Jump to content

Yours and Owls

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Yours and Owls
IndustryMusic
Founded2010
Founder
  • Ben Tillman
  • Adam Smith
  • Balunn Jones
Headquarters
Wollongong, New South Wales
,
Australia
Area served
Wollongong, Sydney, Canberra, Sunshine Coast, Melbourne
Websiteyoursandowls.com.au

Yours and Owls is a music booking company based in Wollongong, Australia. It organises the annual music festival of the same name, which began in 2014.

The brand was founded when university graduates Ben Tillman, Adam Smith and Balunn Jones opened up a coffee shop in Wollongong in 2010 that would regularly host live music. The trio opened up dive bar La La La's in 2019, which has become one of Wollongong's most popular music venues. Yours and Owls manages the music events of several venues on the east coast of Australia. In partnership with independent record store Music Farmers, the company also owns the record label Farmer and the Owl.

The Yours and Owls festival began in 2014 with a line-up including Hockey Dad and Sticky Fingers and a crowd of 2,000 people. The event's popularly rapidly grew in its first few years, and was predominantly hosted opposite the beach at Stuart Park, Wollongong. In 2025, the festival hosted 30,000 punters.

History

[edit]

Ben Tillman, Adam Smith and Balunn Jones, graduates of the University of Wollongong, founded Owls Cafe in Wollongong in late 2010. The Kembla Street shop was later renamed to Yours and Owls.[1] The cafe quickly made a name for itself for hosting live music five or six nights a week.[2] After three years of business, in September 2013,[2] the site was sold to Daniel Radburn. He would turn it into one of the city's most iconic music venues, the 80-capacity Rad Bar.[3] With the venue closure, the three founders pivoted the Yours and Owls brand more towards music booking and management.[4]

After Rad Bar closed in 2019, the Yours and Owls team opened up dive bar La La La's in 2019,[5] which has become one of Wollongong's most popular music venues.[6][7] In September 2024, Yours and Owls announced they had expanded their booking roster to venues in Melbourne and the Sunshine Coast.[8] As of March 2025, they manage 11 music venues in four states with significant control in Wollongong, booking eight venues in their home town.[8]

Festivals

[edit]

The Farmer and the Owl

[edit]

Yours and Owls' first music festival was called The Farmer and the Owl, hosted at the University of Wollongong in 2013. Featuring a lineup headlined by the Drones, Dappled Cities and the Laurels, it was branded as a boutique event.[9] The festival returned to MacCabe Park, Wollongong in 2019 and 2020.[10]

Yours and Owls

[edit]
Hockey Dad featured on the first Yours and Owls festival line-up, and were the first band signed to Farmer and the Owl.

The first Yours and Owls festival, which has since become the company's flagship event, was held on 4 October 2014 at Stuart Park, Wollongong. The line-up included Hockey Dad, Safia, Dune Rats, Bootleg Rascal and Sticky Fingers.[11] 2,000 people attended the inaugural one-day event.[12] From 2015 onwards, the festival filled two days, and by 2016, crowd numbers had grown to 10,000.[13] It has become Wollongong's biggest annual music event by far.[12] Its 2025 iteration hosted almost 30,000 people.[14]

In 2021, adapting to COVID-19 restrictions, the festival was held in self-contained quarters with two large rotating stages in the centre. All attendees had to be seated on chairs during performances to maintain social distancing, otherwise the music would be temporarily cut off.[15] The 2022 edition was cancelled a few days before due to severe flooding across eastern Australia.[16] In 2023, day one of the event ran on the same day as the Australian Indigenous Voice referendum. The organisers requested voting booths at the festival site, but the Australian Electoral Commission refused.[17]

The 2025 event was the first music festival in New South Wales to introduce pill testing, and the first in Australia to host a government-run test facility. It gave attendees the option to test their drugs for purity and potency, before chatting to a counsellor.[18] NSW Health tested 80 drug samples throughout the festival.[14]

At the National Live Music Awards, Yours and Owls festival has been nominated twice in the Best Live Music Festival category (in 2018 and 2020),[19][20] and it won NSW Live Event of the Year in 2019.[21]

