More than 1500 people attended the first Live and Local event in the Blue Mountains on Saturday, April 7.
About 180 performers, including large ensembles, entertained from 12 locations over six hours.
Blue Mountains mayor Mark Greenhill said Katoomba had the biggest program for any Live and Local Event in NSW to date.
“This initiative fosters connections between musicians and business. It connects music with retail and cafes, and it activates CBDs like our very own Katoomba Street,” he said.
Twenty-five per cent of performers at the event were under 25 and 12 per cent were indigenous.
“It’s fantastic to see such a diverse program,” Cr Greenhill said at the official opening of the micro music festival. “The beauty of an initiative like Katoomba Live andLocal, is that it also helps develop young musicians.”
Cr Greenhill thanked venue operators who had provided tremendous support to the festival, event curator Meg Benson who matched acts with venues, and the many volunteers whose tireless work ensured the event was a success.
“Your generosity and community spirit is appreciated,” said Cr Greenhill.
The Katoomba Live and Local event was run by a festival committee with representatives from council, Music Hunter, Fusion Boutique, Music in the Mountains, Platform Youth Services, The Mountains Youth Services Team, Katoomba High School’s Performing Arts Unit, Big Beet, Gundungurra Tribal Council, and The Blue Mountains Aboriginal Cultural and Resource Centre.
Organisations and individuals who donated support in kind included Radio Blue Mountains, website designer and producer Brad Diedrich, Chris Cannel from Websites in the Mountains, Haze Magazine, and Blue Mountains Sound.
The council-led community collaboration was made possible by a Create NSW grant and also received sponsorship from Bendigo Bank
