about 00:14:32.480 --> 00:14:34.320 these regions. Oh, this is such a great part 00:14:34.320 --> 00:14:36.799 of the story. This brings us to my absolute favorite 00:14:36.799 --> 00:14:38.820 anecdote from the stack of materials we have 00:14:38.820 --> 00:14:41.879 today. In 2019, during Katie Noonan's tenure, 00:14:42.100 --> 00:14:44.600 the festival commissioned a very specific, highly 00:14:44.600 --> 00:14:47.259 unusual musical piece. Very unusual. It wasn't 00:14:47.259 --> 00:14:49.419 just a generic symphony or a crowd -pleasing 00:14:49.419 --> 00:14:52.200 pop anthem. It was a piece commissioned specifically 00:14:52.200 --> 00:14:55.659 to commemorate the rediscovery of a bird that 00:14:55.659 --> 00:14:58.720 was once thought to be completely extinct, the 00:14:58.720 --> 00:15:01.159 night parrot. The night parrot is such a legendary 00:15:01.159 --> 00:15:04.179 piece of Australian ecological lore. It really 00:15:04.179 --> 00:15:07.879 is a ghost story. For context, the night parrot 00:15:07.879 --> 00:15:11.440 is this incredibly elusive, nocturnal, ground 00:15:11.440 --> 00:15:14.299 -dwelling bird that makes its home in the remote 00:15:14.299 --> 00:15:17.220 outback. For roughly a century, it was basically 00:15:17.220 --> 00:15:19.620 a myth. People thought it was entirely gone forever. 00:15:19.879 --> 00:15:22.519 Then miraculously, it is rediscovered, and the 00:15:22.519 --> 00:15:24.919 Queensland Music Festival decides this is what 00:15:24.919 --> 00:15:26.580 they need to write a piece of music about. Which 00:15:26.580 --> 00:15:28.919 is such a uniquely Queensland story to tell. 00:15:29.019 --> 00:15:30.639 Isn't it? And they didn't just play the music 00:15:30.639 --> 00:15:33.419 in a vacuum and move on. The sources explicitly 00:15:33.419 --> 00:15:36.129 note... that a recording of the night parrot 00:15:36.129 --> 00:15:38.610 was actually immortalized through this music 00:15:38.610 --> 00:15:40.990 festival commission. That's amazing. The piece 00:15:40.990 --> 00:15:43.610 and the story behind it were even broadcast in 00:15:43.610 --> 00:15:46.250 a radio interview on RN Breakfast with Fran Kelly 00:15:46.250 --> 00:15:50.090 back in July 2019. They took this incredibly 00:15:50.090 --> 00:15:53.590 niche, fascinating moment of local ecology, this 00:15:53.590 --> 00:15:56.809 triumphant return of a ghost bird, and they elevated 00:15:56.809 --> 00:15:59.889 it into a massive cultural celebration. If we 00:15:59.889 --> 00:16:02.049 connect this to the bigger picture, the Night 00:16:02.049 --> 00:16:04.549 Parrot Commission perfectly encapsulates exactly 00:16:04.549 --> 00:16:07.690 what QMF evolved into over those decades. How 00:16:07.690 --> 00:16:10.389 so? It proves that this organization became far 00:16:10.389 --> 00:16:12.870 more than just a music festival. It wasn't just 00:16:12.870 --> 00:16:15.129 about setting up a temporary stage in the dirt, 00:16:15.230 --> 00:16:17.330 playing some hits and leaving. Right. It wasn't 00:16:17.330 --> 00:16:19.889 a hit and run operation. No. It became a powerful 00:16:19.889 --> 00:16:22.789 vehicle for immortalizing local ecology, recording 00:16:22.789 --> 00:16:25.029 regional history and celebrating the unique, 00:16:25.149 --> 00:16:27.769 sometimes bizarre identity of Queensland itself 00:16:27.769 --> 00:16:31.139 through art. They took a rediscovered bird, a 00:16:31.139 --> 00:16:33.519 literal symbol of outback resilience and hidden 00:16:33.519 --> 00:16:36.620 wonders, and wove its actual call into the cultural 00:16:36.620 --> 00:16:39.659 fabric of the state. Exactly. That is how you 00:16:39.659 --> 00:16:42.159 create a lasting legacy. You don't just import 00:16:42.159 --> 00:16:44.279 art from the cities and dump it in the regions. 00:16:44.460 --> 00:16:47.480 You reflect the local environment back to the 00:16:47.480 --> 00:16:49.899 people who live there, proving that their stories, 00:16:50.139 --> 00:16:52.620 their landscapes, and their wildlife are worthy 00:16:52.620 --> 00:16:55.340 of high art commissions. So what does this all 00:16:55.340 --> 00:16:58.039 mean? Let's summarize it. If we look at the entire 00:16:58.039 --> 00:17:00.700 journey we've unpacked today, the story of the 00:17:00.700 --> 00:17:04.000 Queensland Music Festival is ultimately a masterclass 00:17:04.000 --> 00:17:06.799 in breaking boundaries and refusing to settle. 