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Southern Lights Festival

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Southern Lights Festival 2026

A youth-powered explosion of music, visuals and creativity

Southern Lights Festival 2026 was a four-day, youth-led creative intensive that transformed the Cobargo Showground Pavilion into an immersive live music and digital art experience. Bringing together young people from across the South Coast, the project combined hands-on workshops, mentorship and real-world event delivery. Participants worked in dedicated teams across audio, visuals, performance, media and production, gaining practical skills while building every element of the festival from the ground up. From an empty pavilion to a fully realised, high-energy event, Southern Lights showcased what’s possible when young people are supported to lead, collaborate and create.

Feedback from the Participants

Day 1 — Getting Started

The first day brought participants together, many meeting for the first time, and introduced them to the vision of Southern Lights Festival. Young people were guided through the structure of the program and assigned to their production teams, including audio, visuals, performers, experimental music and media.

Mentors led initial workshops to build foundational skills and set creative direction. The pavilion, still an empty space, became a canvas for ideas as teams began planning staging, visual concepts, performance sets and technical requirements. By the end of the day, participants had begun to understand their roles and the scale of what they were about to create.

Day 2 — Building the Festival

Day two focused on turning ideas into reality. The transformation of the space began in earnest, with staging installed, scaffolding constructed and the first elements of décor taking shape.

Audio teams began setting up the sound system, while the visuals team worked on projection mapping, lighting design and content creation. Performers rehearsed and refined their sets, supported by mentors, while the experimental music team explored new sounds and collaborative performance approaches.

The pavilion started to shift from an empty venue into a functioning creative space, with each team contributing to the growing complexity of the environment.

Day 3 — Refinement and Rehearsal

By day three, the full structure of the festival was in place. Lighting rigs, projection systems and sound equipment were operational, and the focus shifted to refinement.

Teams worked together to troubleshoot technical challenges, fine-tune audio and visual elements, and integrate all components into a cohesive experience. Full rehearsals allowed performers and technicians to synchronise timing, transitions and production cues.

This day was critical in building confidence, as participants moved from learning and experimentation into delivering a professional-standard event.

Day 4 — Festival Day

The final day saw everything come together.

As evening approached, the pavilion — now fully transformed with staging, lighting, projection and décor — opened its doors to the community. What had begun as an empty space was now an immersive performance environment, ready to showcase the work created over the previous days.

The night featured a diverse lineup of emerging regional performers. Ava Baker & Emily Spooner, accompanied by Zoey Pepper, opened the evening with their distinctive harmonies and fresh interpretations. They were followed by Archie Schwarz, delivering a mix of originals and classics, before BbyBatXox brought an energetic electropop performance to the stage. Headlining the night, Lilith closed the festival with a powerful, high-intensity set that captured the energy and ambition of the entire project.

Behind the scenes and on the floor, young people led all aspects of the event — from audio and lighting to visuals, staging, media and production — working together to deliver a seamless and professional live experience.

The result was a vibrant, high-energy festival that celebrated not only emerging talent on stage, but the creativity, collaboration and dedication of the young people who made it happen.

Archived info

Get Involved!

If you are ages 13-24 – Get Involved!

Love music, visuals, performance, tech or media?
Join one of five production teams:

  • Audio & Production
  • Décor & Installation
  • Visuals & Projection Mapping
  • Performers
  • Media & Promotion

No experience needed — just curiosity and commitment.

 

Delivering a Festival requires lots of different roles. For Southern Lights there are four main production teams – Production, Decor, Visuals and Media. You can also choose to be a Performer or work with one of the creative teams –  Electronic Music Band, Experimental Music Band. 

 

Production Team: Working under the famous Sam’s Caravan you will learn all about live music production through setting up the sound system and operating it for the Festival

 

Decor Team: Working with artist Nicky Hutteman you will design and install multiple creative elements to run the Festival space into another world

 

Visuals Team: Working with the Bioluminescence project crew you will create custom video content, install projectors and video projection map the space and then be the VJ’s for the Festival

 

Media Team: Working with social media guru Alison Baker you will be the voice of the festival and also record the acts

 

Electronic Music Band: Working with experienced electronic music artists you will learn how to use the latest electronic music production tech and create performance ready set

 

Experimental Music Band: Create a tentacle musical instrument and work with your team to captivate the audience with the weird and wonderful

 

GET INVOLVED HERE:

https://events.humanitix.com/southern-lights-production-team-sign-up 

 

Get Tickets

About the Festival

Southern Lights is a youth-led, multi-art form festival where young people don’t just attend — they run the show.

