Change of management for WA’s North West Festival

The Town of Port Hedland (WA) announced that the North West Festival will return for a seventh year, but with some changes.

Following its annual review of the event, The Town has moved from a long-term contract arrangement with Perth-based Sunset Events and will take over it’s running to make it more flexible and localised to give more exposure to local musicians.

The City stated, “A revised event management structure, increased cost efficiencies and stronger promotion of local talent will also form a part of the event planning.”

Mayor Camilo Blanco said, “Since its inception in 2012, the festival has presented leading local and international music acts.

“We have also received outstanding support from our industry and community partners.

“The annual review process of the North West Festival provides an opportunity for Council to evaluate the event against its strategic goals and budget.

“It also ensures that we are delivering an event that the community wants.

“We are not changing the nature of the event, but simply adopting a more cost-effective internal structure.

“The Town has recently conducted extensive community surveying and people are fully supportive of a quality music event for the 18-40 year old demographic.”

The mayor acknowledged that much of the festival’s success was due to the effort and expertise provided by Sunset Events.

“The North West Festival originally started as a major regional event and has evolved to reflect the changing demographics of the Hedland community," Sunset Events Director David Chitty commented.

“When we first developed the festival in 2012, an event of this scale had not been seen before in the region.

“Over the years, we have delivered world-class acts including: Paul Kelly, The Cat Empire, Missy Higgins, The Dandy Warhols, The Veronicas, Xavier Rudd, The Rubens, Sarah Blasko and Angus and Julia Stone, to name just a few.

"In 2017, we moved the event to the Civic Centre Gardens with a more secure waterfront setting.

“The new format was also well received, showing that no matter what shape the event takes, it’s now a firm fixture on the town and region’s performing arts calendar. 

“We are extremely proud of what we’ve achieved in working with the Town of Port Hedland and all event partners and look forward to watching its future journey.”

The dates and artists for the 2018 event will be released in the coming months.