ACTS ranging from acoustic performers to punk rock, blues and heavy metal will be showcased at a special National Youth Week concert, organised by the area's young people.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Kiama Youth Centre will mark its 20th anniversary this year with a concert run and organised by the young people who use the facility.
Youthstock will take place at The Pavilion, Kiama, on April 5, and will feature more than a dozen acts on two stages.
Featured acts include The Vanns, Tommy M and the Mastersounds, The Dirty Headbangers and Kaleidoscope.
The concert has been organised by members of the Youth Centre's event management team, aka The Procrats.
MusicNSW's Indent project provided $2500 funding for the event.
Kiama Municipal Council Youth Services senior youth worker Andrew Chatfield joked that organisers had reached out to every young musician in Kiama - from those who strummed a guitar in their bedroom to fully-fledged bands.
Mr Chatfield said this enabled young people to put skills they'd acquired during the six-month program into practice. This included organising bands, budgeting and paying expenses.
"They wouldn't have had the confidence or know-how a year ago.
"When it's something they see as fun and exciting, it makes it all the easier to learn," he said.
One of the co-organisers is Kiama High year 12 student Bjorn Brathetland, 17, who will also play guitar in live debutants, psychedelic /acid rock outfit A.R.T.
He said finding bands and confirming their appearance was challenging.
Promoting the event had also been a priority.
"The experience of doing it, and how it all works will help with future shows," he said.
Kiama's Joel King, 19, owns an audio services business and will help run the production side.
He was pleased to have learnt new skills.
"Just getting the bands there, confirming them - that's been the hardest part," he said.
"I haven't done anything to this scale."
The concert will be streamed live on the Kiama Youth Services Facebook page.
National Youth Week runs from April 3 to 14.
The concert runs from 10.30am until 5.30pm and entry is $5.
It is a drug and alcohol-free event, and is fully supervised.