Looking back, it should have been obvious: in 2018, few people in the established music world would have dared venture into Parramatta to watch local acts.
asserted
people → look → acts
Western Sydney DJs Peter Sabbagh and Tom Elliott, unknown and starry-eyed musicians, performed a set for 20 people at Parramatta Square.
asserted
Sabbagh → perform → Square
How quickly things have changed.
asserted
things → change → ?
The two now lead the Bodega Collective, a group of about 500, and are curating four nights of music for an entire street block – and they’re expecting 400,000.
They join 400 artists for the Parramatta Lanes event, where streets across the CBD turn into nightclubs, car parks into food courts, and the Civic Arcade into a non-stop Dance Dance Revolution competition from Wednesday to Saturday.
asserted
streets → lead → Saturday
In its 15th year, the council-run event is leading a citywide push for nightlife less reliant on alcohol and arts institutions to dish up bolder, more experimental gig line-ups that attract mass young audiences.
asserted
that → run → audiences
It’s also a departure from western Sydney’s better-known cultural exports: stadium concerts and sporting events.
asserted
It → ’ → exports
Young local and international acts, including stars Genesis Owusu, Shady Nasty, Esha Tewari and Aja Monet, who have already cemented their artistry in Sydney’s live music scene, are performing at Lanes – leading to FOMO among the city’s music lovers.
asserted
who → include → lovers
“If you’re living in Newtown, which a lot of [the Parramatta Lanes] audience are, you’re gonna miss out on a free show just because it’s in Parramatta?
asserted
it → live → Parramatta
No, you’re gonna get on the train and go,” Bodega Collective’s Willem Blomfield says.
asserted
Blomfield → go → train
“No one doesn’t want to see Genesis Owusu play.”
asserted
Owusu → want → ?
And there is much more to come: from November 7 to 27, Powerhouse Parramatta’s opening festival will feature a series of events highlighting cutting-edge western Sydney acts, from techno, R&B and experimental pop artists to a Diwali rave paying homage to western Sydney’s South Asian communities.
asserted
festival → be → communities
Usually when a council runs something, it can be “a bit lame”, Sabbagh says.
asserted
Sabbagh → run → something
Before they began booking “cooler musicians”, he joked the council “were paying for people’s rap videos without knowing because they were giving such good rates to these up-and-coming artists”.
asserted
they → begin → artists
Infrastructure lacking
But cool doesn’t bring in cash.
asserted
cool → lack → cash
Sydney venue operators and art institutions won’t see commercial viability in establishing venues in western Sydney until more infrastructure arrives, says Fergus Linehan, chief executive of Redfern venue Carriageworks.
asserted
Linehan → see → Carriageworks
If you do a show in the Metro Theatre and you do a show in Parramatta, it would be unreasonable to expect it to do as well at the moment,” he says.
asserted
he → do → moment
The private sector will see opportunity in Parramatta for live music and nightlife when it has “critical mass” of people and shows can sell 1000 tickets at a certain rate.
asserted
shows → see → rate
“It takes ages for venues to bed in,” he says.
asserted
he → take → ages
“If you were betting, you absolutely would say [Parramatta] is where it’s going in the next 10 to 20 years, as the infrastructure kind of builds around it.”
asserted
infrastructure → bet → it
Blomfield says western Sydney’s arts scene has always received little investment and attention from the private sector.
asserted
scene → say → sector
“Most [artists and collectives] haven’t received support from an institution, state, public or private.
asserted
artists → receive → institution
They’re just doing it out of their own pocket.
asserted
They → do → pocket
They’re doing it DIY.
asserted
They → do → it
I think DIY is the way of the future,” he says.
asserted
he → think → future
Sabbagh and Elliott believe the way to get more artists thriving in the west would be for councils to subsidise rent for artistic ventures.
asserted
councils → believe → ventures
“It could be the next big White Bay Power Station,” Elliott said of Parramatta.
uncertain
Elliott → say → Parramatta
But Linehan says there’s also a foundational aspect to cultural programming that needs to shift – presenting shows young people actually like.
asserted
people → say → shows
Venues popular with young people, such as Carriageworks, Metro Theatre, Oxford Art Factory, the Red Rattler and the Museum of Contemporary Art taking in the Divine Playhouse, must possess a degree of “institutional spontaneity” as trends change.
asserted
trends → take → spontaneity
For the first time, the array is attracting international attention: record label executives and music promoters from the Philippines are being flown in to track talent that could make it big in Manila, seen by some in the industry as a “trigger city” for global trends.
“When you bring people in, they’re experiencing the place the music comes from,” says Esti Zilber, executive producer at Sounds Australia, the federal government’s music export agency, which connects Australian musicians with a global audience.
uncertain
which → attract → audience
It previously helped Australian musicians take their music overseas, but has had better luck getting overseas music leaders to listen to them at home.
asserted
leaders → help → home
“If you are building a global city, creative industries are a global part of showcasing that to the world,” she says.
asserted
she → build → world
“And what we’re seeing in Parramatta is that the talent has always been there, but now, with enhanced infrastructure, [people can] see what it looks like when a city turns on all its lights.
asserted
city → see → lights
“The rest of the city is now switched on to this very special event.
asserted
rest → switch → event
I think it’s exceptionally well-programmed.
asserted
it → think → ?
It’s leaning into the most beautiful melting pot of different cultures.”
asserted
It → lean → cultures
Zilber’s agency has previously attempted to work with commercial festivals, including the ill-fated South by South West – but the fact that Lanes is “a free event in the heart of a city that is going through this massive boom” means the appeal and interest is far broader, she says.
asserted
she → attempt → boom
The event, now in its 15th year, started as an event for Parramatta residents – but now it’s a gift to Sydney, the city’s new lord mayor, Cameron Maclean, says.
“It’s not an event for western Sydney, but it’s western Sydney’s event.
asserted
it → start → Sydney
This is important for the city because we’re about changing perceptions of western Sydney.
asserted
we → ’re → Sydney
Unfortunately, this has been so often defined by what’s on television or what they hear from far off.
asserted
they → define → what
When they get here, they find it multicultural, engaging, fun, exciting – all the things that Lanes is going to be. …
asserted
Lanes → get → that
…and 13 more, not listed.
The Aporia