Lineups

[edit]
Date, location and lineup history of Yours and Owls festival
Ed. Year Dates Location Headliners Notable acts Ref.
1 2014 4 October Stuart Park, Wollongong Sticky Fingers Dune Rats, the Griswolds, Hockey Dad, Safia [11]
2 2015 4 October The Preatures, the Rubens, the Smith Street Band, Gang of Youths [22]
3 2016 1–2 October PUP, The Living End, Dog, Ball Park Music, Black Mountain, Stonefield, Vera Blue, Ladyhawke [23]
4 2017 30 September–1 October At the Drive-In, The Presets Allday, Dune Rats, Illy, Northlane, the Preatures, Safia [24]
5 2018 5–6 October Amy Shark, Courtney Barnett, Golden Features, Hot Dub Time Machine Angie McMahon, Love Fame Tragedy, Meg Mac, Odette, Ruel, Skegss, Slumberjack, Sneaky Sound System, Thundamentals, Vera Blue [25]
6 2019 29–30 September Angus & Julia Stone, Peking Duk, Alison Wonderland The Jungle Giants, Methyl Ethel, Ocean Alley, Hockey Dad, D.D Dumbo, Middle Kids, Cub Sport [26]
7 2021 17–18 April[a] Tones and I Benee, Cosmo's Midnight, DMA's, Hayden James, Hockey Dad, Lime Cordiale, Pnau, Running Touch, What So Not, Winston Surfshirt [28]
8 2022
(Cancelled) 		2–3 April Hilltop Hoods Benee, Bliss n Eso, Flight Facilities, the Jungle Giants, Peking Duk, Violent Soho [16]
9 2023 14–15 October University of Wollongong Bakar, Broods, Chet Faker, Descendants, Earl Sweatshirt, Flight Facilities, Golden Features, Hilltop Hoods, Hobo Johnson, Lil Tjay, Masego, Meg Mac, Ocean Alley, Oliver Tree, Peach Pit, Pendulum, Safia, Vera Blue [29]
10 2025 1–2 March[b] Flagstaff Hill, Wollongong Fontaines D.C., Denzel Curry, the Kooks, Goo Goo Dolls Elderbrook, Hockey Dad, Honey Dijon, JPEGMafia, the Jungle Giants, Orville Peck, Peach PRC, Salute, the Veronicas [31]

Notes

  1. ^ Rescheduled from the original dates of 23–24 January 2021.[27]
  2. ^ The festival would have usually run in October, but it was moved to early in the new year to accommodate for headliners' availabilities.[30]

Record label

[edit]
Farmer and the Owl
Founded2014; 11 years ago (2014)
FounderJeb Taylor, Ben Tillman
Distributor(s)BMG
LocationWollongong, Australia
Official websitefarmerandtheowl.com

In May 2014, the Farmer and the Owl record label was established by Yours and Owls co-founder Ben Tillman in partnership with Music Farmers co-owner Jeb Taylor. Its first signing was Hockey Dad, and first release was their EP Dreamin'.[32] They publish alongside international partner BMG.

Controversies

[edit]

On 16 April 2021, YouTube comedian friendlyjordies uploaded a video called "Cancel Culture Kills Artists", where he detailed his negative experiences with Yours and Owls cancelling his stand-up shows through a series of emails.[33] Yours and Owls did not release a public response.

References

[edit]

