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Ripple Effect Band Photo – Tanja Bruckner

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Mulga Bore Hard Rock will be partnering with Bush Music Fund in 2024

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First Nations music pathway program Bush Music Fund today announces the three artists that they’ll be working alongside in 2024; Ripple Effect Band, Mulga Bore Hard Rock and James Range Band. Each group will receive two years of financial assistance, personalised career development and music industry services, after Bush Music Fund secured over $60K in donations via crowdfunding in its inaugural year, to help remove the barriers that artists living in remote areas face in building sustainable music careers.

Bush Music Fund distributes support to First Nations artists and their representatives through three tiered categories of financial assistance and services: “new artist”, “emerging artist”, and “established artist”. Each grant varies in amount from $10,000 to $30,000, to provide substantial and intentional support across areas of education, equipment, mentoring, touring and management.

More Info About the Bands & BMF’s Impact

From traditional roots of top end saltwater rock, “established artist”, Ripple Effect Band is an all-women’s band from Maningrida in Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, forging a sound of their own as the first women from their community to play instruments and make their own band. They receive $30,000 in services across two years and an opportunity to release an album, tour the record, undertake vinyl pressings as a start. The band’s most recently released single, “Loving and Caring”, received a video treatment following the grant announcement – see here.

Six-piece teenage band of family members from the remote central Australian desert community of Akaye, Mulga Bore Hard Rock are this year’s “emerging artist” who bring their style of glam-rock to eyes and ears, thanks to Bush Music Fund. Also receiving a two-year $30,000 partnership, Bush Music Fund is providing the band pathways for two music videos, an album release and performances across the country.

Meanwhile, James Range Band are a proud family band from the Pitjantjatjara community of Utju with stories to share about family, culture and community – and are this year’s “new artist”, receiving a $10,000 grant across two years, and multiple opportunities to jump in the studio for songwriting sessions with other artists, gear upgrades and more.

Bush Music Fund encourages artists to develop their own career plan while working alongside them, before uniting industry stakeholders around the artist to achieve their designed goals. As a conduit between artists, their family, community and the wider Australian contemporary music industry, Bush Music Fund is a registered charity with DGR status. It seeks to empower, nurture and foster collaboration between First Nations musicians living in remote areas, to ensure their voices are heard, celebrated and their opportunities to reach their music goals are maximised.

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James Range Band

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Testimonials:

Co-Founder of Bush Music Fund, Jack Parsons says: “The concept of Bush Music Fund grew from first hand experience seeing, hearing and meeting amazing bands from remote communities. The gap between the services, infrastructure and opportunities afforded to musicians from or near to the city compared with musicians from remote and outer regional areas is significant. There is a power in the storytelling, the collaboration and the cultural exchange which celebrates people, place and culture. Those things are important for all Australians to see and understand. Working alongside artists from remote areas to help them to overcome the barriers they face to the industry is a worthy cause and will contribute to the Australian music industry representing and recognising all of the music created in Australia.”

Co-Founder of Bush Music Fund Arian Pearson says: “The Bush Music Fund is an important initiative because it enables artists in remote areas to access financial aid, mentoring, and opportunities for creative development. By supporting these musicians, the fund helps preserve local music traditions and fosters overall growth.”

Ripple Effect Band member Jodie Kell says: “As a band based in a remote community, it is so difficult to network, develop relationships or pick up opportunities in the music industry. We miss out on a lot. Bush Music Fund has been able to use their networks to build an amazing team to support the release of our album and touring. They listen to us and work respectfully behind the scenes to create opportunities so that we are on equal terms to other artists based in the city or regional centres.”

Ripple Effect Band member Patricia Gibson says: “Bush Music Fund are helping us and supporting our manager to promote our music so we can live in our home community and spend time on Country but share our music, language and culture across Australia.”

Mulga Bore Hard Rock member Alvin Manfong says: “We are really lucky to be chosen by Bush Music Fund to help us get our songs out to the world. They helped us by finding money to record our album in Melbourne at a really cool rock’n’roll studio Hot House!”

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Alongside grant giving and advocacy, Bush Music Fund fosters its unique relationships with industry partners and major stakeholders to advocate for the consideration of First Nations musicians from remote areas on Australia’s major touring and festival circuits.

The fund collaborates with like-minded brands, organisations and musicians to co-present events and projects which further platform artists within the fund. Increased opportunities to tour and record fosters cultural exchange and learning through music among a wider range of music industry participants.

Bush Music Fund team is founded by Directors of Music NT board member, head studio engineer of the Mulka Project and co-founding member of band, East Journey, Arian Pearson; as well as Managing Director across Bolster Group, Aeroplane Agency and Going North Agency, James Clake, who is also co-founder of grassroots regional music programs Up The Guts, Small Town Big Sound and Guts Touring.

Adding to the team’s core is Bad Apples Music co-founder Coco Eke, with experience in managing artists and running a record label; Melbourne-based barrister Greer Boe, who works predominantly in criminal defence on the east coast of Australia as well as in coronial inquest and royal commission work in the Northern Territory.

Additionally, Jack Parsons who co-founded Guts Touring, and member of Independent Melbourne band The Pretty Littles; alongside cultural leader, artist, and one of the Butchulla Songmen with Aboriginal, Tongan and South-Sea Islander roots, Fred Leone. A touring artist for over a decade alongside Public Enemy, Dead Prez and People Under The Stairs, Leone has collaborated with artists such as John Butler, Xavier Rudd, Amanda Palmer, Neil Gaiman and many more.

As an organisation dedicated to achieving social change and cultural resilience through positive pathways and participation, Bush Music Fund encourages industry partners to reach out to collaborate, and for the sector to back Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander musicians and bands from remote communities, by donating to the Fund.

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More info on BUSH MUSIC FUND here

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Follow BUSH MUSIC FUND
Website – Instagram – Facebook – Kickstarter

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AMNPLIFY – DB