General News
7 October, 2020
Savannah Summer Series Success
Organisers of The Savannah Summer Series are claiming the concert a success as around 1500 country music fans boot scooted with headliner Lee Kernaghan on Friday night at the Mareeba Rodeo Grounds.
Organisers of The Savannah Summer Series are claiming the concert a success as around 1500 country music fans boot scooted with headliner Lee Kernaghan on Friday night at the Mareeba Rodeo Grounds.
Originally scheduled for the Queen’s Birthday Long Weekend, Savannah in The Round was postponed during the COVID-19 outbreak and reimagined as the Savannah Summer Series.
Organiser of the event James Dein from Sound Australia said he was blown away by the vibe and how well behaved everyone was.
“We were delighted it couldn’t have gone better we achieved our target of 1500 people,” he said.
“People were very well behaved, there were no reported incidents, it was a great family vibe.”
“Friday's event allows us to refine our event for next year, as we are still not sure if there will be COVID restrictions this time next year.”
After the success of last week’s event, the organisers have announced that the 2021 Savannah In The Round concert will take place on October 1 to 3 in Mareeba, with a strong focus on Australian country music talent
Packed exclusively with talent from around Australia, the 2021 event will welcome multi-award-winning country music artist, Kasey Chambers as well as the return of Lee Kernaghan and Casey Barnes, along with country music royalty John Williamson and Aussie favourites Busby Marou.
The McClymonts will also make the trip up north with Graeme Connors, Troy Cassar-Daley, The Wolfe Brothers, Fanny Lumsden, James Blundell, The Buckleys and more.
“We have now given people a full 12 months to book their holidays and fly in from interstate or even new Zealand,” Mr Dein said.
“We are also having some very positive talks with an international star in Nashville that we are hoping we can add to the line-up once we have more certainty about the border situation”.
Mr Dein said it was a great turn out for their first event, but they are hoping for bigger and better in the future.
“The venue has the capacity to fit 15,000 people but being realistic with next years line up six to eight thousand people should be achievable.”
Tourism Minister Kate Jones said confirmation the event would go ahead in 2021 was great news for Far North Queensland as the tourism and events industry continued to face the effects of COVID-19.
“Major events pump millions of dollars into local businesses and support local jobs. They’re crucial to the economic recovery of the Far North,” Ms Jones said.
“Savannah in The Round will play an important role in tourism recovery locally, delivering a great boost for the tourism industry when it’s needed most.
“COVID-19 is the biggest challenge our industry has faced and I congratulate the festival organisers for their resilience and commitment to adapt to deliver this year’s Savannah Summer Series and next year’s Savannah in The Round.
“Savannah in The Round will give domestic travellers another reason to experience the Far North and the Great Barrier Reef.”
Tickets for the Savannah In The Round are on sale at 9:00am on Friday, October 9 at www.savannahintheround.com.au
