HER HOMETOWN PUTS LOCAL BANDS IN THE SPOTLIGHT
THERE’S SOMETHING QUIETLY POWERFUL ABOUT A HOMETOWN STAGE, ESPECIALLY ONE THAT HAS STOOD AT THE CENTRE OF A COMMUNITY FOR OVER 150 YEARS.
Her Hometown is a curated concert series where we turn our stage outward, creating space for local artists to headline rather than playing support for touring acts. It's about championing the musicians shaping Ballarat's cultural identity and giving audiences the chance to experience their work in one of the region's most iconic performance venues.
Launching with Epicure's long-awaited album, Evenings in Honduras, Her Hometown is both a celebration of Ballarat's rich musical heritage and a statement about its future. The series recognises the calibre of artists who call the region home, elevating local voices and creating opportunities for them to share moments with their community.
For a regional city, that's more important than ever. Ballarat has long produced exceptional musicians, but opportunities to see local artists presented at the same scale and standard as major touring acts remain rare. Her Hometown seeks to change that dynamic, creating a platform where local stories, audiences and talent take centre stage. It's about recognising that some of the region's most compelling artists aren't passing through, they're already here.
'We really couldn't wait to get back on that beautiful stage,' the band said, describing Her Hometown as the perfect opportunity to do things properly. 'We all grew up in Ballarat, live here now, and each have had incredible experiences at Her Maj.'
For Epicure, those memories stretch across decades, from performing in local theatre productions as teenagers to watching the venue welcome world-class artists from around the globe.
Despite time apart, frontman Juan Alban notes the band’s identity remains unmistakable. Even after years of solo work, 'as soon as I’m playing and writing with Tim and Dom, those songs instantly become recognisable as Epicure.' That enduring chemistry underpins a new record the band describes as more mature and musically assured, 'the best we’ve made.'
That history makes the launch of their first album in 16 years at Her Majesty's Theatre feel especially significant: a homegrown band returning to one of Ballarat's grandest stages to celebrate a new chapter surrounded by the community that helped shape them.
Drummer Dom Santamaria says that while numerous musicians have contributed to Epicure's sound over the years, the band's extended community of friends, family and fans has always felt like its most important member. Their support has remained a constant throughout every chapter of Epicure's journey and, judging by the response to the album launch, that connection remains as strong as ever. It's a sentiment reflected in the enthusiasm of locals, who were quick to secure tickets and celebrate the return of a band whose story is deeply intertwined with their identity.
For Epicure, it's not just about being supported by the community, as much as creating a cycle where artists can support their community too. Growing up in Ballarat, the band found inspiration in venues like the now-closed Bridge Mall Inn, a hub of local creativity where they watched original artists carve out their own space and sound. One of those bands was The Dead Salesmen, who will join Epicure on the Her Hometown bill, bringing the story neatly back to where it began.
Bassist Tim Bignell believes those experiences were formative, not just for Epicure but for any young musician trying to imagine what's possible. 'I think it was really important for us to see those first shows when we went to the Bridgey. That was a whole new world for us, seeing original bands playing great music,' a sentiment frontman Juan Alban echoes. 'For me, The Dead Salesmen were as good as any of the big US bands I was listening to.'
Seeing local artists succeed on their own terms helped make the prospect of starting a band feel achievable. 'For us to see another band doing that in our hometown, that was a big influence,' Alban says. 'You need to see someone else doing it to feel like you can do it.'
That's one of the ideas underpinning Her Hometown. Just as Epicure once looked to local bands like The Dead Salesmen as proof that a Ballarat band could create original music and build its own audience, the concert series creates a platform for the next generation of artists to see what's possible. On a bill that brings both bands together decades later, it's a reminder that local music scenes are built not just on venues and audiences, but on artists inspiring the artists who come after them.
