MUSICAL CALL-OUT FOR TASTE

TASMANIA’S newest summer festival will celebrate the very best the state has to offer – but not just food and drink – there will also be a strong musical flavour.

The Taste of Summer, which has filled the void left by the Taste of Tasmania on the Hobart waterfront, will showcase up to 200 of Tasmania’s best artists.

There is expected to be about 80 acts performing, with a call-out for artists to register their interest.

One of them will be Hobart singer-songwriter Lauren O’Keefe, who said it was just the tonic Tasmanian artists needed after a trying 18 months due to the Covid19 pandemic.

“It’s really exciting to have this event, offering opportunities for artists who have really had a pretty hard time in the last year and a half,’’ she said.

“In a way, perhaps there’s something nice in the fact we’ve been forced to go really local.”

Taste of Summer chairman Jarrod Nation said the latest announcement was yet another example of a plan to support as many locals as possible.

The Taste of Summer will be held from December 28 to January 3.