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Speakers
A.Girl
A.GIRL is one of the first artists born this century to make a confident mark where r&b meets hip hop and soul with her effortless vocal flow and soulful sing-rap style. A.GIRL is the family nickname given to this 22 year old artist - real name Hinenuiterangi Tairua. After the release of just three tracks she won Next Big Thing at the FBi Awards, won triple j Unearthed’s festival slot at Listen Out, was tipped as a rising star by UK’s Wonderland Mag and “one to watch” by Ticketmaster. Raised in Western Sydney, A.GIRL calls Australia home but the connection to her family’s Maori homeland of Te Hapua in New Zealand runs deep. A.GIRL’s sound is rooted in r&b and soul with an effortless vocal flow and sing-rap style. More recently she has flexed her rap skills with acclaimed feature performances on triple j’s LIKE A VERSION, triple j’s Bars Of Steel, and Red Bull 64 Bars which solidified herself as an MC with a unifying message. A.GIRL has just dropped her latest track with a drill-flavoured sound. ‘We Them Boyz’ featuring Jaecy, cements her in the hip hop lane where she proves drill isn’t just a man’s game and is not intimidated to edge on their turf with a cheeky wink. Barely any female artists are represented in this sub-genre. A.GIRL wanted to change that. She is deliberately challenging the idea of what it means to be “one of the boys”. The track comes after a promising start to 2021. A.GIRL sold out her first headline gig back in May at Sydney’s Oxford Art Factory. The most recent lock-down halted confirmed performances with Masked Wolf, Chillinit, and Youngn Lipz. She was added as the only female artist on these lineups. A.GIRL is truly entwining herself in the AUS hip hop fabric and is here to stay
Alinde Bierhuizen
Alinde is a Dutch Public Historian, living and working in Sydney on Gadigal and Darug land. She is the Curator at Fairfield City Museum & Gallery and a member of the Professional Historians Association NSW & ACT’s executive committee. Alinde approaches history making as a collaborative practice and focuses on community engagement and multi-disciplinary projects. In 2020 she curated the exhibition Travelling Sounds. The exhibition explored the historic and contemporary connections between music and migration in western Sydney and amplified the voices of young artists with a migrant background. In 2021 Travelling Sounds won the industry Imagine Award for best museum exhibition in the state of NSW.
Andrew Levins
Andrew Levins has been a DJ since he was a teenager, and a food writer for almost as long. He cut his teeth as one of the inaugural DJs on FBi radio, plays most major Australian music festivals and hosts the longest-running hip-hop night in Sydney. In 2007 he co-founded the youth music charity Heaps Decent (with Diplo and Nina Las Vegas), and in 2009 he was named one of Sydney’s 100 Most Influential People by the Sydney Morning Herald. Since then he’s had two kids, run a successful restaurant, released a cookbook and started no less than five podcasts.
Andrew Yee
Andrew Yee is a content creator who specialises in covering artists both locally and across Asia. Yee currently works as a lead editor for Lifewithoutandy's Mad Love section, producer at EST Media, cultural consultant at Netflix, and contributes to several online publications. In his career, Yee has conducted Australian exclusive interviews with Eric Nam, Kang Daniel, Yerin Baek and much more. Yee will usually be at any Sydney restaurant from Haymarket to Eastwood when he's not typing on his laptop or sending out emails.
Anthony Zaccaria
Anthony Zaccaria is the co-founder of Linktree, the link-in-bio category creator enabling creators, brands, artists, publishers, agencies, and businesses of all sizes to curate an online ecosystem, engage with their audience and monetise their passion. Founded in 2016 and the first of its kind, Linktree is utilised by more than 25 million users globally including TikTok, Selena Gomez, Red Bull, Alicia Keys, Facebook, the Los Angeles Clippers, Jessica Alba, Comedy Central and HBO. Juggling his twin toddler boys on the home front, Anthony also co-founded Australia's leading music and entertainment specialist digital agency, Bolster, and content platform LNWY.CO. Prior to Linktree and Bolster, Anthony was an artist manager and worked across agencies and media including Native Digital and The Sound Alliance, and was revealed to be the man behind an anonymous sandwich delivery hotline taking inner Sydney by storm in the late 2000s.
Avneesha Martins
Avneesha is the key to unlocking all the weird and wonderful things living online right now. Join her at 3pm weekdays to catch all the comedy, characters and chat you can handle! Not your traditional R&B artist, Avneesha Martins is an actress, singer-songwriter and radio presenter. Having created her TikTok account just over two years ago, Avneesha has now amassed over 1.7 million followers on the platform. Showcasing her unique comedy sketches and original music, fans have embraced her quirky personality and creative flair. Avneesha has also had the chance to co-host the TikTok Trending show on iHeartRadio, presenting alongside G Flip, Isaiah Firebrace and Tannar.
B WISE
South-West Sydney's B Wise stands at the forefront of a new cultural movement. His 2018 debut album 'Area Famous' has been described as a landmark record; a moment when the Australian rap scene shifted, expanded, opened up. It won him FBi Radio's 'Record Of The Year' making him the first rap recipient to take out the main category. Plus also going on to win 'Best Independent Hip Hop Record' at the 2019 Australian Independent Recording Awards. His 2021 sophomore album ‘Jamie’ wen’t on to also receive critical acclaim earning him his first Aria Nomination for 'Best Hip Hop Release'. The album was the follow up we had all anticipated displaying his growth as a song writer and ability to unify the Australian scene with a star studded list of collaborators, from ONEFOUR, Sampa The Great to Kojey Radical. In the years leading up to these acclaimed releases, the Nigerian-Australian artist released a string of genre defining singles which showcased storytelling skills far beyond his years, which were embraced by the likes of Complex UK, Rap Nation,Hot 97 host Ebro and triple j (Australia's biggest youth radio network). His catalogue currently has over 28 million streams and counting across services. B Wise's intensely energetic performances have seen him go on to play some of the biggest festivals such as Splendour in the grass, Falls Festival, Listen Out/In and more + international supports such as Jay Rock, Schoolboy Q Vince Staples, G-Eazy, Yelawolf, Freddie Gibbs & More.
