Tyler Redway
LOCAL band Stokes has secured their biggest gig yet after snagging a victory in this year’s Untapped program for Adelaide’s Beer and BBQ Festival at The Little Rippa Brewing Company.
Untapped is an initiative created with support from the State Government to source local music talent for the Beer and BBQ Festival outside of metropolitan Adelaide.
The band will now be traveling to Adelaide once more to perform at the Adelaide Showgrounds alongside bands like The Living End and Dune Rats.
Guitarist and vocalist Mikey McInerney said the event was the band’s first run in a competition-style event and was a big opportunity for them to play with some well-known Australian bands.
“Battle of the Bands existed a few years before the pandemic but this was a pretty new thing for us,” Mr McInerney said.
“We got some suggestions from a few friends saying we should apply for it and it sounded like a really fun thing to do.
“Just having an opportunity to do a show in Mount Gambier is always good, but this is definitely going to be our biggest show yet.
“We have done local shows in cities and the sorts but we’ve never been a part of a big festival like this.”
Mr McInerney said the biggest thing the band had learned from the experience was the ability to perform while being watched by anonymous judges, who determined whether they were up to the task of performing at a larger scale festival.
He also said it helped to build experience in larger events so they could continue to improve upon their craft as musicians.
“That thought kept us on our toes because even though we didn’t know who it was, we still knew they were assessing us to see if we were good enough to be a part of this event,” he said.
“I think learning to be a part of a big event like this and the communities, because we haven’t had that much experience being in big festivals.”
Mr McInerney said events such as the Untapped Beer and BBQ Festival were a great starting point for any upcoming local bands in the scene.
“It’s really good to be able to participate in stuff like this whether you win or not because it’s a very supportive environment,” he said.
“It’s a competition but it doesn’t really feel like one like a sport, it’s just people having a go and doing their thing.
“It’s a good entry point for bigger things and luckily enough we were selected to do the festival, you never know what could come out of it.”
Mr McInerney said it felt nice to be recognised and selected for the upcoming Adelaide lineup and was grateful for the support the band’s fans showed them during the show.
“It’s unreal, it was really good to feel that support from everyone who was there on the day and it felt like the work we had put in with rehearsals really paid off,” he said.
“Thanks to everyone who came out to support us and everyone who was wearing our merch, it definitely left good impressions on all the Beer and BBQ staff and we really felt the love.”
Stokes will now take to the stage at Adelaide’s Beer and BBQ Festival which will run from July 14 to July 16.