500 Miles of Music ready to roll

The event kicks off next Friday night (June 25), at The Barn at Wombat Flat, Neales Flat, before shows in Wilmington and Leigh Creek, and another two at William Creek, finishing on June 30.

Across the five shows, about 15 artists are involved, with some of the bigger names including Kasey Chambers, Felicity Urquhart, Adam Harvey, Travis Collins and Amber Lawrence.

Organiser John Simpson was delighted the event was back up and running.

"It went really well in the first year, and people were keen for it to run again," he said. "Fortunately almost all the artists stayed on-board for this year too, and a lot of people have held onto their tickets from last year (which remain valid)."

John, who hails from Quorn and has been involved in film and sound production for most of his life, had the idea to form the event in 2018, after working with Mike Roberts, who runs The Barn at Wombat Flat.

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"I thought it was really important to try to bring some of the bigger acts out to the smaller towns," he said.

"Remote towns can't normally afford those bigger acts - maybe a few artists travelling through doing pub gigs, but not an actual event with a full band - and that's what we've done."

Up to 500 people are expected to attend 500 Miles of Music this year, and those travelling to each individual show can expect something a little different each on each night.

"The Wombat Flat show will be small and intimate, while Wilmington will be mostly an all-female line-up," John said.

"Leigh Creek is Kasey Chambers' only show, and William Creek is special because it's one of the most remote pubs on the planet."

By no coincidence, the event is just prior to the Marree Camel Cup (July 3) and Big Red Bash (July 6-8), giving tourists a reason to stay in the rural areas for longer.

"A lot of them are retirees, and if they're going somewhere, they want to go somewhere where there is something they can see and do, so if we can create that something, they'll go there, stay a night, give the town some money and have a good time," John said.

John said the musicians involved in 500 Miles of Music enjoyed the experience.

"In our first year, we were in the William Creek pub the night before the show there, and everyone was passing the guitar around, singing songs and having a great time," he said.

"I was sitting there, not believe what was happening, and thinking how lucky I was to be there witnessing all these people. This year in particular, the artists are so keen to be a part of it, they are just so excited to get on stage again."

John said this year's roadshow would be bigger than 2019, and he was excited to continue to grow the event.

"The 2019 show was a proof of concept in a way, but I'm confident we can build on it," he said.

"Normally it takes three of four things to make anything out things like this. Big Red Bash only had 300 people when it started, now it has 10,000 in attendance each year, so you never know."

500 Miles of Music organiser John Simpson has been an instigator in the creation of a group called Revive The Regions With Music, delivering music events to country towns.

"That will be an umbrella for all these other shows that happen in the region, for councils and community events who want to put on an event," John said.

"We have a good team, we can seek the funding, seek the artists, and take care of all the event management, turn up and do the whole thing, and say 'bang, there's the event'.

"We're hoping some partners come on-board, to supply something for few years as well."

Some upcoming events organised by Revive the Regions With Music include Rock The Ranges, in Quorn (October 16) featuring Eskimo Joe; Arkaroola Under the Stars With the Stars (July 23-25), a black tie event featuring theatrical stars; and the Cleve Harvest Music Festival (October 30), where Killing Heidi is booked as the headline.

The group is also looking to return the Curdimurka Outback Ball to the calendar for the first time since 1996, booked in for April 29 to May 1, 2022, headlined by Troy Cassar-Daley and Adam Brand.

"It is so rewarding watching people coming to these events, clapping, dancing, and having fun, you can see that everything is working as it should be," John said.

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