DASHVILLE chief Matt Johnston conceded Dashville Skyline "doesn't look positive" but he will delay making a decision on the music festival until September.
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This week it was announced that Dashville's punk, metal and hard rock festival, Thrashville, had been postponed from September 11 to November 6 as "plan A" or to February 12 as "plan B" due to the outbreak of the Delta variant of COVID-19.
Thrashville will be headlined by Melbourne punk three-piece Cable Ties and Rob Younger's The New Christs.
Similarly, PigSty has been postponed for a fourth time from August 28 to November 27. Dashville Skyline, the three-day Americana and alt-country festival, is scheduled to return after two years on October 1 with the likes of The Black Sorrows, The Murlocs, William Crighton and Liz Stringer, but it's in extreme doubt.
"Dashville Skyline, we're gonna hold off a little bit longer with that one as it's a hefty weight," Johnston said. "It would be really good to roll with it in some form, but at the moment it's all up in the air.
"It doesn't look positive, that's for sure, but who knows what the government will allow by the end of September."
Due to the three-day line-up, Johnston said Skyline could not be rescheduled like PigSty and Thrashville.
Johnston, like many promoters and small business owners, is pinning his hopes on the vaccine roll-out restoring normality.
"It seems like the vaccine roll-out is going to determine it," he said. "Which is good in some ways as there's something to hold onto, some form of resolution potentially.
"It gives us a bit of hope for a timeframe. We're getting into 18 months now and we're all on our last legs."
RAAVING BIRTHDAY
IT'S no secret that Raave Tapes' founding member Joab Eastley is one of the most popular people in the Newcastle music scene, and for good reason.
Just how highly regarded Eastley is was seen on Monday when his Raave Tapes bandmate Lindsay O'Connell released a happy birthday video to celebrate his 30th milestone, despite being in lockdown.
The video featured cameos from more than 35 people, including members of Brisbane indie-rock band Sweater Curse.
TRIPPIN' SOLO
BEN Gumbleton will release his first solo single under the Boo Seeka banner on Thursday, called Trip Wire. The electro-soul artist parted ways with fellow Novocastrian Michael May in June due to "fundamental differences" and opted to continue Boo Seeka as a solo project.
GOOD TIMES WAIT
HOLD onto your tickets if you were headed to the Good Times Tour on August 30 at the Civic Theatre.
Due to the COVID lockdown the show has been postponed until Saturday, November 4. The good news is the entire line-up of Brian Cadd, Deborah Conway, Joe Camilleri, John Paul Young, Kate Ceberano, Leo Sayer, Vika & Linda Bull and Wendy Matthews are confirmed for the rescheduled date.
WHITE HEAT RISING
NATALIE Henry has announced her second album White Heat will be released on September 17.
The Newcastle alt-country artist has released two singles from the forthcoming album - the Tim Rogers and Shane Nicholson-endorsed Weed, Wine & Women and the latest track More Than A Woman. White Heat follows on from Henry's 2019 debut Apple and Pride.
CRANE FIZZING
ANOTHER Newcastle singer-songwriter planning a new release is indie-pop artist Lili Crane.
The 20-year-old will drop her single Lemonade on September 15, complete with a colourful video, which was partly shot in her bedroom after the Newcastle lockdown was imposed mid-way through the shoot.
It'll be Crane's first single since Gemini in February.
BLUESFEST CUT
SADLY it's news everyone expected but Bluesfest organisers on Wednesday officially cancelled plans to host the iconic music festival in Byron Bay in October due to the worsening pandemic.
Instead, Bluesfest hopes to return for the first time since 2019 at Easter 2022 - April 14 to 18. The majority of the line-up has recommitted for 2022, including the headliners Midnight Oil, Jimmy Barnes, Paul Kelly, Xavier Rudd and John Butler.
Tash Sultana, Ocean Alley and Ziggy Alberts are among the artists who have withdrawn from the 2022 edition, but Bluesfest has added Fat Freddy's Drop, Josh Teskey and Ash Grunwald, John Williamson and C.W Stoneking.
BRAIN POWER
LOCKDOWN is getting draining for most of us. If you're looking for something to pass the time, on Saturday the Newcastle Museum is hosting a livestream seminar, Music and the Brain, for National Science Week.
Hosted by professor Helen English from the University of Newcastle, it explores how the brain processes music, why we enjoy it and its relationship with memories. It starts at 11.30am on the museum's Facebook page.