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Soulfest was a music festival held in 2014 featuring Australian and international artists . Venues included Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Auckland. Soulfest's music was solely jazz, hip hop, RnB and neo-soul.
The idea for the festival came from the promoter John Denison, who is the director at International Entertainment Group. [1] He wanted to create a smaller festival with a different feel which would stand out in Australia, focusing on hip hop and neo-soul. [2] Soulfest was first held in October 2014 at variety of popular venues across Australia and New Zealand to much acclaim from both fans and critics. [3]
On 11 May 2015, Soulfest announced its return for its second year. The first artist announcement included the Mary J Blige, Jill Scott, Jhene Aiko, Charlie Wilson,[ ambiguous ] De La Soul, Talib Kweli, Floetry, Eric Benét, Dwele, Daniel Merriweather, Kamasi Washington, Remi, Dj Trey and Thandi Phoenix. The 2015 festival was cancelled due to poor ticket sales. [4]
The 2014 line-up ncluded D'Angelo, Common, Maxwell, Angie Stone, Mos Def, Antony Hamilton, Aloe Blacc, Musiq Soulchild, Leela James, Ms. Murphy, Miracle, Thandi Phoenix, Milan Ring, Nathaniel Willemse, Ngaiire, Bec Laughton, Mark Lowndes, Jordan Rakei, Noah Slee, Gang of Brothers, Darryl Beaton and the D1 Cartel, M-Phazes, Sovereign, Inigo, EMRSN. [5]
Sidney Myer Music Bowl, Victoria Park Broadway, Western Springs Stadium, Riverstage Amphitheatre. [5]
The Big Day Out (BDO) was an annual music festival that was held in five Australian cities: Sydney, Melbourne, Gold Coast, Adelaide, and Perth, as well as Auckland, New Zealand. The festival was held during summer, typically in January of each year but was sometimes held as late as early February in some cities including Perth.
Erica Abi Wright, known professionally as Erykah Badu, is an American singer and songwriter. Influenced by R&B, soul, and hip hop, Badu rose to prominence in the late 1990s when her debut album Baduizm (1997), placed her at the forefront of the neo soul movement, earning her the nickname "Queen of Neo Soul" by music critics.
Neo soul is a genre of popular music. As a term, it was coined by music industry entrepreneur Kedar Massenburg during the late 1990s to market and describe a style of music that emerged from soul and contemporary R&B. Heavily based in soul music, neo soul is distinguished by a less conventional sound than its contemporary R&B counterpart, with incorporated elements ranging from funk, jazz fusion, hip hop, and African music to pop, rock, and electronic music. It has been noted by music writers for its traditional R&B influences, conscious-driven lyrics, and strong female presence.
Australian hip hop traces its origins to the early 1980s and was initially largely inspired by hip hop and other urban musical genres from the United States. As the form matured, Australian hip hop has become a commercially viable style of music that is no longer restricted to the creative underground, with artists such as Onefour, Hilltop Hoods, Kerser and Bliss n Eso and having achieved notable fame. Australian Hip-Hop is still primarily released through independent record labels, which are often owned and operated by the artists themselves. Despite its genesis as an offshoot of American hip-hop, Australian hip hop has developed a distinct personality that reflects its evolution as an Australian musical style. Since the inception of the Australian hip-hop scene, Australian Aboriginals have played a prominent role.
Hilltop Hoods is an Australian hip hop group that formed in 1996 in Blackwood, Adelaide, South Australia. They are regarded as pioneers of the "larrikin-like" style of Australian hip hop. The group was founded by Suffa and Pressure, who were joined by DJ Debris after fellow founder, DJ Next, left in 1999. The group released its first extended play, Back Once Again, in 1997 and have subsequently released eight studio albums, two "restrung" albums and three DVDs.
Floetry were an English R&B duo comprising Marsha Ambrosius and Natalie Stewart. The group recorded two studio albums, one live album, and sold over 1,500,000 records worldwide. Formed in 1997, Floetry started on the performance poetry stage. They have worked with many US musicians and artists including: Jill Scott, Queen Latifah, Michael Jackson, Common, The Roots, Bilal, and more founders of neo soul.
Bliss n Eso are an Australian hip hop trio based in Sydney. They are currently signed to Melbourne record label Illusive Sounds, and are managed and booked by label co-founders Adam Jankie and Matt Gudinski. Bliss n Eso have released seven studio albums which include three number 1 debuts on the ARIA Charts. They have also won two ARIA Awards for Best Urban Release for their 2008 album Flying Colours and for Best Music Video for their 2017 single "Moments". Eso, under his alias Esoterik, released an album entitled "My Astral Plane" in May 2018.
