For as long as there’s been a music industry, and for as long as there have been music festivals, gender-diverse people have found themselves relegated to the periphery of these spaces (if not excluded entirely). We’ve seen it happen time and time again: a festival gets announced and its lineup is depressingly stale – but when punters call for more diversity, they’re told to “suck it up” and “make [their] own festival”… So someone has!
Today co-directors Ellie Robinson (she/her) and Tim Blunt (they/them) are proud to announce TRANSGENRE, a brand-new festival celebrating some of the best and brightest trans and non-binary voices in Australian music. The first-ever edition – an all-ages event with no clashes, proudly presented by BLUNT, Young Henrys and Cistem Error – will take place at The Red Rattler Theatre on Gadigal Country (Eora/Sydney) on Sunday December 17, 2023.
Topping the lineup are Naarm/Melbourne-based “bubblegum punk” duo Cry Club, fresh from packing venues nationwide on a headline tour supporting their crash-hot second album, Spite Will Save Me. The album arrived back in June of this year, and was described by Junkee as “ambitious and exciting, but also tangibly momentous” because “with the mainstream war against trans and queer rights ever raging on, Heather [Riley, vocalist] and Jono [Tooke, guitar] are fighting back with their rallying cries of resistance, empowerment and liberation”.
Billed right below Cry Club are none other than fast-rising Boorloo/Perth stars Those Who Dream. The powerhouse Meyer siblings – Josh on vocals/guitar and Hazel on drums – have enjoyed an explosive year of success, touring with alt legends like Nothing But Thieves, Short Stack and Forever Ends Here, and releasing the enormous singles ‘True Sight’ and ‘Apology’. Those Who Dream are on the cusp of blowing right the hell up, and we couldn’t be more excited to see them tear the stage to shreds at TRANSGENRE 2023.
Also making the trek from interstate are Kaurna/Adelaide’s pop-punk luminary Nonnie (with frontwoman Lilly Peterson delivering a rare solo performance) and Naarm/Melbourne’s hyperpop prodigy Wolfjay. They’ll share the stage with some of Eora/Sydney’s own finest talent – pop-rock gem Blake Williams, punk stalwarts Final Girls, hardcore hellions Cherish, hyperpop dynamo KHAOS EMRLD, emo babes FVNERAL, and experimental rock queen enpriestess – as well as post-hardcore favourites Two Knives (travelling over from Awakabal/Newcastle) and alt-pop mastermind NOCTICA (heading down from Kamilaroi/Tamworth).
First-release tickets for the inaugural TRANSGENRE festival are on sale now via Humanitix – find them here.
TRANSGENRE co-directors Ellie Robinson (she/her) and Tim Blunt (they/them): “It’s been a pretty wild year to be trans (to say the very least) and especially now, it’s so important to champion our community as loudly and proudly as possible. We need to be visible, defiant and thriving – and at the core of that is positive representation in all corners of society. Our aim with TRANSGENRE is to offer a bit of that representation to the Australian live music scene, showing that trans and non-binary voices are among some of the strongest and most incisive in the country.
“Personally, we hope this festival encourages people (cis, trans and everyone in-between) to pay closer attention to the wealth of gender diversity that exists in the Australian music industry, and be louder in supporting it. The show is obviously open for everyone to enjoy, but we’re so bloody keen to see a bunch of our fellow trans and gender-diverse people having an incredible day at the first-ever TRANSGENRE, enjoying some of the best live music in Australia, and celebrating their identities as excitedly as they want without having to worry about being judged for it.”
TRANSGENRE
Sunday December 17, 2023
The Red Rattler Theatre, Eora/Sydney (Gadigal Country)
FULL LINEUP
Cry Club
Those Who Dream
Blake Williams
Cherish
enpriestess
Final Girls
FVNERAL
KHAOS EMRLD
NOCTICA
Nonnie (solo)
Two Knives
Wolfjay
All ages • 12pm doors • no clashes • licensed bar • accessible venue
Tickets on sale now via transgenre.com.au
Follow TRANSGENRE on socials: INSTAGRAM • TWITTER • FACEBOOK