The Australian Hotels Association NSW is set to host its Rockin’ the Puburbs band comp final at the iconic Selina’s at the Coogee Bay Hotel on 23 February.

The AHA says that as music venues continue to re-build post-pandemic, the local pub has a strong role to play to support the resurgence of Australia's live music industry.

“We felt it was important this year to make sure that the connection between live music and local pubs played an important role in the campaign,” AHA NSW Director Liquor and Policing John Green said.

“In past years the competition has been mostly online but post-pandemic, it’s never been more important to support our live music industry in every way possible. One of the best ways to do that is with boots on the ground – turning up at gigs. So for us, it made sense to do this live and what better place than Selina’s which has been showcasing some of the country’s best live music acts for decades.”

The AHA received hundreds of submissions and judges have now selected five finalists to compete in the live grand final event.  

Finalists include: 

  • Dande and The Lion (pictured above)– Manly, NSW
  • Jamie Lindsay – Central Coast, NSW
  • LamBros. – Northern Beaches, NSW
  • Roar Sky Harvey – Marrickville, NSW
  • Wicked Things – Sydney Inner West, NSW

“We have been thrilled by the level of talent and diversity of our Rockin’ the Puburbs entrants,” Green said. “These five finalists represent a number of musical genres from indie to country, rock, and folk. While these are very different styles of performance, they are a perfect representation of the  diversity of music found in pubs right across NSW.”

The five finalists will compete at the Rockin’ the Puburbs Grand Final event to be held at Selina’s – Coogee Bay Hotel, from 7pm on Thursday, 23 February. Judges includes The Hon. John Graham MLC and 24-Hour Economy Commissioner Michael Rodrigues, among others.

The winner will take home a $15,000 prize package, including an East Coast pub tour, dedicated tour publicist and cash. 

Limited free tickets for the Grand Final are available here.

Photo of Dande & The Lion by Craig Wilson – Swamphouse Photography.

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