Team

Joe Muller joined MusicNSW in November 2023 with over 15 years experience as a festival curator, creative producer, venue programmer, artist manager, independent label owner and artist. From 2021, he was the Music Curator for Vivid Sydney and has also curated music programs for Queensland Music Festival, Taste of Tasmania, Newtown Festival and Melbourne’s CHANGES festival and iconic Sydney venues The Basement and The Lansdowne. Joe has also worked as a live and studio musician for over 20 years. Joe is based on Gadigal country.

Laura became Operations Manager in November 2023. She has worked with MusicNSW as Executive Producer since 2017, working with the team to deliver services and programs across NSW. Leading strategic program development for the organisation, Laura has delivered outstanding results and continues to grow MusicNSW’s reach and impact. Laura is based on Gadigal country.

Since June 2023, Helen has led engagement with MusicNSW stakeholders and communities to support our programs and a thriving NSW music industry. Helen is a musician and dedicated communications specialist with a wealth of industry experience. She is driven by a desire to foster rewarding careers for musicians, cultivate thriving and inclusive music communities, and drive recognition of the value of contemporary music. Helen is based on Gadigal country.

Kaleena has been in the music industry for over 22 years as a vocalist/songwriter/performer with Stiff Gins. She is Wiradjuri/Yorta Yorta, hails from Naarm, on Wurundjeri Country, and has lived most of her life on Gadigal land. As First Nations Development Coordinator, Kaleena provides direct support to NSW-based First Nations creatives, and connects them to opportunities and resources that will help sustain their music endeavours.

Focusing across the North West and Northern Rivers regions, Dave is a music champion who previously worked as a Cultural Planner role for 6 years at Tweed Shire Council, where he organised small-scale music festivals, free live music in public parks, professional development workshops and forums. During that time he helped build relationships between the music industry and government sector, provided performance opportunities for local musicians, and advocated for regulatory reform. Dave is based on Bundjalung country.

Ali has been working with MusicNSW in regional NSW since 2021 and is focused on the Orana, Upper Hunter and Mid North Coast regions. She has also managed her own regional arts consultancy for 20 years, developing and producing projects in the commercial and not-for-profit sectors. She has held roles at Woodford Folk Festival and the Dreaming Festival, the Queensland Folk Federation and founded the Sustainable Living Festival and Gumbaynggirr Music Futures program. Ali is based on Gumbaynggirr country.

Focusing across the South West, Riverina and Murray regions, Kayne is a self-taught multi-instrumentalist and vocalist who has been heavily involved in the development of the Riverina’s original music scene for the past 10 years. As a multidisciplinary performer, Kayne has a passion for live performance and wants to see the music community of the Riverina thrive. He is based on Wiradjuri country.

Focusing across the Far South and Southern Tablelands regions, Sam is a lifelong musician who grew up in Coolagolite and has been active in the local music scene for years. In this time, he has provided leadership and mentorship for local musicians and built relationships with venue owners and industry professionals. Through his studies in Entertainment Business Management and multiple national tours as a musician, he found passion and purpose through the entertainment industry. Sam is based on Yuin-Djiringanj country.

Focusing across the Central West, Outback and West Darling regions. Sophie is a musician, mentor and music teacher who grew up in Tamworth before moving to Bathurst to complete her B.A Communications (Theatre/Media). She has been involved in the Bathurst community and surrounds through touring and performing with her band Smith & Jones, running community choirs and workshops, and managing events and bookings for The End Festival in Hill End and the Local Emerging Artists Program (as part of the Inland Sea of Sound Festival). She is based on Wiradjuri country.

Julian Knowles is a musician, producer and senior academic. He has worked in the Australian and UK independent music scenes since the early 90s. One of his bands, Even As We Speak, achieved chart success in the UK and were among a handful of Australian bands to record sessions for John Peel on BBC Radio 1. Following recent documentary and book projects on their UK label Sarah Records, the band reformed for recording and touring, and is currently releasing through Emotional Response (USA) and Rough Trade (UK/USA). As a producer/engineer, Julian has worked with a broad range of artists, including ARIA Hall of Fame inductee Ed Kuepper.

