Words: Lara Pacillo // Main photo: Elliot Oakes
There’s no specific genre of music that you can expect at Swirl Fest.
What the acts have in common however, is they’re all young up-and-coming Australian artists, with at least half from SA.
“That’s what it’s always been about — giving younger bands the chance to play with bigger national acts,” says Swirl Records owner Tom Matheson.
“They get the opportunity to be a part of a big festival, which would normally take a couple years before they get to experience that.”
On Saturday February 4, independent record label Swirl Records will hold Swirl Fest music festival for its fifth year, bringing national and local bands together. This year will be one of its biggest yet, with 13 acts stretched across two stages at University of Adelaide’s UniBar.
Tom says the lineup curation is mostly based on his music taste and his idea of balanced variety.
“I don’t actually know whether it’s a nice blend of genres or whether it might be too much of everything going on,” he says.
“But it’s anything from the softer folkier side, all the way to the really loud and rocky.”
Interstate acts include experimental post-punk Shady Nasty and Alternative Pop Rock OK Hotel from NSW, alongside Melbourne’s alt-folk singer Ruby Gill.
SA acts hitting the stage include post-punk noise-rock bands The Empty Threats and Twine, as well as Big Town, Sour Sob, and others.
While Tom is Swirl Records’ current sole owner, the independent label was founded by himself and Angus Clarke in 2015.
It was a way for them and their respective bands, Goon Wizarrd and Siamese, to navigate the music industry and create a platform to support Adelaide’s alternative music scene.
“When we first started, we were a bunch of young kids, like 17 and 18, and we didn’t know really how to get into the music scene, or how we would be taken seriously,” Tom says.
“We started off with the idea of it just being a way to create a community and legitimise ourselves.”
In 2017, they held their first Swirl Fest at The Producers Bar as a charity event where they donated $2500 to Reclink Australia.
Since then, Swirl Fest has been held at different venues around town including The Crown and Anchor and The Edinburgh Castle Hotel, bringing national acts such as Good Morning to play alongside local talent.
A couple of years were lost to COVID, being 2021 and 2022. This year however, the festival is finally able to kick on, and continue its habit of “one-upping” the last.
Its return comes at a time where a clad of new festivals have headed to the state, such as Harvest Rock, Heaps Good, and Wildlands.
Homebound asks Tom what he thinks is bringing this wave of new events to Adelaide.
He says it could be a result of restrictions laying off, and better access to government support grants — of which Swirl Fest 2023 is supported with the State Government’s See it Live campaign.
But for a city that’s normally skipped, there could be a change happening in Adelaide’s music scene.
“It’s a healing industry trying to piece some form of community together again,” he says.
“But maybe we’re also just finally getting the recognition we deserve.”
Nonetheless, Swirl Records and Swirl Fest isn’t about celebrating the big; they’re about empowering local.
“It’s giving a sense of community for the local acts,” Tom says.
“Swirl Fest shows that they’re not just fighting against this big mogul that is the music industry, and that there is local support.”
Swirl Fest: UniBar, The University of Adelaide, Union House, Adelaide 5000 // Saturday February 4
