www.bigdayout.com/headspace
Big Day Out and headspace, Australia’s youth mental health foundation, announced an exciting working partnership surrounding the Big Day Out 2014. With long-standing involvement in the support that headspace provide for 12 – 25 year olds, most recently through Rock N Ride, Big Day Out and headspace are raising the stakes in 2014 with the new headspace Stage and 2014 headspace Big Day Out national band competition.
Entering the 2014 headspace Big Day Out national band competition will give bands the chance to win one of four playing slots on the headspace Stage, formerly the Red Stage, at each Australian Big Day Out. Launching October 1st, bands will have four weeks to submit their original music online for public vote. A shortlist decided by the public will then be put in front of an expert panel of Australian music industry movers and shakers appointed by Big Day Out and headspace, who will decide the winners for each state. One out of four spots per state will be decided by Triple M who are proud supporters of the headspace BDO Band Competition.
“We know that music is a really important part of young people’s lives, so extending our involvement with Big Day Out will help us reach thousands of young people and put mental health on the agenda in a way that makes sense for them. We want to improve the lives of young Australians, so we need to make sure they know there’s youth friendly support available for them and their friends.”
– Chris Tanti, headspace CEO
“When I was I 16 playing bad bass in a bad band I could have only dreamt of the opportunity to play alongside the worlds biggest bands at the Big Day Out festival. It is so exciting to be in the position to offer this opportunity to bands around Australia.
Not only are we giving young musicians a chance to shine nationally and internationally, we are also driving attention to headspace centres and the critical the work they do for the state of youth mental health in this country.”
– Adam Zammit, CEO Big Day Out
The 2014 headspace Big Day Out national band competition has been designed to give young bands aged 15 years+ from every Australian state and territory the once in a lifetime opportunity to play at Big Day Out 2014. Attending Big Day Out is a rite of passage for many young Australians, and headspace want to be front and center with the young people in attendance to help break down the stigma around mental health and send a message that it’s okay to talk about your problems. Mental health is the single biggest health issue facing young Australians, and research shows that 75 percent of serious mental health issues emerge before the age of 25. For more information on the 2014 headspace Big Day Out national band competition, please visit www.bigdayout.com/headspace
About headspace
headspace provides services tailored to 12-25 year olds, through its growing network of 55 centers (soon to be 90) across the country, its online and telephone mental health support service eheadspace and suicide prevention service, headspace School Support.
www.headspace.org.au