Julian has wide governance experience in the not-for-profit arts sector. He was Chair of QMusic for a 6 year period, working on the development of BIGSOUND towards a flagship national music industry event. He served as a member of the Music Board of the Australia Council for the Arts and has since been a frequent peer assessor.

In his academic career, Julian has held a range of senior roles, specializing in the modernization of music degree programs to reflect current industry practices. He has been a Head of School and Associate Dean across 4 universities and is currently Professor of Music at Macquarie University.

Recently appointed MusicNSW Treasurer Kristy Wilson completed her Diploma of Accounting in June 2017. Currently Kristy works as the Tax Manager at film and tv specialist firm Above The Line Accounting and also is a Bookkeeper for music technology start up Jaxsta.

Kristy began her career in finance as the Business Manager for boutique investment company Romulus Management. She then undertook specialist tax training at H&R Block for whom she had completed three tax seasons.

Kristy also brings a wealth of experience working in the music industry where she was National Event Administrator for the Big Day Out (2005-2011), freelance music publicist, and project manager MusicNSW.

Jane Slingo has worked in the electronic music sector since 1994. Her career path over the past two decades or so has included working as a promoter, publicist, street press editor, booking agent, tour manager and artist manager.?Jane founded Young Strangers in 2006, a boutique music business providing management services to a small roster of electronic music artists including Set Mo and Sampology.

Since 2016, Jane has been Executive Producer of Australia’s Electronic Music Conference and she is currently on the management board for Music NSW and a member of APRA’s Club Music Advisory Group.

Vic McEwan is an interdisciplinary artist exploring sound, video and installation. He is a producer and director who is interested in landscape, communities, remote spaces and cross art form collaboration. Vic is the Inaugural Arts NSW Regional Arts Fellow. This involves Vic working as the 2015 Artist in Residence at the National Museum of Australia, exploring human engagement with the landscape.

Vic is also undertaking a major arts/health project in the UK with Manchester University and Alder Hey Children’s Hospital working towards the use of contemporary arts in trauma reduction. Vic has devised, developed and presented a diverse program of past work involving major partnerships with multiple outcomes ranging from flood trauma recovery to interactive gallery installations.

Emily Nicol is an Aboriginal/Torres Strait Islander media professional based in Sydney. Working in a diverse range of positions within media, Emily currently produces/presents ‘Making Tracks’, the drive time show on Sydney’s Koori Radio, is a digital producer with NITV, and a freelance journalist with articles featured in such publications as The Guardian, SBS Life, Time Out.

Recently Emily was Guest Editor for a special edition of Time Out Sydney ‘The Deadly Issue’, which was nominated for a Mumbrella Publishing award. Emily curated the first official dedicated Australian Indigenous playlist for Spotify, launched during NAIDOC Week 2017 – ‘Black Australia’ and has been a guest speaker on Spotify Music panel on Diversity and Inclusion in the music industry on a panel for the Inaugural Women in Music Empowerment Day.

Emily is enjoying being back in front of the camera producing and presenting a series of movie reviews for Indigenous Australian films for the Ozflix platform. She is also a part of the Audiocraft conference programming committee, offering a voice for community radio and the diverse voices within audio and podcasting in Australia.

As General Manager of Cattleyard, Kathryn continues to work with Groovin the Moo, THE PLOT and pursue her love of management in the music and community sectors with Newtown Festival, NGO’s such as Side Of Stage (CanTeen).

From 2004 – 2010 Kathryn coordinated the 1233 ABC Newcastle Music Awards project (supporting and giving airplay to the regions up and coming artists) for the Nation’s Broadcaster (ABC). In-between each annual event, she started building her career in publicity by learning from the best in the music PR business and taking on a variety of roles for Gadigal Music and ABC Music with Homebake, Waveaid, Bluesfest, Soundwave and Groovin the Moo rounding out her festival experience.

She has had the privilege of working as a programming assistant at some of Australia’s finest arts festivals – Perth International Arts Festival (2007 & 2008) and Sydney Festival (2010 & 2011).