What would a connected, sustainable regional and remote music system look like by 2035? This panel considers how Australia can move beyond fragmented activity and capital-city centralisation to build a stronger national ecosystem grounded in local knowledge, self-determination and long-term investment.

Drawing on the history of regional music systems and the infrastructure that supported them before metropolitan centralisation, the conversation will explore the role of policy, funding, governance and planning in enabling artists to stay, return, tour, lead and build sustainable careers from place.

It will also examine how councils, governments, peak bodies, venues, festivals, promoters, industry and communities can work together with greater coordination and less duplication. Together, the panel will identify the priority shifts needed over the next decade to rebalance cultural power and investment, recognise regional communities as critical cultural, social and economic infrastructure, and connect local action with a genuinely national vision.