THE Triple J content director said his focus was ensuring Mount Isa was “the star of the show” for One Night Stand on Saturday. Part of that would be selling the story of the town to listeners across the nation.
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Ollie Wards said there were challenges in making it a great event. The distance, the time fitting it in between Triple J’s regular broadcast schedule, and bringing in the artists that had to fit the event in with their regular shows all needed to be considered.
“This is a good challenge; actually telling quite a full story about the town. We don’t want to just fly in, put the music on, and fly out.
“We genuinely want to put it on the map,” he said.
“What we (Triple J) get out of it is we have the opportunity to raise a regional town to the top of the platform and make it the star of the show, even if for a short time.”
Triple J Hack had also published three stories on three local topics; lead poisoning, the rodeo, and youth.
Another challenge was getting the artists “killing it” in the music industry to perform in Mount Isa. It was not easy in the case of Tash Sultana. “She has got a sold out Sydney show on Sunday,” said Mr Wards. “She’s on the flight out with the security the next morning (after One Night Stand). It’s a big journey.”
The content director predicts 10,000 people to attend the Mount Isa One Night Stand. He expects attendees will gather from across North West Queensland and even from across the state. Mr Wards has had listeners from NSW and Victoria confirming their attendance.
But attracting an audience for a mega-sized show was not what defined a great One Night Stand. The 2011 event in Tumby Bay, South Australia, only had several thousand people.
“It was awesome, but that’s part of the charm of it. It’s a unique community event that isn’t about a major 50,000 to 100,000 people,” Mr Wards said. “We expect a lot of young people to come along.
“It’s drug and alcohol free so it’s really family friendly.”
One Night Stand is held at Tony White Oval on Saturday. Gates open at 4pm.
Triple J Unearthed winner Lucky Luke performs at 5.05pm. San Cisco is on stage at 5.40pm, Tash Sultana is scheduled for 6.50pm, The Smith Street Band perform 8pm, and Thundamentals start their act at 9.05pm. The event finishes at 10pm.