00:17:06.920 --> 00:17:10.700 It started in 1991 as a very traditional, very 00:17:10.700 --> 00:17:14.380 safe, Brisbane -bound biennial festival. But 00:17:14.380 --> 00:17:18.039 by 1999, they dared to look outward, risking 00:17:18.039 --> 00:17:20.339 their comfortable urban success to embrace the 00:17:20.339 --> 00:17:23.140 regions. And it paid off. Big time. And over 00:17:23.140 --> 00:17:25.619 the next two decades, powered by a constantly 00:17:25.619 --> 00:17:28.640 rotating cast of brilliant, stylistically diverse 00:17:28.640 --> 00:17:31.519 artistic directors, it grew into an absolute 00:17:31.519 --> 00:17:34.319 behemoth. It's a testament to the power of continuous 00:17:34.319 --> 00:17:37.920 reinvention. It really is. By 2019, they were 00:17:37.920 --> 00:17:41.339 pulling off over 800 live events in a single 00:17:41.339 --> 00:17:44.019 cycle. They stretched a massive geographical 00:17:44.019 --> 00:17:46.839 canvas, figuring out the funding and the logistics 00:17:46.839 --> 00:17:49.559 to bring high art and incredible international 00:17:49.559 --> 00:17:53.279 acts like the Hooliwigmen to remote historic 00:17:53.279 --> 00:17:56.160 outposts like Cooktown and Jimboor. Unbelievable 00:17:56.160 --> 00:17:59.359 logistics. And perhaps most beautifully, they 00:17:59.359 --> 00:18:01.779 used their massive platform to immortalize the 00:18:01.779 --> 00:18:04.640 state's lost and found wildlife, turning the 00:18:04.640 --> 00:18:07.059 elusive call of the night parrot into a permanent 00:18:07.059 --> 00:18:10.140 piece of shared cultural heritage. It reinforces 00:18:10.140 --> 00:18:12.799 an incredibly powerful lesson. True cultural 00:18:12.799 --> 00:18:15.319 enrichment happens when barriers to access are 00:18:15.319 --> 00:18:18.079 not just managed but actively dismantled. That's 00:18:18.079 --> 00:18:20.119 a great point. In a territory as massive and 00:18:20.119 --> 00:18:22.559 unforgiving as Queensland, vast geography is 00:18:22.559 --> 00:18:24.799 almost always seen as an obstacle. It is the 00:18:24.799 --> 00:18:27.599 built -in excuse for not doing something. QMF 00:18:27.599 --> 00:18:29.880 chose to treat that vast geography as a canvas 00:18:29.880 --> 00:18:32.000 instead. It really did. They proved that with 00:18:32.000 --> 00:18:34.359 the right mix of fearless, rotating visionary 00:18:34.359 --> 00:18:36.920 leadership and incredibly complex multi -tiered 00:18:36.920 --> 00:18:39.509 funding, you can actually deliver. world -class, 00:18:39.529 --> 00:18:41.910 life -enriching experiences straight to the doorstep 00:18:41.910 --> 00:18:44.369 of the most isolated communities. Which leaves 00:18:44.369 --> 00:18:46.930 us with a pretty incredible, provocative thought 00:18:46.930 --> 00:18:49.589 to chew on long after we wrap up today. I love 00:18:49.589 --> 00:18:52.130 these. We've seen exactly how this decentralized 00:18:52.130 --> 00:18:54.789 rotating model works to invigorate the arts. 00:18:55.170 --> 00:18:57.890 If a music festival can successfully scale to 00:18:57.890 --> 00:19:00.190 cover one of the most vast and challenging geographical 00:19:00.190 --> 00:19:03.089 landscapes on Earth, and if it can constantly 00:19:03.089 --> 00:19:05.730 rotate its leadership every two years to ensure 00:19:05.730 --> 00:19:09.019 it stays fresh, adaptable, and innovative what 00:19:09.019 --> 00:19:10.980 other highly centralized systems could learn 00:19:10.980 --> 00:19:13.559 from this it's a fascinating proposition think 00:19:13.559 --> 00:19:16.819 about it could critical heavily centralized systems 00:19:16.819 --> 00:19:19.640 like education or health care benefit from adopting 00:19:19.640 --> 00:19:22.700 this sprawling decentralized ever -changing festival 00:19:22.700 --> 00:19:25.259 model imagine that what if we stopped forcing 00:19:25.259 --> 00:19:28.140 everyone in isolated communities to travel to 00:19:28.140 --> 00:19:30.680 the metropolitan grid for the best services and 00:19:30.680 --> 00:19:32.920 instead built a logistical model that brings 00:19:32.920 --> 00:19:35.039 the absolute best of what we have out to the 00:19:35.039 --> 00:19:38.160 margins It makes you wonder what else is possible 00:19:38.160 --> 00:19:41.220 when we treat vast distances as a canvas rather 00:19:41.220 --> 00:19:43.319 than an excuse. It really does. Well, thank you 00:19:43.319 --> 00:19:45.420 so much for joining us on this deep dive into 00:19:45.420 --> 00:19:48.539 the source material. We loved unpacking the massive 00:19:48.539 --> 00:19:51.240 logistical and artistic puzzle of this festival 00:19:51.240 --> 00:19:52.799 with you, and we will catch you on the next one. 00:19:52.880 --> 00:19:53.779 Until next time.