Bianca Beers
Bianca Beers is an artist, designer and creator from Western Sydney. Having launched her career in late 2017, Bianca has since caught the attention of major on-going clients such as Nike, Adobe, Sony and Puma. Bold and colourful, Bianca’s work aims to create community & uplift others by bringing colour, joy & meaning to the spaces she and her works occupy.
Chebbo
"Chebbo is an accounting student turned burger extraordinaire, leaning into his passion for food and hospitality to take the leap from his corporate accounting job and start his own burger pop up that would soon take Sydney by storm. In the pursuit of community creation and brand awareness, he begun his TikTok channel a month after founding Chebbo's and now says it's the best decision he ever made. Amassing hundreds of thousands of followers across the globe, landing partnerships, brand deals and taking his business to new levels - the 'TikTok effect' has really manifested itself through his story. "
Chelsea Warner
A meticulous songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist, for her own artist project and for others, Chelsea Warner fuses slick beats with clever lyricism from Sydney, Australia. She is cultivating her own lane of conscious alt-R&B, exploring self, girlhood and growth in amongst navigating the odd existential crisis. Her project has received grassroots support from Triple J Unearthed, FBi Radio, MTV Australia, TikTok Australia & Spotify Australia. Chelsea has co-written/featured on tracks by Urthboy and Nardean, and on Roman Kouder’s (Island Records France) EP ‘Real’. Fast becoming a staple of the Sydney R&B/Pop scene, in the last 12 months she has had 20+ production cuts, with credits on songs by acts such as Anieszka, ANGE, and Gemma Navarrete, as well as an official remix of Liyah Knight’s ‘Threads’. Both her one-woman and band-backed live shows have seen her support many artists live, including JOY., Vetta Borne and Stevan. In early 2022 Chelsea was a finalist in the Hip Hop/Rap/R&B/Soul category of the APRA Professional Development Awards. She is now currently crafting her next releases, as well as working with other artists via production, arranging and co-writing. In 2022 she has also joined the brand new Production roster at Studios 301. With sky high ambition and a vision to enliven and spearhead the Australian R&B wave, 2022 is set to be a big year for Chelsea. Praise for Chelsea Warner: “The production is classy and slick as I've come to expect from Chelsea's tracks already. And then the vibes - oh, damn, so legit!”. Dave Ruby Howe, triple j “Enjoying this first serving from Chelsea and milan ring fans might find something here!” Declan Byrne, triple j “With a single like How Come You Don't Pick Up Your Phone behind her, it's clear that Chelsea Warner is on the cusp of something special. She's excited to show the world her strengths in songwriting and with a debut EP teasingly on the way, it sounds like this will be Chelsea's year.” Pilerats Future Mag Music ‘Future Focus’, April 2020 “Relatable teenage (OK, not just teen) angst given a polished, mature treatment. Impressive first upload Chelsea!” Dorothy Markek, Double j
Chris Hancock
With over 20 years experience in the creative industry in a variety of roles – musician, music producer, DJ, radio presenter, label manager, promoter, venue operator and teacher – Chris Hancock is an artist, a content curator and a community builder. The Artist – Chris is prolific and has released numerous records in a variety of genres such as beats, bass music, dub techno, ambient and new age. Beyond releasing records, Chris has also produced audio for numerous art installations and multimedia collaborative works. Music Producer – Chris has worked for over a decade as a recording, mixing and mastering engineer. Firstly, in house at Megaphon Studios, secondly at Music Feeds Studio, and then freelancing from a range of studios. During this time, Chris has recorded, mixed and mastered many records spanning the genres of folk, rock, pop, jazz, classical and ambient. The Content Curator – Chris has over 7 years experience in radio programming. He has created and presented specialist beats and bass music shows for FBI and 2SER in Sydney, as well as recording and creating content for Radio National. The Community Builder – Chris’s community building work can be seen in his co-founding and founding roles in record labels such Elefant Traks, The Frequency Lab & Lo Fi Spiritual. He is also a co-founder of the vibrant community art space Knot Gallery, and its more recent incarnation 107 Projects. Educator – Beyond creating venues and spaces for creative, Chris has always loved sharing his knowledge of production and currently is a lecturer in audio at SAE Creative Media Institute, Sydney.
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Clarissa Mei
Clarissa Mei is a producer / artist on Darug Country, Western Sydney, she has a signature production style nostalgic of 90s neo-soul with a hint of future R’n’B. Her euphony is honest, empowering and invoking reflections relevant to the realities of twenty-somethings in the new millenia.
Clinton Schultz
Dr Clinton Schultz is a Gamilaraay man and registered psychologist with a keen interest in holistic wellness. A natural self-starter, Clinton is always looking for new ways to make a positive difference in people’s lives. He is a father of three active boys and runs Sobah Beverages alongside his wife, Lozen. In 2018, Clinton won Griffith University's Most Outstanding First Nations Alumnus Award. Clinton was awarded the 2019 IAHA (Indigenous Allied Health Australia) Health Professional of the Year, and in 2020, he obtained his PhD and was awarded the Chancellor's Medal for PhD Excellence. Until recently, Clinton was Assistant Professor with Bond University Medical School. He now focuses his time as Director of Marumali Consultations and Sobah Beverages. Clinton's experience as a chef, knowledge of Australian native food and passion for First Nation's culture and health is the driving force of Sobah. Previously Clinton has acted as a Vice Chair for the Australian Indigenous Psychologists Association (AIPA) and he currently sits on several state and national advisory groups. Clinton specialises in providing Employee Psychological Services (EPS) and Employee Assistance Program (EAP) services for Aboriginal workers, men’s well-being, cultural competence auditing and training, cross-cultural psychological and business management services, and Aboriginal focused mentoring and supervision. Naturally competitive and active, Clinton spends his spare time surfing, rock climbing, riding motorbikes, and competing in ninja warrior competitions.
