BRISBANE, Australia — The disparate worlds of politics and music came together Wednesday night (March 25) at Queensland’s Parliament House for what has become a regular health check and lobby opportunity as the state gears-up for the 2032 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The first Queensland Parliamentary Friends of the Music Industry event for 2026 was presented at The Speaker’s Green, with guest speakers including state minister for education and the arts John-Paul Langbroek, QMusic CEO Kris Stewart, Live Nation APAC senior VP of touring & commercial Luke Hede, and event co-chairs Shane King MP and Sam O’Connor MP.
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Three-time ARIA Chart champion Pete Murray was the center of attention, as he performed a mini-set which included “Feeler” and “Opportunity,” and mingled with politicians afterwards. Brisbane artist Will Day opened proceedings.
Queensland, boasted one long-running tourism campaign, is beautiful one day, perfect the next. The strapline isn’t inaccurate, but the music community has been confronted with some ugly situations of late, including the closure of two live music venues on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, Solbar in Maroochydore, and Birtinya venue The Station, both of which felt the sting of high operating costs and changes in audience habits.
“It’s that best of time, worst of time, type of situation,” remarked QMusic’s Stewart. “We can have Ed Sheeran come to town and be a massive success with 120,000 people (attending). It was a fantastic night, an amazing job. And at the same time, we announced the two most important venues in the Sunshine Coast both closing. What we need to recognize is success is not about a race to the top. The pyramid of the music industry can’t be built with massive success of a few people at the top, and a battle for everyone who is the foundation of our industry.”
A healthy industry, he continued, “is held up by the foundations. It’s held up by our grassroots.”
The gathering took place as the music industry takes stock of the collapse of Bluesfest, the popular camping festival hosted in Byron Bay, just south of the state border, leaving potentially thousands of music fans, staff and clients out of pocket. “We need live music and music in generally to be growing, not failing,” King noted. “Sadly we heard recently about Bluesfest, which has been devastating for the industry, and devasting for all of us.”
Guests on the night included Queensland Labor Party leader and former state premier Steven Miles, attorney-general Deb Frecklington, rocker Ian Haug and his former Powderfinger bandmate John “JC” Collins, now night-life economy commissioner, who last year delivered the state’s first “Night-Life Economy Strategy,” a document that outlines a comprehensive vision for the future of the sector.
O’Connor, the minister for housing and public works and minister for youth, updated VIPs on the strategy, describing it as an “in-depth, grounded, practical pathway forward for the nightlight in our state.” The report, he continued, has been presented to individual ministers “because we didn’t want it to be another report that gathers dust on someone’s shelf. We want it to be something that drove change.”
Langbroek had the honors of announcing winners of four legacy scholarships, each of whom collected A$15,000 ($10,400), a financial leg up for the next generation of artists, in partnership with Arts Queensland. Winners included Paulina (Carol Lloyd Award), and Frank and Louis (Billy Thorpe Scholarship).
Music is “a fantastic connector. We share a lot more than we disagree on,” explained Stewart. But if the state is to have a vibrant music industry, “we need to come together and recognize it is grown from and built from the grassroots up.” A robust network of live music venues is the music community’s lifeblood. “We will not have the next generation of Australian musicians on our stages in 2032 if we don’t protect our musicians and stages right now. These are commitments we can make to our industry. Every small thing we do, that follows that purpose, is something positive and important,” he continued. “We will make sure our city, our musicians, are ready for this amazing moment, but it starts now.”
QMusic used the momentum to announce the first international guests for BIGSOUND 2026, a list that includes reps from Rough Trade Record Stores (U.K.), Bandcamp (U.S.), Hellfest (France), Low Profile Sync Agency (U.S.) and Sziget Festival (Hungary). The trade body produces the annual summit and showcase extravaganza, which is set for Sept. 1-4 in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley.
