Aireys Inlet Open Mic Music Festival
Aireys Inlet's Biggest Day
Acclaimed band Mark Seymour and the Undertow closed the 2013 festival. Fittingly, "Aireys Inlet's biggest day" provided a stunning conclusion to our weekend of music. We were treated to a mix of songs from their self titled album, and from Mark's extensive back catalog including favourite Hunters and Collectors anthems. Mark set the large crowd alight, "jumping out of the cake" as special mystery guest, and rocking the whole town. Drawing on a career of experience he summed up our festival "Local communities need to nuture their young people. Aireys Inlet gives them wonderful opportunities to gain confidence and expression through music".
View video of Mark's performance in our featured section. As a final point of review, journalist Jennifer Hansen attended the 2013 festival, and has generously posted Mystery Guest and Festival blogs on her website.
Thank You
Thank you to Mark Seymour and all of our previous special mystery guests. They have generously aligned themselves with our goals of growing artists and have given invaluable credibility to the festival.
In 2013 we would like to especially thank all artists, sponsors, venues, MC's, volunteers, presenters, bus drivers, audio technicians, traders, equipment hirers, and of course the over 5,000 audience members. Your creativity, energy and support are the critical ingredients of our success. It is a shared journey we hope you all feel a part of.
A final thank you to Marty Maher, who thanks everyone at the festival close, without noting his own defining effort. Marty had a vision to postively influence our young people and community through music. Six years and chapters later, the festival continues to deliver on this vision. Marty organises and schedules the entire event. His dedication, drive and enthusiasm sweeps the whole community along for the ride, and gives artists and young people significant opportunity. We are proud and truly fortunate to have Marty Maher as a guiding patriarch of our community. Ask Marty what you can do to help next year, and critically with costs going up, donate or become a sponsor to secure the festival's future.
Donations
Entry to all venues is FREE. The festival runs on donations and sponsorship. If you had a great time this year, donate to show your support and secure the festival's future. A PayPal service will be available here shortly, or email us for other options.
About
The 6th annual Aireys Inlet Open Mic Music Festival was another huge success. The festival presented 168 performances of all types of music. From full rock bands to solo acoustic acts on nine stages over three days.
Annual attendance is estimated at over 5000 people, and each year we have a Special Mystery Guest close the festival. Colin Hay, Dan Sultan, Tim Rogers and Mark Seymour have been our SMGs for the past four festivals.
It is a positive festival where music lovers gather on the coast to appreciate talented musicians and their music. Our festival provides artists from Aireys Inlet, The Surf Coast and all over Australia with invaluable exposure and performance experience. Critically it connects and grows the young people of our community.
The event is run in March each year. 2014 dates will be posted here shortly.
Artist Registrations 2014
Registrations for our next festival open on 1st January 2014.
Make sure you follow up with artists you liked this year. Many have web links and songs to download.
Festival Highlights 2013
Review our 2013 festival video below or on YouTube to find out what the festival is all about.
Where to stay
For various accommodation options go to the Aireys Inlet Tourism or Great Ocean Retreats websites.
Become a sponsor
After 6 years of success, the festival can be considered a major annual event. We will still maintain the free entry and rely on sponsors to do so. There are numerous sponsorship opportunities available. If you would like to become a sponsor and align your organisation with our community, send an email to Marty Maher or call 5220 0000.
