MANILLA Showground, in the shadow of the town’s “beloved” viaduct, could become Australia’s next great rock venue with the small-town lodging a bid to host Triple J’s One Night Stand concert.
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Manilla-resident Mandy Skewes submitted the application to host the gig and she wanted it to highlight the need for more services for the town’s youngsters.
“There’s no youth centre here for kids to just hang out,” Ms Skewes said.
“There’s a lot of sporting organisations here, and a lot of kids are involved.
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“That can be like putting a square peg in a round hole for some kids or they might not have access or the support to do that.”
Ms Skewes said “Manilla had a lot of potential”, but it just needed a bit of TLC.
“We’ve got to move forward and it’s not going to happen unless we put our hands up,” she said.
While it’s billed as a free, all-ages concert, she said a gold-coin donation at the gate could get the ball rolling on a youth centre for the town.
“[The youth] need to be involved in the decision-making,” she said.
“If they’re apart of that from the beginning, they’ll have ownership of it.
“There’s nothing here for some of the kids.”
She said the town’s showground would make an ideal venue.
One Night Stand is a free concert, hosted by radio broadcaster Triple J in a selected regional town, anywhere in Australia.
The radio station has been holding the annual concert since 2004, but it’s never been hosted by a town in the New England region.
Last year it was held in Mount Isa and the most recent NSW town to throw the One Night Stand was Dubbo in 2013.
Applications close on March 21 and the winning town and line-up will be announced in May.