Citations

[edit]
  1. ^ Humphries 2021, p. 86.
  2. ^ a b Haworth, Glen (1 July 2013). "Yours and Owls farewell show marks end of era". Illawarra Mercury. Retrieved 4 March 2025.
  3. ^ Newstead, Al (17 April 2019). "Hockey Dad remember Rad Bar, the Wollongong institution that's coming to an end". Triple J. Retrieved 4 March 2025.
  4. ^ Humphries 2021, p. 92.
  5. ^ Mack, Emmy (23 October 2019). "Wollongong Scores New Live Music Venue La La La's, Thanks To Yours & Owls". Music Feeds. Retrieved 3 March 2025.
  6. ^ Marix-Evans, Cooper (26 September 2024). "La La La's". Happy Mag. Retrieved 3 March 2025.
  7. ^ Davino, Bianca (1 April 2021). "How This Wollongong Venue Is Bolstering One Of Australia's Quietly Excellent Music Scenes". Pedestrian. Retrieved 3 March 2025.
  8. ^ a b Varvaris, Mary (24 September 2014). "Exclusive: Yours & Owls Expand Venue Roster, Enter Victorian Market". The Music. Retrieved 4 March 2025.
  9. ^ Moskovitch, Greg (4 November 2013). "The Farmer & The Owl Full Lineup Announced". Music Feeds. Retrieved 4 March 2025.
  10. ^ Condon, Dan (26 February 2019). "Why Farmer and the Owl is bringing boundary-pushing music to regional Australia". Double J. Retrieved 4 March 2025.
  11. ^ a b Moskovitch, Greg (23 July 2014). "Yours & Owls 4th Birthday Party Lineup Announced". Music Feeds. Retrieved 4 March 2025.
  12. ^ a b Humphries 2021, p. 117–119.
  13. ^ "Building a city on rock and roll – the rise of Yours & Owls". iAccelerate. 29 March 2019. Retrieved 4 March 2025.
  14. ^ a b McLaren, Nick (3 March 2025). "Pill-testing trial at Wollongong's Yours and Owls Festival 'really positive'". ABC News. Retrieved 5 March 2025.
  15. ^ Koulikov, Daniela (20 April 2021). "Live Review: Yours and Owls 2021 had us dancing and singing our hearts out again". The AU Review. Retrieved 4 March 2025.
  16. ^ a b Newstead, Al (29 March 2022). "Yours & Owls Festival has sadly been cancelled". Triple J. Retrieved 5 March 2025.
  17. ^ Burfitt, Penny (21 September 2023). "AEC knocks back Yours and Owls festival bid for on-site voting booths for Voice referendum". ABC News. Retrieved 5 March 2025.
  18. ^ Brandle, Lars (19 February 2025). "Pill Testing Is Coming to Yours and Owls Festival". Rolling Stone Australia. Retrieved 5 March 2025.
  19. ^ "NLMA announce 2018 nominees and Live legend". NLMA. 2 October 2018. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
  20. ^ "Nominees announced for 2020 National Live Music Awards". NLMAs. 7 September 2020. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  21. ^ "And the Winners of the 2019 National Live Music Awards Are…". NLMA. 5 December 2020. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
  22. ^ Williams, Tom (4 August 2015). "Yours & Owls Festival 2015 Expands With New All Ages Day & Lineup". Music Feeds. Retrieved 5 March 2025.
  23. ^ Murphy, Sam (14 June 2016). "Yours & Owls Festival 2016 Lineup Announced". Music Feeds. Retrieved 5 March 2025.
  24. ^ "Yours & Owls Festival Wollongong 2017 Line-Up Drops". Scenestr. 16 May 2017. Retrieved 5 March 2025.
  25. ^ Newstead, Al (28 May 2018). "Yours & Owls 2018 just delivered Wollongong's biggest & best line-up". Triple J. Retrieved 5 March 2025.
  26. ^ Newstead, Al (28 May 2019). "Yours & Owls festival has Wollongong's biggest and best 2019 line-up". Triple J. Retrieved 5 March 2025.
  27. ^ Newstead, Al (8 December 2020). "Yours & Owl Festival has changed 2021 dates but not its stacked line-up". Triple J. Retrieved 5 March 2025.
  28. ^ Langford, Jackson (16 July 2020). "Yours & Owls Festival Announce 2021 Lineup". Music Feeds. Retrieved 5 March 2025.
  29. ^ Varvaris, Mary (19 September 2023). "Yours & Owls Festival Unveils Set Times, Map & New Stage Ahead Of 2023 Event". The Music. Retrieved 5 March 2025.
  30. ^ "Yours & Owls Announce Festival Postponement And 2024 'Pre-Party'". Music Feeds. 9 July 2014. Retrieved 5 March 2025.
  31. ^ Downs, Sarah (5 February 2015). "Yours & Owls Add Courteeners, Shame to 2025 Lineup". Rolling Stone Australia. Retrieved 5 March 2025.
  32. ^ Humphries 2021, p. 106.
  33. ^ Shanks-Markovina, Jordan (16 April 2021). Cancel Culture Kills Artists – Yours & Owls (Video) – via YouTube.

Bibliography

[edit]
  • Humphries, Glen (2021). Lull City: The Wollongong Music Scene 1955–2020. Wollongong: Last Day of School. ISBN 9780648991137.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Yours_and_Owls&oldid=1280666676"