Dibz Baby
My name is Dibz, I’m 34 years old and I first created my dibzbaby platform on TikTok in December 2019. I’m a proud gay male who's been happily married to my beautiful husband for years, and we have a gorgeous 6 year old daughter who is our pride and joy. When searching through any social media I always struggled to find Australian rainbow families, which was probably the main reason I created my platform. I wanted to show the younger generation in my community that no matter who you love, anything is possible and having a family is never off the cards. I’m a family vlogger who loves to capture my day to day, to show everyone that just because we love the same gender we are no different to anyone else. I wanted to break the stigma around same sex couples having children and show that we are just like any other family. Since joining TikTok my life has changed dramatically! Not only have I found an accepting and loving community filled with amazing people I now call family, it's also helped launch my career in ways I never expected. I’ve been in multiple news articles, a TV commercial, walked Mardi Gras on the TikTok Australia float and I was able to start my own company. If someone asks what my next 5 years were to look like, I would hope that I'm doing the exact same thing I am now. I love what I’m doing and am so grateful to TikTok for all the opportunities they have provided to me.
Doron Losky
Doron Losky is the Programming & Marketing Assistant at MusicNSW. He works across programs such as Feedback and Sound Advice. Doron is also the artist manager for dameeeela and Ashli. He currently produces The Playlist every Friday on FBi Radio.
Dylan Alcott AO (NEC AMbassador)
Golden Slam Winning Tennis Player and 2022 Australian of the Year The current recipient of Australian of the Year 2022, and with 23 quad wheelchair Grand Slam titles Dylan Alcott recently became the first male in history, in any form of tennis, to win the Golden Slam. Dylan was born with a tumour wrapped around his spinal cord, but that hasn’t stopped him becoming one of Australia’s best known and successful sportpeople and media personalities. The tumour was cut out when he was a couple of days old, and as a result, Dylan has been in a wheelchair his entire life. Despite that challenge, Dylan has been able to successfully compete in basketball and wheelchair tennis, becoming one of the world’s most talented and celebrated athletes. In 2021, he became the first man to complete the Golden Slam; Dylan won Wimbledon and the French, US, and Australian Opens, alongside Gold at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics - an extraordinary achievement that is demonstrative of what a remarkable athlete he is. Dylan was not only a champion Wheelchair Tennis player he was also a talented basketballer and became the youngest ever Wheelchair Basketball gold medallist in 2008 when he won gold at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics. Dylan received an order of Australia medal in 2009 at age 18 and is currently an ambassador for Variety and The Starlight Foundation. He also holds a Bachelor of Commerce from The University of Melbourne. Dylan leads the Melbourne-based Dylan Alcott Foundation; an organisation committed to helping young people with disabilities overcome the barriers of entry to sport and education by providing fundraising for grants, scholarships, and mentoring. Following their victory at Beijing 2008, The Rollers won the 2010 FIBA world championship. They became the first Australian basketball team to ever achieve this title. Alcott was selected in the World All Star 5, proving he was the strongest player in his position in the world. In 2012, he returned from the London Paralympic Games with a silver medal. 2013 saw Dylan resume his tennis career. He was granted a wild card into the 2014 Australian Open and eventually reached the semi-final. The following year, Dylan clinched the victory at the Australian Open, securing his first ever grand slam title. In late 2014, Dylan broke the world record playing wheelchair tennis for 24 consecutive hours without a break. He set the new world record and raised $100,000 for two charities – The Starlight Foundation and Variety. Though equally important to Dylan is social change; he is a passionate motivational speaker, and his inspirational storytelling instils an extremely moving sentiment in his audiences. Dylan is always seeking to correct the perceptions of the disabled community; he fosters respect and awareness in audiences he speaks before and seeks to share his story and inspire others to be the best versions of themselves. He is a frequent guest on a handful of radio and television stations across Australia. He is also a national athlete spokesperson for the Australian Paralympic committee. Dylan is also world renowned for his wheelchair crowd surfing at music festivals and rapping on stage with the Wu Tang Clan’s Ghostface Killah at Meredith Music Festival.
Flex Mami
Ghanaian-Australian Lillian Ahenkan (aka Flex Mami) is a multidisciplinary millennial making waves in the Australian entertainment industry. She’s an entrepreneur, author, DJ, TV presenter, model, speaker, social commentator, media influencer and podcaster. Passionate about bringing conversations surrounding identity, intersectionality and mental health to mainstream environments, she’s the CEO and Founder of the conversation card game ReFlex, which does just that. She aims to ensure everyone has the necessary tools and agency to glow up and be their best self. Whatever that looks like for them. Flex is known for her playful, thoughtful, empowering posts that are full of confidence, modern wisdom and a powerful message of self-belief.
Fonzie Gomez
Fonzie Gomez is an Australian TikTok star, famous for interviewing the most successful people in the world. With over 1.5 million followers and averaging 30 million views each month, Fonzie is a master in social media video production, and with his team, he producers all of his content.
