With over 100 speakers announced participating at 2012’s Face The Music, the annual not-for-profit music conference has just announced the addition of two never before seen In Conversation sessions with Kimbra and Soundwave’s AJ Maddah.

The event will mark the first time either have spoken at an industry conference, and with a character as colourful as Maddah his session will be a must-see.

The latest additions to the list of participants descending on Melbourne for the two day event include artists Chet Faker, Jess Cornelius, David Bridie, Mark Seymour, Weddings Parties Anything, Van Walker, Angie Hart, Charles Jenkins and King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard.

Known for his unorthodox style of festival promotion and social networking, AJ Maddah is the mastermind behind some of Australia’s biggest festivals including Soundwave and Harvest Festival.

In what will be AJ’s first ever one-on-one conference appearance, the In Conversation session will feature insights into AJ’s audacious career as a festival promoter and his approach to branding both himself and his two genre divergent festivals.

Returning from months of international touring Kimbra will make her first public appearance back in Australia at Face The Music 2012. The In Conversation with Kimbra session will provide the opportunity to hear the inspiration and stories behind Kimbra’s songwriting and collaborations, whilst providing participants the opportunity to pick the brains, heart and mind of one of Australia’s most sought after female solo artists.

In a Face The Music first, The Age EG Awards and Music Victoria are proud to present Weddings Parties Anything in a Spotlight on The Age EG Awards 2012 Hall of Fame inductees. Facilitated by EG’s Martin Boulton and featuring key members of Weddings Parties Anything, they’ll take a trip down memory lane ahead of their EG Hall of Fame induction performance, which celebrates the 25th anniversary of Scorn of the Women.

The band will discuss their career and craft, highlights and lowlights, playwright Ross Mueller will explain how he wrote a play, A Party in Fitzroy, from a fan’s perspective of their temporary break-up, whilst journalist Jeff Jenkins will give an overview of the band’s career before the band will finsih with a live performance.

Other speakers across the two day event also include a strong turn out from Triple J, featuring Stu Harvey, Maggie Collins and Dave Ruby Howe, as well as Alastair Burns (Jordie Lane), Alex Zaccaria (Bolster Music), Ben O’Connor (Chapter Music), Cael Fenby (Destroy All Lines), Claire Collins (Bossy Music), Daniel Petchey (Can’t Say/Purple Sneakers), David Barett (Laundry Bar), Dr Shane Homan (Monash University), Edwin Tehrani (New World Artists), Eric Moore (King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard), Forrester Savell (Producer), Gareth Parton (Producer), Graham Bidstrup (Buzz Management), Gregg Donovan (Wonderlick Entertainment), Guy Blackman (Chapter Music), Ian Jorgensen (Camp A Low Hum), Indra Adams (Singhala Music), Jimi Maroudas (Producer), John Lee (Mountains In The Sky), Johnny Moretti (Johnny Rock & The Limits), Leesa Ellem, Luke Logemann (UNFD), Marcus Teague (The Vine), Mary Mihelakos (Stage Mothers), Millie Millgate (Sounds Australia), Nicci Reid (Sugar Mountain), Nick Yates (UNFD), Quincy McLean (SLAM, Bakehouse Studios, Blue Ruin), Rebecca Young (Artist Voice), Rebecca Reato (Deathproof PR), Ross Macpherson (No Dice Management), Sam Thompson (MCM Media), Stacey Piggott (Two Fish Out Of Water), Stephen Wade (Select Music), Steven Schram (Producer), Stu Mackenzie (King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard), Tom Johannesen (Fetch Agency), Tom Fraser (Big Scary), Tom Supple (Supple Fox / Melbourne Festival), Vanessa Bassili (Little Old Me Publicity) and Zac Abroms (Vice Royalty) – with even more to be announced.

Be sure to register early to receive access emails to all the masterclasses, speed meetings and exclusive small group opportunities available throughout the two day event.

With tickets on sale now, be sure to get in early to avoid missing out. At just $45 ($30 concession) for one day or $70 ($50 concession) for two days, Face The Music is the best value for money conference in the country.

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