Fuse or Fuse Festival, formerly Music Business Adelaide and Eat the Street, was an Australian contemporary music event held annually in the

South Australian South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest o ...

capital of

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

, from 1996 until 2012 or 2013. It showcased Australian musicians covering a wide range of genres in venues in the West End of Adelaide to industry professionals and fans, growing to three days in November 2003. The Fuse conference was a branch of the event, with international and Australian delegates. Both the festival and the conference aimed at imparting skills to emerging talent in the industry as well as networking. Fuse was a

not-for-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

, largely government-funded event, managed by

Music SA Music SA, formerly AusMusicSA and also known as South Australian Contemporary Music Company Ltd, is a non-profit organisation whose aims are to promote, support and develop contemporary music in South Australia, which it does by providing trainin ...

and the

Adelaide Fringe The Adelaide Fringe, formerly Adelaide Fringe Festival, is the world's second-largest annual arts festival (after the Edinburgh Festival Fringe), held in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. Between mid-February and mid-March each year, i ...

, with a focus upon deriving outcomes for all those who attend the events. The Fuse events finished after 2012, after which there was a ''Fuse Presents'' program, which presented a travelling scholarship to a musician in 2013.

Early history

Fuse Festival first ran as Music Business Adelaide in 1996 as an industry development conference, based loosely upon the

South By Southwest South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in m ...

(SXSW) model for music conferences. It was a non-profit event, supported by state (largely through Arts SA and federal (

Australia Council The Australia Council for the Arts, commonly known as the Australia Council, is the country's official arts council, serving as an arts funding and advisory body for the Government of Australia. The council was announced in 1967 as the Austra ...

) government funding. In 2001, it published the compilation CD "Eat the Street" selected from music played at the event. By 2003, the name had changed to Fuse Festival. Music SA were at least partly responsible for Fuse. In 2006 the move to house Fuse Festival within the Adelaide Fringe organisation was instrumental to the development of the event, part of the Fringe's mission statement being to "encourage, support and assist independent artists in the development and presentation of their work". In 2007,

Peter Garrett Peter Robert Garrett (born 16 April 1953) is an Australian musician, environmentalist, activist and former politician. In 1973, Garrett became the lead singer of the Australian rock band Midnight Oil. As a performer he is known for his sign ...

gave a speech at the conference.

Fuse 2008

In 2008 Fuse focused on audience development, covering festivals, touring, social networking, promotion and media and publishing. In conjunction with Fuse Festival, the

South Australian Film Corporation South Australian Film Corporation (SAFC) is a South Australian Government statutory corporation established in 1972 to engage in film production and promote the film industry, located in Adelaide, South Australia. The Adelaide Studios are managed ...

announced an initiative to help support South Australian musicians and

filmmaker Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, castin ...

s to collaborate. Speakers for 2008 included: Angela Beal,

Martin Elbourne Martin Elbourne (born 19 January 1957 in Carlisle, Cumberland) is an English performing arts promoter. Elbourne was brought up near the village of Knebworth, Hertfordshire. His first job, at age fifteen, was working for the local stately ...

, Matthew Proft,

Michael Chugg Michael Glenn Chugg (born 15 June 1947) is an Australian entrepreneur, businessman and concert tour promoter. As a promoter and manager he was a founder of Frontier Touring Company (1979–99) and Michael Chugg Entertainment (2000–present). ...

, Nathan McLay, Owen Orford, PJ Murton, Rev Moose and many others.

Explode

"Explode", a celebration and networking time for the delegates and conference attendees, was held to herald the beginning of the conference. Eight bands were selected from around Australia to play and radio stations

Nova A nova (plural novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", which is Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. Causes of the dramati ...

and ABC Triple J held competitions to allocate two remaining slots on this bill. The winners were, respectively,

The Transatlantics The Transatlantics were a funk and soul band from Adelaide, South Australia, formed in 2007. Biography The band was formed in 2007 by Adelaide-born musicians Ross McHenry, Lachlan Ridge, Kevin Van Der Zwaag and singer Tara Lynch, after they ...

and Eva Popov. Explode Bands for 2008 were: The Devoted Few, The Transatlantics, FunkOars,

Leah Flanagan Leah Flanagan is an Australian singer-songwriter and arts administrator from Darwin, Northern Territory. based in Sydney. She has released several albums and has toured Australia with her music and as a part of festival ensembles. Early life ...

City Riots City Riots were an indie rock band from Adelaide, which formed in 2005 and active until about 2014. Their lead vocalist and front man was Ricky Kradolfer. They played in Australia, United States and the United Kingdom, touring with Smashing Pump ...

, New Season Black, Eva Popov,

Leader Cheetah Leader Cheetah were an Australian indie rock band from Adelaide, South Australia, formed in 2007 by members of defunct Adelaide bands ''Pharaohs'' and ''Bad Girls of the Bible''. The band toured nationally and appeared at festivals such as Sple ...

