When There is Chaos: Undertone Festival

This is a music blog. For many of us, music is an entertainment and escape. We can relax to our favourite songs or let them charge us up on the dance floor. We can sing and dance along and forget about real world problems. When loneliness becomes overwhelming, we can trade it for a heartbreak. When heartbreak crushes us, we can pretend we’re at a party instead. A beautiful thing about music is that, a lot of the time, it can be make believe.

We’ve just witnessed some pretty terrifying political movements, if you’re a woman, but Undertone Festival headliner Jack River succinctly expressed why this weekend’s event is so important in a time like this: “Music matters when there is chaos in the world.”

This is what happened at Undertone Festival at Miami Marketta on the Gold Coast on November 10th, 2024.

The Event

This weekend, I attended the inaugural Undertone Festival, presented by the Gold Coast Music Network and hosted at Miami Marketta. I can see this expanding to become a staple of the Australian music scene in the next few years, but this year it was a small, intimate, and almost familial. The festival boasted an 8-act line-up consisting only of female and non-binary led acts, which allows it to serve a unique purpose in the local music scene.

Not only did this festival go ahead when many others could not this year, it was affordable, accessible, and inclusive. With tickets for less than $50 at the door, it was a surprise to me that this didn’t pack a larger crowd, especially given how dry the festival scene has become in Queensland this year. In a cost-of-living crisis, this is the type of the event we need to support! I also really appreciated the presence of Auslan Stage Left at the ‘main stage’ of the event for the duration of the festival and the family-friendly atmosphere, meaning parents with younger children weren’t excluded either!

Half of the line-up were local acts and MC Tania Doko ensured that the audience was corralled from one stage to the next in order to share their love with each and every artist on the day. And throughout the day, the uniquely feminine line-up of local acts contributed to a sense of hope and optimism that we need a greater sense of in the world right now… let’s get into who are artists are!

The Music

Doors for the event opened at 1pm, with guests welcomed by the party mix of DJ Adela Nova from the Cargo Stage at the front of Miami Marketta. Experienced songwriter and recent addition to the Gold Coast, Tania Doko acted as MC for the event (in addition to her own eclectic and exciting solo act later in the evening!) and made sure we knew whose name to cheer in each set.

We started off with local indie four-piece Tomorrow’s Forecast, which saw Olive McCagh and Bonnie Kruger sharing vocals while backed by Isaac Whittle and Rohan Frawley. This is the perfect example of why you should try to arrive at any gig early – there’s so much talent you might not have heard of before that you’re going to fall in love with. The same was true for the likes of Eleea, a beautiful singer with music inspired by her extensive travels, and Annie Hamilton, who imbues her indie sound with an edgy bite that feels a little bit punk.

First to grace the Studio 56 stage (which was blessedly airconed!) was Hussy Hicks, formed by Julz Parker and Leesa Gentz. This band was astounding – their energy was incredible and they could have doubled as a comedic act through their incredible on-stage chemistry and quick-witted humour. Don’t worry, their music was also great with an Americana-country vibe that sometimes incorporated an 80s-esque rock vibe.

We were very lucky to see Hope D and Montaigne take to the stage this year. Hope D is a singer who I’m surprised has only done five shows this year – in my head she’s a force to be reckoned with when it comes to indie rock, somehow balancing upbeat energy with a darker edge, all of this framing raw confessional lyrics in her songs. I hope to see more of Hope in 2025, as well as Montaigne! I’ve loved Montaigne’s music for years, which has this outrageous and quirky way of depicting the human experience through the stories the singer-songwriter views the world through. Their on-stage presence is remarkable in any venue and I’m always left wanting more!

The Finale

Headlining the event with an hour-long set at the end of the night was Jack River, whose dreamy music and insightful lyrics encapsulated how many of us felt at the event. Jack River shared her messages of hope and love through music, reminding us why events like these are so important – for community, for music, and for our own souls.

Tania Doko returned after Jack’s set to share her thanks to the organisers, the musicians, and the audience who had come to support the event. I’m sure I’m not the only one who was so grateful to have had a chance to visit the festival. An 8-hour day anywhere else would have been intimidating, but Undertone curated such a positive and accepting atmosphere that truly reflected the good will and passion for music of its organisers and sponsors.

A mark of how music connects us all was clear in the presence of our featured artists throughout the day. I didn’t want to bother them (I wish I had the guts to be more annoying) but I thought it was sweet how Hope D and her bandmates were present throughout the entirety of the festival, chatting with friends and enjoying the music like fans at their own event, showing up for some of the newer acts on the line-up. Likewise, members of Tomorrow’s Forecast, Hussy Hicks and Eleea stayed right through, while Annie Hamilton and her band joined Jack River on stage later in the night.

It's this sense of community and connection that we need, now more than ever. I’m optimistic to see Undertone Festival grow as more music lovers catch on to how lucky we are to have a thriving music scene in this part of the world. But I hope it doesn’t lose the intimacy and familiarity, the sense of togetherness and belonging music provides in this chaotic world.