Passport to Airlie is one of the most exciting moments around Airlie Beach Festival of Music, giving the audience not only a taste of the music we all love and know but displaying the talents of some incredible up and coming Australian artists. With a list of past winners that includes Mardi Wilson, The Wayward Suns, Lash78 and The Natural Culture, Passport has played a pivotal role in the Australian music scene with helping to elevate the careers of new artists.
Passport has been an integral part to the festival since 2013 and has in previous years hosted over 300 acts a year throughout events going right across Australia. The culmination of these events come together with one artist from each area (and potential for a wild card) being selected to come and play in paradise. The applications for this year’s competition are now open and can be done right here!
Passport to Airlie will be running across several events in 2022 including Darwin, Cairns, Mackay, Sunshine Coast, Brisbane, Byron Bay, Newcastle and Melbourne inviting a range of different styles and genres to participate in the competition.
Running from July through to October, each region will have 3 heats and a final before deciding which artist will be announced as the winner. All regional winners will be awarded with accomodation and VIP tickets to the festival in November. On the Thursday night of the festival, all regional representatives will perform at the Passport Showcase event in front of celebrity and industry judges with this year’s panel including Sarah McLeod and Bill Chambers. For the first time ever the Passport to Airlie finale will be held on Airlie’s main stage with Sarah McLeod playing a set to close the night off. Entry to the night will be free for all 3 day ticket holders (tickets here).
Passport to Airlie is the largest event of its kind, placing a huge emphasis on original music with entrants needing to have over 3/4 of original material in their set. Passport is free for bands to enter and aims to provide opportunities of support and industry experiences to developing artists. It provides a unique chance for artists to network with other bands and industry professionals in and out of their home region, giving every participant in Passport to Airlie the chance to leave with valuable industry knowledge. The winners will be placed on the bill, including much of the main event promotion and merchandise alongside the amazing headline acts plus they will also be awarded a $1000 performance fee from the festival.
The overall Passport to Airlie grand final winner receives the priceless award of being invited to come back to Airlie the following year and perform on the main stage, where they will be placed on the bill! Accommodation, VIP festival tickets and a $1000 performance fee will also be provided to them on top of that.
Last year’s Passport saw the incredibleMardi Wilson be announced as the winner, she adds “It felt really good to take the win and has boosted me to go forward and keep doing what I’m doing.” Her advice from this year’s entrants is “Just go for it. Be your authentic self – you never know what could happen – just get out there and give it a go – I never expected to take out the win and now here I am.“
2019’s Passport to Airlie winners Lash78 are coming back to Airlie this year as well, and they couldn’t be more thankful for their passport experience saying “It’s incredible to see such a big festival putting so much effort into creating opportunities for young and upcoming artists!”
They add, “It’s a phenomenal opportunity, the competition isn’t limited by any demographic or age as it’s purely driven by the power of the music.”
Brick Lane Brewing have also been announced as the Passport to Airlie sponsors for the next 3 years which is a huge boost to already successful festival and excites us a lot for what Passport to Airlie could grow to become in the coming years.
Brick Lane’s marketing manager Zoe Ottaway says “At Brick Lane we adore what Passport to Airlie stands for, with the focus on discovering regional talent from some of the most beautiful parts of our country. We know events like Passport to Airlie are vital for the growth and development of not just the artists involved, but for the greater Australian music industry too, especially after the past few years.“
She adds “We look forward to being a part of Passport to Airlie for the years to come and celebrating great music with great beers!“
The Passport is just another one of the many reasons people are travelling from all over to Australia to come to the festival, adding to a line up that already consists of Rogue Traders, Ben Lee, The Animals, Eskimo Joe, Mi-Sex and many many more incredible acts.
With its idyllic waterfront setting in the grounds of the Whitsunday Sailing Club, and across the tropical township of Airlie Beach, there is no other music festival in Australia or globally quite like the Airlie Beach Festival of Music.
To keep up to date with all Airlie Beach Festival of Music news, subscribe to the mailing list here and follow the festival and ‘Passport to Airlie’ on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at the links below.
