The Farmer & The Owl festival in MacCabe Park next year is a bit of an “experiment”, according to co-curator Ben Tillman.
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Part of the Yours & Owls team, Tillman is also linked to the Farmer & The Owl label – a partnership with Jeb Taylor from Music Farmers.
Now they’ve announced a Farmer & The Owl festival in March, featuring bands chosen by themselves and acts on the record label.
There was a more personal approach to filling out the bill when compared to the established Yours & Owls festival.
Tillman said they had to keep in mind the popularity of bands, how many people they would pull in and the level of airplay when booking Yours & Owls.
That was less important for the Farmer & The Owl gig.
READ MORE: Photos take you front row at Yours & Owls
“This one we’re seeing it as more of an experiment,” Tillman said.
“We're programming acts purely on their merits as a musician and we’re not factoring in all those other things; how many tickets is that band going to sell, how much radio play is that band getting.
“It’s more, ‘do we like this band, yes or no?’.”
While most of the line-up includes younger bands, there are also some older guys – like Dinosaur Jr’s J Mascis and the Ed Kuepper-fronted The Aints.
Tillman said the line-up was about the music rather than age.
“We’re not targeting young people or 18-24 year-old, we’re targeting music lovers, people who like music,” he said.
“I don’t think that necessarily has to have an age demographic, because good bands will stand the test of time.”
- Tickets go on sale next week. For full details on the band line-up visit the Illawarra Mercury website.