Across three workshop days leading up to the event, participants aged 13–24 work with experienced mentors to design the visuals, build the stage and décor, produce the media, run the sound and lighting, and curate the performances. The result is a vibrant festival experience created from the ground up by the next generation of regional creatives.

Southern Lights is equal parts live music, digital art and community celebration — making it a must-see event for families, festival lovers and adventurous audiences ready to experience something bold, new and unforgettable.

Daytime Program — Bega Valley Synth Expo

Step into a full-day celebration of creativity, sound and technology as the Pavilion becomes the Bega Valley Synth Expo from 10am – 2pm.

During the day the festival transforms into a collaborative learning hub where curious minds can explore the world of electronic music and sound design. Learn the basics of DJing from experienced performers, discover how synthesisers create sound, experiment with music hardware and software, and wander through the interactive Synth Expo — a crowd-sourced display of unusual instruments, vintage gear, modular synth systems and homemade noise machines.

Whether you’re a musician, tinkerer, tech enthusiast, student or simply love trying something new, these workshops offer the chance to create, experiment and play.

Evening Concert

As the sun sets, Southern Lights shifts into full performance mode. The evening concert showcases an exciting lineup of emerging young talent from across the South Coast, supported by the festival’s youth-run production crew.

Headlining the night is Lilith, a heavy metal band from Bega forging brutal soundscapes that channel teenage rage and raw emotion. Formed by lifelong friends Fern Cross (vocals), Lincoln Dack (guitar) and Matilda Dack (bass), and joined by drummer Toby Norton, Lilith draw influence from nu-metal, deathcore and modern heavy acts to deliver explosive performances and powerful vocals that defy expectations.

Also appearing are Ava Baker and Emily Spooner, a dynamic singing duo from Bermagui and Narooma performing songs by male artists in female keys; Archie Schwarz, blending originals and classic influences inspired by his hero Paul McCartney; and BbyBatXox, bringing a bold electropop sound exploring themes of coming of age, identity and escapism with a club-kid twist.

Expect bold visuals, immersive projection mapping, dynamic sound and an atmosphere charged with creativity, surrounded by décor, lighting and projection installations designed and built by local young creative producers.

Tickets

Day + Night Pass: $30 / $15 concession
Daytime Synth Expo: $10 / $5
Night Concert: $20 / $10

Concessions are for students over 16 and pensioners. Under 16’s are free!!!

Numbers are limited — book now to secure your place.

 

GET YOUR TICKETS HERE:

https://events.humanitix.com/southern-lights-festival-pass/tickets

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The Bega Valley Synth Expo

Step inside the world of electronic sound at the Bega Valley Synth Expo, a hands-on celebration of synthesisers, electronic instruments and creative experimentation. Running during the day as part of the Southern Lights Festival, this unique event invites musicians, producers, curious beginners and sound lovers of all ages to explore the tools behind electronic music.

Across the morning and early afternoon, the Cobargo Showground Pavilion becomes a playground of sound featuring synth demos, interactive displays and workshops led by passionate electronic music creators. Get up close with rare analogue synthesisers and hardware instruments, learn how sounds are shaped, and discover the building blocks of electronic music production.

Highlights include a modular synthesiser demonstration by The 5th Volt, revealing the fascinating world of patch cables, oscillators and evolving soundscapes, plus a DJ workshop exploring mixing techniques and performance skills.

For those keen to dive deeper, Elk Elektronik will run a series of interactive synth workshops introducing the fundamentals of synthesis and drum machines. These sessions offer a practical, hands-on way to learn about synth parameters, sound design and creative music making using hardware instruments. Places are limited and booking is essential.

Experience realtime video synthesis on a modular system by Yat_Sek

Whether you’re an experienced producer, a curious beginner or simply fascinated by electronic sound, the Bega Valley Synth Expo is an inspiring opportunity to experiment, learn and connect with others exploring the possibilities of music technology.

Tickets: $10 / $5 concession – book online or buy a Festival pass for both the day and night events

Concessions are for students over 16 and pensioners. Under 16’s are free!!!
Workshop places are limited – early booking recommended.

Get Tickets:
https://events.humanitix.com/southern-lights-festival-pass/tickets

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