QMAs Festival of the Year

Caloundra Music Festival has taken out the People’s Choice Award for Festival of the Year at the Queensland Music Awards held at the Fortitude Music Hall.

The awards were a celebration of the state’s best musicians across 27 categories on Tuesday night (March 28), with performances by Casey Barnes, Hope D, Katie Noonan, and a show-starting opening number by Sahara Beck, all who have played Caloundra Music Festival.

Festival Director Richie Eyles accepted the award saying there were so many great festivals in Queensland, and it was an honour to be considered amongst them, including our good friends from the Gympie Music Muster.

Mr Eyles said the best thing about running a festival was being able to provide a platform for our homegrown talent.

“The most heart-warming thing for me is to see how many nominees and award winners have already played at CMF, and we need people to continue to buy tickets to music festivals like ours to support these performers.”

Last year, the festival celebrated 15 years at the iconic beachside location of Kings Beach, with attendees coming from every state in Australia and also New Zealand, enjoying the three-day event which showcased 70 artists, including 30 local acts.

Sunshine Coast Councillor Terry Landsberg said there were three things that made CMF so popular – the destination, family-friendly atmosphere, and of course the music – the local talent and emerging artists who supported national and international headlining acts each night.

“This Award is well deserved by the Festival team and their extended family of 500+ volunteers, and their passion to provide a world-class community music festival,’’ Cr Landsberg said.

Among the accolades, and also voted by the people, popular Sunshine Coast venue Solbar was awarded the title of Regional Venue of the Year.

Artists and festival fans can follow CMF on Facebook and Instagram @caloundramusicfestival