Kid Confucius were an eight-piece Australian band from Sydney, Australia. They formed in 2001 and have since played well over 400 live shows around the country, including major festivals as well as their own headline shows at venues such as The Annandale Hotel and The Metro Theatre. In 2005 the band released a self-titled album and two singles "Words" and "Skintight." The album, a mish-mash of soul, hip-hop, pop and funk, received great critical acclaim, most notably from Rolling Stone who hailed the album as one of the standout local releases of the year. "Words" also enjoyed some solid months of radio and TV play. The band released its second album Stripes in 2007 with three singles "Closer", "Last Straw" and "Moment". Stripes was the band's attempt at making a Detroit-era Motown soul album and it was quick to earn rave reviews from press around the country as well as a publishing deal with Mushroom. "Moment" has enjoyed good radio play on triple j. Kid Confucius is set to release its third album in October 2008. The first single from this album, "Good Luck", is out now.
The Funkoars are an Australian hip hop act from Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. The group is part of the Certified Wise crew of hip hop artists from South Australia, who also collaborated on various recordings. Despite being on hiatus since 2016, Funkoars are still rostered to Golden Era Records.
Elefant Traks is a record label based in Sydney, Australia, that predominantly releases Australian hip hop music. The label is distributed in Australia by Inertia Distribution.
Tim Levinson, better known by the stage name Urthboy, is an Australian hip hop MC and producer from New South Wales. He is widely known for his solo music under the moniker Urthboy, as a founding member of the hip-hop group The Herd, and for co-founding and managing the Elefant Traks record label. Levinson has released six solo albums: Distant Sense of Random Menace (2004), The Signal (2007), Spitshine (2009), Smokey's Haunt (2012), The Past Beats Inside Me Like a Second Heartbeat (2016) and Savour (2023) ; as well as five studio albums with The Herd.
Adam Briggs, who performs as Briggs and self-describes as Senator Briggs, is an Aboriginal Australian rapper, record label owner, comedy writer, actor, and author. Briggs became well known as a "solo rapper", signing with Golden Era Records in 2009, before co-founding the hip hop duo A.B. Original in 2016.
Nathaniel Willemse, often known simply as Nathaniel, is a South African-born Australian singer and songwriter most notable for being the eighth contestant eliminated on the fourth season of The X Factor Australia. In 2013, he signed a recording contract with DNA Songs' label through Sony Music Australia, and released the single "You", which peaked at number four on the ARIA Singles Chart.
Takudzwa Victoria Rosa "Tkay" Maidza is a Zimbabwean-born Australian singer-songwriter and rapper.
Zindzi Okenyo is a television and theatre actress and musician from Sydney. A graduate of the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA), she is a presenter on Play School, and performs music professionally under the stage name Okenyo. She is best known for the song "Woman's World", from her debut EP album, The Wave.
The South Australian Music Awards, also known as SA Music Awards, commonly SAM Awards, formerly Fowler's Live Music Awards (FLMA), are annual awards that exist to recognise, promote and celebrate excellence in the South Australian contemporary music industry. They take place in Adelaide, South Australia every November. The venue has varied over the years.
Listen Out is an annual Australian music festival held in Sydney, Perth, Melbourne and Brisbane since September 2013. In 2018, an inaugural alternative version of Listen Out, titled Listen In took place in South Australia and New Zealand. The standard festival is held from late September to early October. Each Listen Out concert is a one-day event attracting both domestic and international hip-hop, indie, and electronic musicians. Listen Out uses three stages; Atari stage, 909 stage and Third base.
Harvest was an annual music festival held in major cities around Australia. The festival was created in 2011 by Soundwave Touring, the same team behind the heavier Soundwave Festival, as a festival to showcase the bands of lighter genres that didn't fit into the Soundwave lineup. The festival also promoted art installations, performers and all events were held in garden styled locations. The lineup featured international and Australian music acts, from various genres including alternative rock, indie rock, indie folk and shoe-gaze. The festival has been headlined by Portishead, Beck, Sigur Rós and The Flaming Lips.
The National Live Music Awards of 2016 are the inaugural National Live Music Awards. The event took place on 29 November 2016.
One Day are an Australian hip hop collective consisting of Horrorshow, Spit Syndicate, Jackie Onassis and Joyride. The collective have released one studio album which peaked at number 2 on the Australian charts.