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Fred Schebesta
Fred Schebesta is an Australian-born entrepreneur, cryptocurrency expert and early stage investor, who founded global fintech Finder, now worth over half a billion dollars. With 23 years experience in building businesses, Fred is a futurist with an obsession for hyper success, passionate about disruptive innovation and inspiring others through sharing his successes and learnings as a mentor, international speaker, media commentator and author. His first published book, "Go Live! 10 Principles to Launch a Global Empire", was a Number 1 Amazon Best Seller. Fred recently launched blockchain investment fund Hive Empire Capital, and helped launch Balthazar, a DAO platform for NFT gaming.
Govind Sandhu
"With over 10 years experience working with artists in Australia, New Zealand & Internationally, Govind aka ""Gove"" has a proven track record of breaking talent and working with established musicians on multi-touch point campaigns. In his current role at TikTok; Gove focuses on supporting artists whether that's overseeing the onboarding of new talent or helping to boost their music in - app through various content initiatives. Before joining TikTok, Gove headed up the Global Artist Marketing Team for Red Bull Music out of their international headquarters in Salzburg where artists sat front & centre across the brands various content, experiential & industry touchpoints."
Iain Escandor
I have been in the practice of community organising for 12 years. Throughout my practice I developed my skills as a youth worker and program co-ordinator. I now currently work as an adolescent and family counsellor, a sound/guided meditation teacher, events/community development consultant and established music artist. My full-time commitments centre around coordinating arts and community programs for Street University Mt Druitt and as the director for events company, opnsrc.co. To clarify the confusion of my work, the best way to frame it is - my passion and works all centre around the fostering of healthy and fun communities. Hope to work with you in the near future!
Jade Le Flay
Born into a family of DJs it was inevitable that Jade Le Flay would carry on her family's legacy and cement her place in the Australian entertainment industry. Often referred to as the 'Aussie Maya Jama', Jade is a go-to DJ and host when international stars cross waters to Australia and has hosted events for the likes of Rihanna, Future and Anderson Paak to name a few. Her danceable party sets loosely include genres rap, rnb, drill, afro beats and house. In 2020 she launched her 'Only with Jade Le Flay' podcast which boasted 1M views in just under 12 months on YouTube and quickly gained notice from streaming giant Spotify, where she signed an exclusive Spotify Original podcast deal in 2021. Jade also founded a local event called SELECTED where youth culture and cultivating the next generation of DJs is at its core the driving force but also to provide premium party experiences at some of the best venues in Sydney. Global brands JD Sports and Chivas Regal most recently featured Jade in campaigns which launched her even further onto the global radar. Also, Jade has previously featured in campaigns for Hennessy, JD Sports, GUCCI, Nike, Tommy Hilfiger, Rolls Royce, Kenzo, MECCA, MOET, Dom Perignon, MTV and many more. What makes this woman loveable is not only her multi-dimensional array of creative talents including dancing, producing, content creating, podcasting and DJing but her robust efforts and passion to break all boundaries that have previously been set before her by a predominantly male run industry. She believes there's no stopping her and it's very obvious that she won't be slowing down anytime soon!
Jono Harrison
Jono Harrison is the Artist & Label Partnership Lead at Spotify, responsible for building and maintaining relationships with the artist community and their labels, enabling stronger value exchange to ultimately connect audiences and artists, empowering the local creative community. Within his role, Jono has managed a number of successful artist projects including the launch of Tame Impala’s interactive edition of their fourth studio album, ‘The Slow Rush’, and the partnership with Sampa The Great to bring her album, ‘The Return’, to life at Footscray Community Arts Centre in Melbourne. He is also heavily involved in advocating for the First Nations artist community, dedicated to creating more spaces for music by emerging First Nations artists. Prior to Spotify, Jono held a number of roles in music and radio, having worked at Mushroom Group as a Radio & Streaming Manager, promoting Mushroom Group's label and touring acts to Australian radio and streaming services. Prior to this he spent several years at triple j, where he produced the Like A Version segment, was Executive Producer of Breakfast with Matt and Alex, and picked up a 2016 ARIA nomination for their comedy album, 'Play It Out'.
Josh Newport
One of the first hires on the ground for Shopify in Australia, Josh has spent the last 6 years working with the largest & most innovative brands on the platform across Asia-Pacific, including - Culture Kings, JB Hi-Fi, Koala, Youfoodz, Sony, Woolworths, MILKRUN and more. Now operating in the role of Strategic Merchant Lead for the APAC region.
Justin Truong
Justin is the Co-Founder & CEO of PUSHAS: The largest sneaker resale platform in Australia & New Zealand - and has recently expanded to Los Angeles. He was also named Forbes 30 Under 30 for Retail & E-Commerce in 2022.
Kaleena Smith
Kaleena Smith is MusicNSW’s First Nations Development Coordiantor a Wiradjuri/Yorta Yorta women. She has worked, collaborated, and participated with the community (locally, regionally, and nationally) for over 22 years as a songwriter/performer/vocalist. Her role at MusicNSW is to provide direct support to NSW-based First Nations creatives, and connect them to opportunities and resources that will help sustain their music endeavours. I hope to engage artists with pathways, workshops, funding opportunities and mentoring, while expanding their networks with other artists, industry, and community both local and national. By building music industry knowledge, connection, and capacity our mob will be empowered with the know-how to take their careers to the next level.
Katie Brown
Katie Brown is the Artist & Industry Partnerships Lead at Serenade, the eco-friendly music NFT marketplace. She leads the development of music NFT strategies for artists enabling them to generate new, sustainable revenue streams from engaging fan experiences. Katie has over 9 years experience creating and implementing creative artist partnerships in the music industry including roles at major labels Universal Music and Sony music and is passionate about harnessing new technology to nurture the artist-fan relationship.
Keneddy Cherrington
Kwame
Western Sydney rapper, vocalis and producer Kwame made an impression with his 2017 EP Lesson Learned which saw him win triple j Unearthed Artist of the Year and perform at the likes of Splendour in the Grass. Since then he’s garnered streams in the tens of millions, collaborated with some of the countries biggest artists and become one of Australia’s sharpest producers.
