Tristan Berry’s Viscera Arts adds TURF events company [Exclusive]

Tristan Berry’s music empire is expanding.

A year after launching artist development platform Viscera Arts, the Sydney-based entrepreneur debuts an events company TURF in collaboration with Courtney Cunningham, a recording artist with The Buoys, Good Pash and Moody Beach (the latter two acts graduating through the Viscera Arts system).

TURF is envisaged as a vehicle to push new creative platforms and showcase Sydney artists, with a “Deluxe Popup” launch event booked for Dec. 12 at Goodspace, featuring visual artists, eco-friendly goods and live performances.

“We want every event to be inclusive of all groups, gender, race and beliefs,” a statement reads, "whether it be hip hop, punk, indie, urban, painters, comic artists, poets, hipster, glam, queer all blended into one space every month.”

Band nights will follow and, in time, TURF will expand into larger-scale events, Berry explains.

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Also, TURF will co-present Viscera Arts’ regular showcase night, which returns to The Lansdowne in Newtown next month under the moniker The Source. Kicking off Jan. 31 and running each month, three bands will get a chance to showcase their talents for a mix of industry professionals and punters.

An online spin-off is also in the works. In the months ahead, Viscera Arts will pull the trigger on a live music TV-format Straight From The Source, featuring new artists and a yet-to-be announced host. Think an underground Later... with Jools Holland, only with Australian accents.

Straight From The Source will live on YouTube and its line-up details will be announced in due course.

“All of these activities come together to form a local-focused, artist-development mecca,” Berry tells TIO. “My goal is to be able to provide new artists with every opportunity they need to get rolling.”

A former executive with Sony Music, Universal Music and Nightlife Music, Berry presented Viscera Arts last December as an incubator and launch pad for artists in the very early stages of their careers.