Bands in sand for beach festival

ONE of Australia’s leading promoters is a step closer to bringing one of the world’s most successful music festivals to one of the Gold Coast’s most beautiful beaches.

TEG Dainty and US partner AEG want to bring mega US music festival Hangout to the Gold Coast next year for an exclusive two-day bandstand in the sand on Coolangatta Beach on December 1-2.

Expected to be known as SandTunes, the one-off Australian “destination” event would feature two stages and cater for up to 35,000 people.

Backed by Gold Coast Tourism and the Live Music Taskforce, the Hangout festival offshoot would help fill the $60 million hole left on the Coast’s summer events calendar in the wake of the demise of the Big Day Out and Summafieldayze.

Now in its ninth year in the US, Hangout is a beach, music and arts festival on Alabama’s Gulf Shores that has hosted acts such as Kings of Leon, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Foo Fighters and Mumford & Sons.

The same way Splendour is a one off in Byron Bay, Hangout would be exclusive to the Coast, making it a major drawcard with music tourists from Australia and overseas.

TEG Dainty president and CEO Paul Dainty travelled to the Coast yesterday to present the proposal to councillors at an Economic Development and Major Projects Committee

meeting. The promoters want a five-year deal with a fiveyear option and will guarantee the event is the only Hangout brand festival in Australia for the term of the agreement.

Councillors voted 7-1 in favour of the proposal which will now go to vote at a full council meeting on Friday.

“This is a mega event,” Mr Dainty said after the meeting.

“Once the Commonwealth Games are over, it will build on the city’s strong profile for staging international events.

“This is big. We’d be bringing 40 or 50 bands into the country plus locals, plus 500 or 600 staff. An event like this touches everyone in the business community. Economically it’s brilliant.”

TEG Dainty was formed last year after TEG, the Ticketek owners formerly known as Nine Live, bought Mr Dainty’s company Dainty Group.

Music insiders say Byron Bay, Freemantle in Perth, and St Kilda, in Melbourne, are all eager to secure the event if the Coast doesn’t want it.

“We’ve had people knocking on our door but this is our preferred site,” Mr Dainty said