Interviews

Converge Festival - A Headliners Deep Dive Into The Importance of Cherishing Local Talent

Paul 'Browny' Brown

CEO/Founder and Editor-In-Chief

Aug 15, 2025

8 min read

In case the whirlwind of new and exciting music news this year has left you completely swept up in it all, we’re here to remind you of one of the newest and exciting ventures within the festival scene, that being the inaugural year of Converge Festival!

Taking place in both Brisbane and Melbourne in September, the festival is set to be an exhibition of some of Australia’s most prolific and hard-hitting homegrown talent, honing in on the growth of local acts and allowing them to flourish in the community-driven environments of some of our most loved venues.

But that’s not all! With tattoos and DJs, Converge Festival is set to be a day of high energy and emotional escapism.

We sat down with some of the festival's headliners: Thomas Pirozzi of Sienna Skies, Lachlan Monty of Bad/Love, and Matt Gibson of Young Lions, to delve into the importance of a festival like Converge and what the headline opportunity means for them within their creative journey!

What attracted you to the charm of playing the inaugural Converge Festival?

‍Sienna Skies- We’re really grateful to have been asked; it’s always nice being included in something we think is so important.
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‍Bad/Love- From playing shows since I was 16, I feel like the alternative scene is really missing the sense of community I grew up with. It’s dog-eat-dog right now, and the loving community of everyone supporting each other feels like a distant dream. Mini fests used to be quite common and a really great place to make new friends, support artists to get to the next stages in their careers and discover amazing new music. Lots of people are complaining they are seeing the same bands on every lineup - well, come and see the next wave. This lineup is STACKED, and you will be truly surprised at the calibre of every band on these lineups when you see them on a big stage.

Young Lions- Honestly, the lineup speaks for itself — it’s stacked with bands we love, and the idea of being part of a brand-new festival is exciting. There’s something special about that “first one” energy where everyone’s still figuring it out together. You can feel the buzz building and know you’re part of something that could become a staple in the scene for years to come. It also gives us a chance to make heaps of new friends, and the opportunity to play with friends we haven’t seen in ages, like the boys in The Comfort that toured with us 8 years ago for Mr. Spaceman.

This festival is the best way to showcase emerging talent who might not get the chance to play the bigger festivals. Why is it important to give back to these bands and music scenes?

Sienna Skies: It’s these kinds of festivals that grow bands and communities. We’ve all seen small-scale festivals pop up all over the country over the years, and names that graced those stages are now all over the world. It’s such a core ideology in the scene, and if you aren’t mindful of that, you really shouldn’t be part of it.

‍Bad/Love- I kind of covered this in the last question a little bit, but bands at this level are really struggling to get a look in for bigger tours and festivals right now.

If they aren’t given opportunities, they will disappear, and that is SO DAMN SAD! Your local scenes need your help now more than ever

with rising touring costs, inflation, streaming over record sales and cost of living rising, bands are really struggling to create and finance growth. So many international bands are touring, which is amazing, but local shows are suffering. If all of Australia’s local talent is forced to stop when the big Aus acts finish up, our live scene won’t be around.

‍Young Lions- Not that we are a big deal in the least, but this is exactly where we came from - playing shows with bands bigger than us! Every established band started as the opener no one knew yet, playing their hearts out to a room that was still filling. The Brightside especially has a special place in our hearts as we have played there so many times over the years.

Gun to your head, you have to pick one song from each headliner to play to an invading alien race converging on Earth. What do you choose and why?

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‍Sienna Skies - Young Lions, would have to be ‘Burn The Money’, love that track, and have a very vivid memory of watching it side stage at Unify one year. As for Bad Love, it has to be ‘Nowhere Else Like Home’. Great song with cheeky toes to Western Sydney. Love it.

‍Bad/Love- I’m picturing an epic Arrivals vibe. ‘Pilgrim’ by Young Lions & ‘Elated’ by Sienna Skies!