Kylie Smith
L-Fresh The Lion
Born & raised in South West Sydney, L-FRESH The LION is one of Australia's most important Hip Hop artists. From live music venues, stadiums & arenas, to the United Nations Headquarters in New York, his music is a powerful statement which speaks of purpose. Known for his unwavering strength, forever rising mentality & his ability to move a crowd, L-FRESH has caught the eyes of many across Australia & the world. It was this energy that inspired the Sydney Kings to choose The LION to pen & perform their team song. 'WE THE KINGS' was performed for the first time in 2019 at Qudos Bank Arena in front of a record-breaking NBL crowd of 17,500+ people. Having always been inspired by his Sikh & Punjabi roots, L-FRESH debuted his anthemic single 'Born To Stand Out' on the MTV Hustle (MTV India) stage for audiences across India. Hungry for more, the show invited him back for the Grand Final episode where he performed fan favourite, '1 in 100,000'. In the time since his ARIA nominated album BECOME was released (2016), L-FRESH The LION has taken his music to the world. He addressed the United Nations Headquarters in New York in late 2018 & was selected as an ambassador for YouTube's Creators for Change global initiative, with his resulting video 'RACI$T / Our World' premiering at the Tribeca TV Festival in New York. Breaking ground & exceeding expectations is a recurring theme of this South West Sydney artist, having performed alongside Hip Hop icons such as Nas, Talib Kweli, Dead Prez, & even the legendary Sir Elton John. Making no exception in 2020, L-FRESH The LION has released his highly anticipated third studio album, SOUTH WEST. A love letter to the place that raised him & continues to inspire him, South West Sydney. Dedicating the album to his 13-year-old self, the record is a collection of lessons FRESH wished he had known as a kid; lessons on how to be confident in yourself & hold pride in your culture. SOUTH WEST sees FRESH at his most honest, penning stories of his experience as a second-generation migrant kid existing between two cultures & the ongoing effects of Australia's inherently racist culture. A personal take on the process of decolonisation, SOUTH WEST is both a listening & a political experience.
Laura Murdoch
Laura is MusicNSW’s Executive Producer and works across all MusicNSW metro, regional, Western Sydney. Laura is a ten-year veteran of the creative event and entertainment media industries with a strong focus on audience engagement and relationship building. In her spare time Laura plays in a bunch of bands.
Laura Ranola (The Western)
Born to two Filipino immigrants in Sydney Australia, Laura spent her formative years working in media from journalism, presenting to advertising. Later on felt a change of heart and began pursuing counselling, now a Drug and Alcohol counsellor for Ted Noff's Foundation, Street University, Mount Druitt. Laura's breadth of experience qualifies her to affect change in the Blacktown LGA. Laura began writing poetry in her first uni degree in journalism and as of late began to write again. After noticing a gap in the media space, Laura began work to give her community the voice they deserved and Launched the online publication ‘The Western’. She has been Nominated as a finalist for Blacktown’s Woman of the year in 2020 and has had work published for UN Youth.
Leila El Rayes
Lionel
"Coming from an events management background, the transition into the music industry was almost inevitable for Lionel. The Western Sydney artist/entertainment manager has made a statement within the Australian hip-hop scene through his dedication/ involvement with African Australian artist 'Jaecy' who has recently been making waves across the country. As the current GM of culture specialists/music distribution label 'The Area Movement', the Indian Australian manager has helped multiple artists understand the basics of the music business. From how to find a balance between their art and day to day life to giving them valuable lessons/ development tips that they can learn and apply far beyond music. Lionel is still very actively involved within the events scene (Homebase Sundaze, Parramatta Council event) and also is a full-time employee with Sydney Trains. Sharing knowledge through his experiences is something very close to his heart and he intends to continue building the bridge between community and culture."
Lozen Schultz
Lozen is a former secondary school teacher with a Master of Education in Guidance and Counselling and a Creative Arts Degree with majors in Writing and Theatre. Previously Lozen worked in the hospitality industry and had a successful independent beauty business for 12 years. A mother of three active boys, Lozen manages Sobah Beverages, a business founded alongside her husband, Clinton in 2017. Lozen's key activities in Sobah are operations management, supply chain coordination, sales and marketing.
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Lucinda Price
Lucinda Price is a writer, presenter, comedian and host of CADA’s Drive show, Flex and Froomes. Best-known by her online moniker @frooomes, Lucinda is also the CEO of FROOMESWORLD, an international one-woman business specialising in scripting, producing, presenting and editing original content. She has written for The Guardian, The Sydney Morning Herald, ABC, MTV, Life Without Andy, Monster Children, Cool Accidents and Pedestrian, alongside her weekly newsletter with 10,000 subscribers. Lucinda’s TV credits include ABC’s At Home Alone Together, in a sketch she wrote and edited, Amazon original The Moth Effect, Australia Now and Then, a host on MTV Australia and as a presenter on ABC’s Art Works. She has also written for the 2021 ARIA Awards and ABC’s Question Everything. As an interviewer, Lucinda is known for her cheeky wit and ability to connect and build rapport with people from all walks of life. She’s as comfortable on a red carpet in a pair of Louboutins as she is in a two-dollar shop mullet at SEXPO. Previously ‘The Face’ of PEDESTRIAN.TV, she has an innate understanding of the intersection between youth media and advertising. She’s worked with global brands like Nike, Airbnb and Red Bull, along with Vodka Cruiser. Lucinda has spoken on panels at The Wheeler Centre, Emerging Writers’ Festival, Digital Writers’ Festival and has performed live as part of Giant Dwarf’s Nailed It and Poems for Paws. She’s featured on ABC’s A Rational Fear and is a regular guest on The Friday Shake Up on Triple J. With a passion for taking the piss across multi-platform media, Lucinda is a one-of-a-kind creative powerhouse.
