It’s a pleasure for the singer to be returning to Sunifest after she appeared at last year’s debut through her other musical venture, Mangelwurzel. There are 15 acts on the bill for this year’s event, up from nine in 2015. Alongside Jaala, punters can also expect to see sets from such legends as Peter Bibby, Crepes, Gabriella Cohen and Mesa Cosa, as they take to three stages at the much-loved Tote Hotel. There’s an incredible amount to see on the day – which kicks off at 3pm – so Cosi offers some pretty darn good advice to punters who want to get the most out of the lineup.
“All the bands are super fantastic, but you can’t see them all because of the three separate stages, so you’ll have to learn how to split up your body into three parts so you can man all three of the stages at the same time,” she laughs. As for the Jaala set in particular, she says Sunifest 2 goers should look forward to the much-loved angst and emotion of this band coming out in their performance (there might even be some crying on stage) alongside both crowd favourite tracks and some newies.
“There’ll be some new music in the Jaala set, we’re releasing the first single from our new record in September, so people will be able to get a sneak peek of that if they come along,” Cosi says.
She holds a great love for everything that this event offers, and hopes it can continue to come back each year. The Jaala frontwoman encourages anyone that’s down for a smashing time to head over to the Tote for Sunifest 2, so as help see it continue to kick on in years to come.
“If you come to this one, then maybe there can be one next year and it can keep on coming back, and then maybe one day there can be a big festival called Sunifest,” she says.
Looking further along Jaala’s calendar, and the band are also set to play at the Sad Grrrls Fest in October. Sad Grrrls Club is a Sydney-based DIY Record Label and booking agency, aimed at promoting gender diversity in the Australian music industry through the distribution and recognition of non-male artists. The festival is the ultimate celebration of their ethos.
“You can’t really say no to doing something like Sad Grrrls Club,” Cosi says. “It’s really important to encourage women and gender non-conforming artists to make some loud fucking noise. They need to be heard and to be loud and not be afraid to be creative or expressive, musically or otherwise.”
The festival is kicking it up a notch in 2016 by putting on a show down in Melbourne, as well as its hometown of Sydney. The Melbourne leg will feature Jaala alongside the likes of Jess Riberio, Alex Lahey, Camp Cope, Claws & Organs and The Bad Bitch Choir.
And while this event is definitely about getting around some insane music, Cosi insists that it’s about opening up the conversation about gender diversity in general.
“In a way, it’s more about coming together and celebrating the other (non-male) voices that don’t always get heard,” she says.
BY ABBEY LEW-KEE
