Passport to Airlie 2023 saw over 300 incredible acts compete nationwide for the chance to play at the Airlie Beach Festival of Music! It was a tough gig for the judges but they handpicked the nation’s best to open the main stage on Thursday the 9th of November at the Whitsunday Sailing Club.
From the highly-contested heats our eight finalists are: Gravy Train (Darwin), The Robert Cini Band (Cairns), The Wild Sky (Mackay), Staremaster (Sunshine Coast), Funk Knuckle (Brisbane), Venus Fly Trap (Byron Bay), Avalanche (Newcastle) & Ally Row (Melbourne).
Each act will be bringing their A-game with the hope of impressing the judging panel of special guests including festival ambassador Sarah McLeod of The Superjesus, who says of the overall event, “Passport is going off, what a great opportunity for bands to be discovered on a legit platform in front of real fans who will follow their journey. Australian Idol this aint!”
On top of the already highly-coveted main stage slot, Passport have teamed up with QMUSIC to now include a delegate pass & automatic shortlisting into Bigsound 2024.
Adding to the excitement will be Perry Street Park, last year’s winners, who will headline the evening. Fresh off the back from supporting The Superjesus on part of their national tour
Their front-man Benny had this to say of their passport experience, “I’ve personally been a part of P2A twice. Once as a solo project in 2019 and in 2022 with Perry Street Park. Passport to Airlie gives up and coming bands from all around Australia the opportunity to perform at a renowned festival on the big stage in front of industry and music lovers! Winning this in 2022 has led to unbelievable opportunities for PSP including touring with The Superjesus and gave us a lot of credit and proof for the work we were putting in.“
Single tickets for the Thursday Night Finals will be $10 or free for Airlie Beach Festival of Music 3-day ticket holders. The event will also be all-ages so all kids will be welcome to come along as well!
