Country musicians, rock stars and Aussie legends are making the Bundaberg Region a pitstop for performing thanks to the Lighthouse Presents team and their passion for premium entertainment.
Made up of founder Gavin Hales, Tania Deviney and Ainsley Gately, the organisation was established earlier this year and introduced the 2022 Lighthouse Rock festival under its banner.
The event was a huge success, with 5000 people converging to the grounds of Lighthouse Field where the likes of Jimmy Barnes, Jon Stevens, Choirboys and Ian Moss rocked the seaside suburb.
“It was fantastic, the buzz in the area and atmosphere was electric,” Gavin said.
“With this confidence of the community support and engagement we were very excited to launch Lighthouse Country straight away.”
In April 2023, Lighthouse Country will take over Burnett Heads across two days with musicians including Adam Brand, Lee Kernaghan, Casey Barnes and more set to perform.
“It will feature some of the best country music artists Australia has to offer,” Gavin said.
“There will also be the Lighthouse Rodeo featuring barrel racing and bull riding, The Crackup Sisters on stage and engaging with the audience, kids activities throughout the day, food vans and bars and more surprises still to come.”
Gavin said Lighthouse Presents supported tourism in Bundaberg and was wholly committed to impacting positive change.
He said the value of events like these was to not only create an evening of fantastic live music for locals, but to also encourage visitors to travel into the region, giving them an added reason to explore, stay and play.
“Destination events like this have the opportunity to generate economic, cultural and social value for the community while bringing people together for an unforgettable experience,” Gavin said.
“During the weeks surrounding Lighthouse Rock, we know that the region had a spike in visitation and Burnett Heads and surrounds welcomed an increase in intrastate visitors, travelling predominately from the Fraser Coast, Sunshine Coast and Gladstone regions over the 15 and 16 October.
“There was also visitors from interstate – we sold tickets in every state of the country.
“These visitors contributed to boosting our regional economy, as they spent money in local businesses, whilst experiencing the incredible offerings of our region.”
The organisation also supports local charities and initiatives, including the non-profit Great Barrier Reef Legacy which works to save the biodiversity of coral through the highly acclaimed Living Coral Biobank Project.
Gavin said during this year's Lighthouse Rock festival eventgoers had the option of donating from $1 to the legacy when purchasing each ticket.
“All money raised helps collect all 400 species of coral from the Great Barrier Reef and keep them alive in a land-based ‘coral ark’ type facility for their conservation, and to assist in reef research and restoration efforts,” he said.
“More than $1600 was raised this year as part of Lighthouse Rock.
With a goal of showcasing iconic events in the region, Gavin said Lighthouse Presents had big plans for the future but music lovers would need to “watch this space” to find out more.
Visit www.lighthousepresents.net.au to subscribe and stay updated or purchase your tickets today.
