Eleven young acts take the stage and all of them get paid

ELEVEN young acts from across Bass Coast will take a professionally equipped stage in Wonthaggi on Sunday for the first Breakthrough Youth Music Festival and every one of them will be paid.

The free festival runs from midday to 4pm at the YES Youth Hub, with solo performers, singer-songwriters and young bands playing across four hours alongside food and coffee.

It has been created and organised by GRCS Music School, but studio director Tom Green said the point was to build something that reached well beyond his own students.

Applications were opened to any young musician in the region regardless of where they learn, who teaches them or whether they have any connection to GRCS at all.

“We didn’t want to create another school concert,” Mr Green said.

“You don’t need to be a GRCS student. You might learn somewhere else, play in a band with your mates, write songs at home or just love getting on stage.”

Performers will have live sound and backline, and every selected musician is being paid a fee for their set.

Mr Green said that was deliberate.

“Young musicians are musicians,” he said.

“They’ve rehearsed, prepared their sets and they’re getting up there to entertain an audience. We think that deserves to be valued.

“For some of these performers, this could be the first time they’ve ever been paid to play music.”

The audience pays nothing, with the event free and non-ticketed so people can drop in at any point through the afternoon.

Anglicare Victoria has provided the financial backing to get the festival off the ground and the YES Youth Hub is providing the venue, with local businesses and community supporters also chipping in to keep it free for the public while the performers are still paid.

GRCS works with hundreds of young musicians across Bass Coast through its studios and school programs, and Mr Green said the school’s job should not stop at the end of a lesson.

“We can teach someone to sing, play guitar, piano or drums, but young musicians also need somewhere to actually be musicians,” he said.

“They need stages. They need audiences. They need other musicians around them.”

He said the aim was to help young players meet each other, form bands and find a way into the region’s live music scene.

“Just come down, enjoy some live music and get behind these young artists,” Mr Green said.

“We have some seriously talented young people in this region.”

The Breakthrough Youth Music Festival is at the YES Youth Hub in Wonthaggi on Sunday September 20 from midday to 4pm.