Lucy Chesterton
Before joining TikTok in 2020, Lucy had a long and varied career print, TV, radio and digital media. She held senior positions at Yahoo, the Nine Network and Seven West Media's Pacific Magazines before moving to TikTok, where she is the current Head of Community AUNZ. With storytelling at the heart of all her roles, at TikTok Lucy continues to help showcase diverse voices through initiatives like Every Voice and Mardi Gras.
Luke Cook
Luke Cook (AKA Cookie) is the founder and host of Cuppa.tv! Over the last few years Cookie has interviewed over 350 different experts, personalities and incredible story-tellers around all topics including Mental Health, Indigenous culture, leadership, business, sustainability and much more.
Manny
"Born in Egypt, I moved to Australia when I was 5 years old. I started my music career as an Artist, opening a small music studio in Alexandria, with only 6 rooms. This has now grown and expanded, becoming home to some amazing Artists such as Manu Crooks, Blessed, The Kid Laroi, Bwise and some awesome Producers including Nic Martin, Willie Tafa and Khaled Rohaim. I partnered up with Zig Annor to bridge the gap between the Artists and the Music Industry, creating a successful Management company and eventually a label where we have formed partnerships with some of the Music Industry’s greatest names, Warner and ADA. db.music with Warner and The Area movement with ADA. Through these channels we are releasing music for artists like Day1, Hooligan Hefs, HP boys, Creed Tha Kid, Mason Dane, Kedus, Jaecy and many more. I couldn’t be more excited for the future!"
Marty Doyle
Marty Doyle has had a successful career working with artists, creative communities, brands, festivals and culturally lead organisations such as Red Bull, FBi Radio, Mushroom Music, Inertia Music, Vice, Sydney Festival and Carriageworks. With a career spanning over 15 years, Doyle has built a reputation for producing meaningful work with authenticity and integrity, helping artists reach their full potential, building audiences and communities, forging strong partnerships and leading creative teams to deliver tangible results. Marty is currently the Head of Content at the national youth brand CADA, which is part of the ARN network.
Masked Wolf
Raised on Eminem and 50 Cent, Australian rapper Masked Wolf developed a rap style that paired astute, often personal lyricism with clean production values. He slowly built a listenership with a series of stand-alone tracks, hitting streaming numbers in the multimillions with his 2021 single "Astronaut in the Ocean." The track appeared on his mixtape Astronomical and was followed by collaborations with X Ambassadors, Bebe Rexha, Bring Me the Horizon, and others. Masked Wolf was born Harry Michael and grew up in Sydney. By age 13, he was writing his own rap songs, inspired by favorites like Eminem and Kevin Gates. As he grew up, he discovered other rap influences, and worked some of Drake's cool-headed poise and the sinister atmospheres of American trap production into his songs. Early singles like 2018's "Speed Racer" and 2019's "Vibin" gave way to tracks that addressed topics such as mental health and peer pressure on songs like "Numb." Masked Wolf's fame grew exponentially with the release of "Astronaut in the Ocean" in January 2021. The song quickly accrued more than 75 million streams in under a month. It eventually peaked at number four in Australia and reached number six on the Billboard Hot 100, setting the scene for his music to reach a new level. The song landed on his mixtape Astronomical, which also included collaborations with X Ambassadors and Kevin Gates. Follow-up singles included "It's You, Not Me (Sabotage)" (with Bebe Rexha) and "Just Names (Remix)" (featuring Smokepurpp). "Fallout," a collaboration with Bring Me the Horizon, appeared in 2022.
Matt Vitale
Matt is Co-Founder and Managing Director of Birchal, Australia's leading equity crowdfunding platform. Matt is an experienced financial services lawyer and entrepreneur having worked in private practice at a top tier law firm, and founded several successful businesses. A recognised expert in the regulation of financial services, and crowdfunding, Matt is a regular media commentator and contributes to scholarly journals and industry consultations. Birchal is licensed under Australia’s crowd sourced funding regime. Since 2018, Birchal has helped over 125 Australian businesses raise over $90m from their most passionate customers and fans online. The Australian CSF industry has proved to be a resilient and increasingly popular source of capital for Australian small and medium businesses, even in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Matthew Jens
Through Matthew’s extensive experience as a production manager for music festivals all over Australia, he has developed an exceptional understanding of live events and the people that run them. Constantly keeping himself busy, Matthew is also a state champion Brazilian jiu-jitsu purple belt and runs a coffee roasting company that benefits the Dylan Alcott Foundation - as well as being a cool Dad.
Nardean
Carrying the royal codes of her Egyptian ancestors and the swag of Western Sydney where she grew up, Nardean is an icon rising. She emanates Queen energy while traversing the full spectrum of humanness in her lyricism and musical expression, becoming a powerful representative for young women finding their place in a society that has often oppressed or rejected them. As a consequence of coming to age in a cultural system that could not support the notion of women in music - let alone a genre bending, thought provoking, ass shaking contemporary hip hop artist - Nardean began her musical exploration somewhat late at the age of 22. The clash of the cultures was a monumental shift in her being, but ultimately, it was the catalyst for her awakening. Her music is a saucy amalgamation of hip-hop, neo-soul, drill and RnB. Her 2018 debut record, “Creatress”, occupies this space, and with over 245k streams, it’s safe to say she made conscious awareness ‘cool’. Her artistic expression was amplified with the release of her sophomore EP “THE NEW ERA” and several singles including “aux cord”, which was nominated as FBi Radio’s Song Of The Year, as well as airing on the Beat1 Radio show “The New Australia.” As a performer, Nardean displays an unfiltered humanity that transcendently connected her to the awe struck on-gazers. No matter how complex or cosmic the subject, she radiates understanding, and effortlessly builds authentic connection with her audience. Her waves haven’t gone unnoticed, as Elefant Traks, Niche Productions and Prolific Music Management avidly joined her rise at the start of 2021. Following a period of artistic development utilized during the COVID situation, she guides her team in forging the upgraded edition of Nardean, which will be unveiled in the later stages of 2021. Channeling raw emotion to actualise queen anthems, poetic tenderness and middle finger bangers, Nardean has emerged as an undeniable force at the forefront of the ever changing face of Australian music. This Creatress will challenge your mind, nourish your soul and make you fall in love with life. Are you ready to join her on an inner space odyssey where nothing matters other than what you discover for yourself?