‍Young Lions- Alright, pressure’s on! Sienna Skies with ‘Elated’, that new song absolutely slaps. Callan Orr on production, that’s straight fire! Young Lions and ‘Superhuman’ seems appropriate. Bad/Love with ‘The World in Colour’ - again, seems appropriate. Big hitter riffs, high energy - anthem chorus. Banger.

What's a core memory you have from the time when the albums you are playing were conceived/recorded, or a memory from the early scene days that stuck with you until now?

Sienna Skies- I’m in one of those weird positions where I went from fan, to friend, and now fronting the band that I supported for my first ever show back in 2009.

That’s always something that hits pretty warm when we jump up on stage.

Bad/Love- For us, it would have to be playing UNIFY! It was our second show after we released SIOIS and we played ‘DMU’ for the first time. That community vibe that UNIFY had is what we imagine will be at CONVERGE - lots of great Australian acts serving up killer sets with day fest vibes and good vibes!

Young Lions- Recording ‘Spaceman’ was a special time for all of us - all together in a studio on the Central Coast with Sonny Truelove. We worked with him on our first two albums and the atmosphere was a vibe for sure. Callan Orr and Gareth Hargreaves made for incredible engineers and additional production. Amazing friends came along to the studio, like Trenton from Hands Like Houses, and we spent countless hours exploring the woods and hills around the studio.

We love highlighting the upcoming scene, and there's plenty of bands on this festival worth noting - who is your ONE fav pick of the bunch fans should check out ahead of the shows?

‍Sienna Skies- Absolutely love 50fifty. They’ve been on our radar for a while, and we were lucky enough to have them be a part of one of our shows last year. Really excited to catch them again!

‍Bad/Love- Saving Face! This band has been working their butts off, and I cannot wait for their set. If you like emotional hardcore, this band’s new record is on the level of all the greats, and their live energy is insane.

‍Young Lions- Check out Bad Juju. They’ve got this massive, dynamic sound and such a tight live show — you can tell they put their heart into every note. They’re one of those bands you’ll be bragging about seeing early.

There are tattoos at the festival as well - do you have any regretful tatts or funny tatty stories to tell?

‍Sienna Skies- I’ll probably be the only clean skin in the room, to be honest, but we did get surprised last year in Adelaide when someone showed up with a portrait of Damo drumming on his thigh! Wild scenes!

Bad/Love- My first tattoo was a bit funny. I only got my first tattoo at 30 (weird, I know). I wanted a Grim Reaper, but wanted to be edgy and give it a female body. My tattoo artist (Jad, who will be tattooing at the Melbourne date) was quick to suggest that perhaps I wouldn’t want that, as skeletons tend to look the same… He was right, we had a laugh, and I adjusted my idea haha!
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Young Lions- All of us have the same YL tattoos; we have one for each album (except the latest, but that could change soon!).

For those on the fence about coming, why do you think they should bite the bullet and grab a ticket?

‍Sienna Skies- I think seeing a lot of these bands gracing some bigger stages, everyone is going to be blown away. There’s also a 76% chance I’ll take my shirt off.

‍Bad/Love- Honestly, these days are going to be so refreshing and unique. The talent is world-class, and you are supporting something that really matters, helping develop artists in the hardest time possible. It’s insane bang for buck with what’s on offer. If you want to see events like this continue and grow for your own purpose as well, you need to get on the ground and support! As Captain Planet would say, “The power is yours!”

‍Young Lions- I think it’s really special line-up, full of amazing artists, but also the headliners are playing material that they just don’t bring out often. That and also because you’re never going to get another first Converge Festival.

It’s history in the making, with a lineup that’s ridiculous for a debut year. Plus, the energy of a crowd that knows they’re part of something new is unbeatable.

Any final thoughts?

‍Bad/Love- If you aren’t familiar with the bands, trust me that this lineup is curated. All these bands deserve your attention and you won’t be disappointed.

‍Young Lions- We can’t wait to hit the stage and be part of this with everyone. Come early, support the whole lineup, get a tattoo if you’re feeling brave, and let’s make this a weekend we’ll all remember!