Tin Alley Tin Alley are an Australian rock band from Melbourne formed in 2007 by brothers Paul and Jim Siourthas, and Peter Hofbauer. The band released one studio album, ''Everyturn'' (2007). Tin Alley's first single, "In Your Hands", charted consecutive ...

Ignition

"Ignition", an uncurated event, was the open showcase for the Fuse Festival. Any band could register to attend the conference and play a show, by finding a venue and negotiating with other bands performing that night. 57 bands registered to play Ignition that year, in 25 venues in the

Adelaide city centre Adelaide city centre (Kaurna: Tarndanya) is the inner city locality of Greater Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia. It is known by locals simply as "the City" or "Town" to distinguish it from Greater Adelaide and from the City of Ade ...

Fuse 2009

Fuse 2009 was opened by keynote speaker

Glenn Wheatley Glenn Dawson Wheatley (23 January 1948 – 1 February 2022) was an Australian musician, talent manager and tour promoter. Career Wheatley began his career as a musician in Brisbane in the mid-1960s. In the late 1960s he became known national ...

. This was the first year the Explode showcase took place in

Rymill Park Rymill Park / Murlawirrapurka (previously spelt Mullawirraburka), and numbered as Park 14, is a recreation park located in the East Park Lands of the South Australian capital of Adelaide. There is an artificial lake with rowboats for hire, a ...

. The Ignition showcase night featured a large number of bands.

2009 Explode Bands

The 2009 Explode bands were:

Behind Crimson Eyes Behind Crimson Eyes is a band based in Australia. The band formed in Melbourne, Australia, in 2004. Their line-up currently consists of vocalist Josh Stuart, bassist Garth Buchanan, guitarist/ back up vocalist Aaron Schultz and Dan Kerby as drum ...

Cloud Control Cloud Control was an Australian alternative rock band, originating from the Blue Mountains near Sydney, Australia. The band was signed to the Australian record label Ivy League Records, on which they released their first album, '' Bliss Releas ...

, Poetikool Justice,

The Shiny Brights The Shiny Brights are an indie rock band from Adelaide, Australia. The five members have varied tastes in music that all influence their songs; a mix of post-punk, Brit pop and garage rock, held together by lead singer Wolfgang's distinctive vo ...

The Sundance Kids Sundance are an Australian pop rock/indie rock band from Adelaide, South Australia, formed in 2006. The group began as the acoustic trio of vocalist and guitarist Ash Gale as well as guitarists Jason Shepherd and Luke Zecchin, before they were ...

, FisherKing, Jess Ribeiro and the Bone Collectors, and The Touch.

Fuse 2010

The 2010 Fuse conference was opened by keynote speaker John Woodruff. The Ignition night again featured a large number of bands.

2010 Explode Bands

The 2010 Explode Bands were: KingFisha, The Beards, Mayfield, Foxx On Fire, Delta,

The Paper Scissors The Paper Scissors were an Australian rock band that existed between 2005 and 2012. The last line-up consisted of Jai Pyne, Xavier Naughton and Ivan Lisyak. Their sound was described as "a combination of garage-punk, rock and soul". Australian m ...

, The Swiss, and

Hungry Kids of Hungary Hungry Kids of Hungary (often shortened to HKOH) were an Australian four-piece indie pop band from Brisbane, Queensland. The band consisted of Dean McGrath (lead vocals, guitar), Kane Mazlin (lead vocals, keys), Ben Dalton (bass guitar, vocals) ...

Fuse 2011

For 2011 Fuse changed the structure of the festival, working more closely with the Adelaide Fringe in order to improve the benefits for showcase bands. "Fuse West" and "Fuse East" split what previously was the "Ignition" showcase night. On the final night of the festival, eight bands would take the Fuse stage to coincide with the Adelaide Fringe Opening night. There were two days of conference, and masterclasses in management and songwriting.

Fuse 2012

Fuse West, Fuse East and Fuse@Fringe

2012–2013: ''Fuse Presents''

Fuse Presents was a new program slated for 2012–2013 to help support and inspire South Australian musicians and industry representatives in the development of their business and craft. In 2013,

multi-instrumentalist A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays two or more musical instruments at a professional level of proficiency. Also known as doubling, the practice allows greater ensemble flexibility and more efficient employment of musicians, where ...

and composer Alies Sluiter won the 2013 ''Fuse Presents SXSW Travel Award'' to the United States. , it appears to have been defunct since 2013.

References

External links

Last archived Fuse web page
(March 2013) {{Coord, 34, 55, 24.10, S, 138, 35, 44.13, E, display=title, region:AU_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki Music festivals in Australia Festivals in Adelaide Conferences