Ninajirachi
Contained in Ninajirachi’s music is all the beauty, mystery, and danger of the natural world. The 22-year-old Central Coast-raised dance producer makes bristling electronic pop and club music that’s glassy, uncanny, and totally enthralling; like stalactites or spiderwebs, each of her songs is structurally impossible but spectacular to behold. A restless innovator and a renowned collaborator, she’s spent her teenage summers making adored, festival-ready pop from the avant-garde fringes, becoming an in-demand producer and one of the first landmark names of Australia’s burgeoning hyperpop scene.
Olympia Henshaw
Olympia Henshaw draws from a wealth of touring, composition, visual design and songwriting experience. Growing up in both Hong Kong and India, Olympia’s sonic pallet and distinct rhythmic textures have forged her path as one of Australia’s most in demand, rising female Producers. A graphic designer/animator (with global powerhouse Canva) by trade, Olympia’s strengths lie in her natural ability to lead and draw incredible performances out of the Artists she collaborates with. Her work consists of award winning film scores, high rotation radio singles, high profile television/film syncs amongst countless song-writing cuts with some of Australia’s most talented up and coming Artists. Olympia is a proud Mentor for APRA’s 2021 Women in Music mentorship program and has participated in multiple International APRA Songhub’s Sessions including London, Korea and LA.
Radovan Klusaseck
Robbie Ferguson
Forbes 30 Under 30, Thiel Fellow. Robbie co-founded Immutable, Australia’s fastest growing technology startup, in 2018 at the age of 21. Immutable is a $2.5 billion NFT platform which has raised more than $300M from Temasek, Tencent, Galaxy Digital, and Coinbase. Robbie previously built an automated capital gains tax platform at KPMG which was licensed to Australia’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. After graduating high school as the equal-highest ranked student in Australia with a perfect ATAR, he became obsessed with Ethereum in 2015, and dropped out of a Computer Science/Law degree at the University of Sydney to found Immutable. He was awarded the Thiel Fellowship in 2020. Robbie believes that future generations will spend most of their waking hours in virtual reality, and wants to ensure the digital worlds they live in are as economically meaningful as the one we currently inhabit.
Sara Tamim
Sara Tamim, hailing from Western Sydney she grew up immersed in the creative world, with interest in telling stories and enabling others to do so. She began performing and writing music at a young age, and graduated from The University of Sydney, with a Bachelor of Arts and Science majoring in Music Composition and History & Philosophy of Science. During her university years she dedicated time to Music Journalism working with The Music Magazine, Channel V, Mountain Sounds, Splendour in the Grass and interviewing acts such as Gang Of Youths, Angus & Julia Stone, Hockey Dad, Skegss, Allday, Amy Shark, Alison Wonderland and many more. During this time she was very active in the Greater Western Sydney region, as a collective member of All Girl Electronic and New Age Noise Collective, the western sydney group championing female identifying, non-binary and gender fluid individuals from the area, which focused on music business, music composing/engineering and creating safe creative spaces. This not only encouraged Sara, but she felt as if she was inspiring her peers and the next generation of artists and creatives from her area through this work. Sara continued in the music industry, working in music management, booking and more journalism before acquiring her position at Universal Music Australia in the publishing / A&R Department in which she worked for three years with the likes of Lime Cordiale, Vera Blue, Alex The Astronaut, Gang Of Youths and more. In November 2021 Sara joined the team at Premium Media and Sound West as Curriculum Manager and Social Media Manager. Sara is overjoyed to be able to utilise her community experience as well as music industry knowledge in this role. Sara also since has started her own Artist Management company, and within a couple of months has already seen tremendous success working with Artist and Creator, Fash, who has over a 5m followers on TikTok alone + many more.
Serwah Attafuah
Serwah Attafuah is a multidisciplinary artist and musician based on Dharug land/West Sydney, Australia. She creates surreal cyber dreamscapes and heavenly wastelands, populated by afro-futuristic abstractions of self with strong ancestral and contemporary themes.
Simon Beard
Simon Beard cofounder of international streetwear empire Culture Kings with his wife from a single weekend Market stall. Building purely bootstrapped growth all the way up to Culture Kings to partial exit at $600M valuation. One of the biggest retail private acquisitions valuations in Australia history. Culture Kings has set the textbook balance of new age of retail with true experienced based theatre driven stores, backed with next level online execution. Now under the new owners AKA Brands in which he sits as a board member and shareholder.
