Can I start this piece by being totally up front – you won't find a bigger lover of noisy, outdoor live music events than me (so put another coin in the jukebox baby).
Over the past 25 years, I've had the privilege of playing a lead role (together with a great team) in the delivery of some hugely complex, crowded outdoor events. These included a massive tri-service military event on Lake Burley Griffin to mark the 75th anniversary of the end of the War in the Pacific; the Beijing Olympic Torch Relay, which involved large protests and a large police presence in the national capital; the Australian of the Year awards (multiple times) on the lawns of Parliament House in the presence of the prime minister and crowds of 20,000-plus; and a career highlight, the year-long celebration of the centenary of Canberra in 2013. All of these events had a few things in common: huge crowds, massive logistical challenges, great live music and lots and lots of noise and disruption.
Fabulous live events have been a part of human life for thousands of years and they play a big part in shaping who we are and what we stand for. Long may they continue.
Which brings us to Yours & Owls (Y&O), which has been described in the national media as "the greatest modern success story of the steel city" (Wollongong).
From humble beginnings with small gigs in local bars, Y&O has become a live event phenomenon, attracting some of the country's biggest bands and artists to town at venues ranging from the boggy Stuart Park, to Dalton Park and last year at UOW. Bringing mainly younger crowds to town from across the country, it's been a boon for our tourism and hospitality sector.
Co-founder Ben Tillman keeps a pretty low profile for someone who's making such a big splash around the place and that's the way he likes it. He wants his events and the music to make all the noise.
Ben and the Y&O team run great events. This has been recognised by multiple nominations for the Best Live Music Festival or Event at the National Live Music Awards (they won the Best Live Event of the Year in NSW in 2019).
And those who know the events business know the risks involved: the weather; ticket sales; cost of living pressures; competition from other events. Following Covid an estimated 1300 live music venues and stages across Australia have closed down, and hugely popular music festivals like Bluesfest have been put to bed.
Thankfully Yours & Owls in the Gong lives on.
One big question that remains unanswered, as Y&O looks set to test out its fourth new venue in the first week in March next year: why hasn't Wollongong been able to locate and create an iconic venue that can become a paradise for live music lovers and which we can promote to live event companies across the nation?
With our proximity to six million people in Sydney and surrounds, why shouldn't Wollongong become the new home for Bluesfest and those other struggling music festivals. Is this even included in the new Destination Wollongong tourism strategy currently under development?
Ben Tillman has described the 2025 Y&O venue – including Lang Park and Flagstaff Hill – as "no better festival site in the world" and that may well be the case. But Council admits it's been untested for an event of this scale, the locals who live within one kilometre of the stages have received no notification, the bump in and out will probably mean access to that special part of the city will be impacted for at least seven days.
Put simply, there's a huge leap of faith here for all concerned. This is the first big event under the watch of our new Lord Mayor. For Council staff, they'll be hoping there won't be a repeat of the community criticism that came with the UCI world titles in 2022. In fairness, this event will impact a much smaller footprint of the city but within the event area itself, Y&O 2025 will be much, much bigger in crowd size and infrastructure build.
Is Lang Park and Flagstaff Hill really the long-term answer to our live music venue needs? Time will tell.
What we do know is that the cost to stage an event of this scale – 50 bands (many from overseas) over two days, pretty much on the beach, at an untested venue for something of this scale – is probably unprecedented in terms of risk taking for Y&O and for Wollongong City Council. It will bring in millions in revenue but the costs to put it together are huge (and Wollongong Council will get its fair share as the provider of the venue).
They'll have no problems winning over those – like me – who could think of nothing better than getting sweaty at the gig for an hour or two and then cooling off with a quick dip across the road. It might be harder to convince those locals who are still waiting to hear more about exactly what's planned (other than what they see or hear in the media).
And should Y&O March 2025 be a raging success, would this embolden our new Council to include Lang Park and Flagstaff Hill in the (it will happen one day) total rebuild of the Wollongong Entertainment Centre and Precinct?
For the record, tickets for the event went on sale late October, a formal event application was lodged on Friday, 6 December, and in a statement released on 10 December Council says "this application has not yet been assessed or approved".
Feels like Council is caught between a rock and a hard place. That happens when you have limited venue options and precious little time to dot all the i's and cross all the t's.
It's going to be a busy summer ahead for the event approvals team at Council who are expected to contact locals over the next few weeks to outline exactly what's going to happen.
"As the application has only recently been lodged with Council, it's too early to speculate what event-specific conditions Council may seek to include and what fees would be charged of the organisers," a Council spokesperson said.
