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This article explores urban-rural migration on the NSW Far North Coast
(the ‘Northern Rivers’ region) and the emergence of popular music as a niche
cultural industry. The various images of the NSW Far North Coast as a ‘lifestyle’
region, ‘alternative’ region and coastal retreat have attracted a diverse mix of exurban
professionals, unemployed persons, youth subcultures and retirees, yet
despite population growth, the region continues to suffer unemployment rates
among the highest in Australia. Against this backdrop, popular music has emerged as
a niche industry with linkages to cultural production in Sydney, Melbourne and
overseas, and also an area of creative expression that interacts with, and mediates
local social relations.