Stewart Geddes
Stewart Geddes is a recording engineer, mix engineer and session drummer originally from Brisbane, Australia. Starting his career by recording local artists at his home studio in Brisbane, Stewart decided to expand his audio knowledge by studying audio engineering and production in 2013. Upon receiving his degree, Stewart continued his work in Brisbane’s music industry as a recording engineer, mix engineer, session drummer & audio lecturer. 2019 saw Stewart relocate from Brisbane down to Sydney for an opportunity to work alongside Studios 301. While in Sydney, Stewart has been able to implement his wide range of pro audio skills in all projects that he is involved with. As an engineer, Stewart has recorded and / or mixed for Delta Goodrem, Nic Pettersen (Northlane), Jesse Beahler (Thy Art Is Murder), Ylona Garcia, A.GIRL, Voli K, Mad3mEmpress, Boomchild, Yawdoesitall, Ray Beadle and more. As an assistant engineer Stewart has worked with A$AP Ferg, Ben Gordon (Parkway Drive), Lime Cordiale, ONEFOUR, Isabella Manfredi (The Preatures), Touch Sensitive, Johnny Manuel, Kirin J. Callinan and many more. The proactive and positive approach that Stewart brings to sessions creates a great environment for all, as he is able to make everyone feel comfortable and at home in the studio. Stewart is excited to be working alongside the Studios 301 team and prides himself on consistently delivering a high standard of audio work to clients.
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Styalz Fuego
Kaelyn Behr (aka Styalz Fuego) is an Australian music producer, songwriter and vocalist based in Melbourne, renowned for his diverse production and songwriting, and most known for his eclectic take on pop, electronic, R&B and K-Pop.
Taryn Williams
Taryn Williams is the smart, vivacious and down to earth CEO and founder of theright.fit and WINK Models. A former model, Taryn has built a reputation as one of Australia’s most prolific entrepreneurs in the tech start-up and media industries.
Taylor Morgan
Best known for her Call Of Duty content, Taylor Morgan has quickly grown her TikTok channel to 715K followers with her gaming related comedy skits. You can also find her streaming COD and a variety of other games most days on Twitch!
The Ultimate Occasion
Adam from The Ultimate Occasion. I’ve grown my business from a small picnic company into an event styling company that does everything from weddings to corporate events! Falling into the entrepreneur lifestyle & loving every minute of it!
Thomas Grainger
Thomas is the Community Marketing Manager for TikTok Australia & New Zealand. Commencing his career in film & television production as a producer,Thomas transitioned into digital marketing, working for the world’s largest cloud based video creation platform, 90 Seconds during the period when the “creator-economy” was taking off. Thomas’ previous role was the Content and Social Account Lead at creative agency The Works, delivering multimedia campaigns for Destination NSW, Business Australia, News Corp and Moet Hennessy. Thomas grew up in Western Sydney and is deeply passionate about diversity of representation on screen, whether this be on television or digital platforms like TikTok. Tomi is also a content creator, who makes mostly transition style videos."
Thuy My Nguyen
Thuy Nguyen has worked within the Australian music industry for just over 10 years across numerous roles ranging from artist management, venue and festival bookings, and now in global music distribution & music services. Since joining The Orchard in 2018, Thuy has been involved in the strategic marketing and pitching behind their local and international roster for Australia and New Zealand. In addition to supporting local artists and labels such as The Jungle Giants, The Lazy Eyes, B Wise, Palms, Rice Is Nice, and UNFD, Thuy has overseen local campaigns for K-Pop artists such as BTS, Stray Kids, CL, DPR IAN, Eric Nam, and more.
Tommy Faith
Executive Producer – triple j Unearthed As an unapologetic music nerd, Tommy Faith’s passion for uncovering and showcasing young Australian music talent is unparalleled. As Executive Producer, he oversees all operations of the Unearthed team and is responsible for bringing major campaigns like Unearthed High, DIY Supergroup, and everything in between to life.
Veronica B
Veronica is a well known comedy creator on TikTok, with over 200,000 followers and 13 million likes across her content. She was recently featured in at the TikTok For You Fest, where she delivered a hilarious 10 minute stand up act live
Xylo Aria
Xylo Aria is an artist, producer and the founder of online learning platform, Music Production for Women (MPW). Through MPW, she is determined to break down barriers women face when approaching music tech by creating a learning pace that is supportive and safe. Since launch in 2019, MPW has taught in excess of 6000 women from over 120 countries, partnered with global brands and earned Xylo a Top 50 East London Innovator of 2020 award and a place on the SheSaidSo top 100 Alt Power list
Yena Kim
Yena Kim, creative A&R manager at Universal Music Publishing Korea is based in Seoul, South Korea. Her lifelong musical backgrounds range playing instruments such as piano, violin and clarinet with majoring Contemporary Writing and Production at Berklee College of Music. It enables her to work with successful writers dedicated to producing various Kpop idol stars. She works as a bridge between songwriters and record labels by pitching demos, holding song camps, song sessions and networking lots of collaborations between local and foreign writers. She has contributed for the releases of Snoop Dogg, Seventeen, Red Velvet, Seventeen, Sunmi, Taeyeon, TWICE, LE SSERAFIM, Kep1er, GOT7, The Boyz, Monsta X, NATTY, Sunnee, IKON, Cravity, Seventeen, Ailee, JAMIE, Forestella, Penthouse Drama and many more.
Zack Alcott
Zack has been the project director for many of GSA’s major clients and projects since the starting of the partnerships in 2017. Since 2018, Zack has managed Australia’s disability inclusive music festival, Ability Fest which aims to use music as an inclusive platform to normalise disability inclusion and has been internationally recognised for its accessibility and disability inclusion. Zack has also managed and supervised the MCG, Tennis Australia/Australian Open, The Australian Formular 1 Grand Prix, Live Nation/Ticketmaster, and Sydney Olympic Parks Authority universal access and inclusion programs allowing him great understanding and insights. Alongside he sits on the board for the Australian Festivals Association and the Dylan Alcott Foundation.
Zig Annor
Zig Annor and Emmanuel "Manny" Wassef have pioneered a platform that's helped launch the careers of musicians like Hooligan Hefs and HP Boyz. At the same time, they've inspired a generation of young artists and entrepreneurs to do as they did: aim for the stars.