Western Australia’s emerging music spans hip hop, indie rock, R&B and pop, but there is no single roster or statistic that captures the whole scene. A clear snapshot is the four artists selected for the 2025 GRID Series Outer Perth Edition: PERSIA, JAEQ, Kalia Atawhai and Hello Stranger. The program paired artist development with recording, video and performance opportunities; other pathways include grants and industry showcases.
Four artists in the 2025 GRID Outer Perth cohort
The Western Australian Government’s 11 September 2025 announcement selected four acts for the Outer Perth edition. Its genre descriptions offer an introduction to their range, rather than definitive or artist-confirmed accounts of their sound.
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- PERSIA, from Lakelands, was described as an R&B/pop artist blending neo-soul and dreamy soundscapes.
- JAEQ, associated with Busselton and Mandurah, was described as an Indigenous hip hop storyteller.
- Kalia Atawhai, from Beeliar, was described as a pop/R&B/hip hop artist.
- Hello Stranger, from Mandurah, was described as a young indie rock band.
This is a program cohort, not a complete or representative list of WA artists. The announcement establishes their selection for that edition, but not their subsequent career paths or present status.
How GRID supports artists from development to performance
The 2025 Outer Perth GRID Series was announced as a free six-month program delivered with First Nations Focus. Its stated support included mentoring, song development, professional recording, video production and live performance opportunities. Each artist was to collaborate with producers and directors on a fully produced track and appear in a documentary about their journey.
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The Cook Government said it invested $108,000 in that edition. The same announcement reported that the wider GRID Series had supported more than 65 emerging artists from outer suburban areas across Australia since 2013, including Perth artist Flewnt. Those figures describe the program’s funding and reported reach, not the size of WA’s music scene.
Other routes: grants and showcases
Development programs, grants and showcases serve different points in an artist’s path. GRID describes a package of creative development and production; the Contemporary Music Fund can support eligible professional development, touring or showcasing, recording and promotion; showcases put artists in front of audiences and industry contacts.
| Opportunity | What it offers | Reach and timing |
|---|---|---|
| GRID Series Outer Perth Edition (2025) | Free six-month program with mentoring, song development, recording, video and live performance opportunities; a produced track and documentary feature were planned. | Outer Perth cohort of four, announced in 2025. The announcement does not establish a future edition’s availability. |
| Contemporary Music Fund Development Program | Eligible applicants may seek up to $20,000 for professional development, sector development, regional, national or international touring/showcasing, recording or promotion. | WA applicants; the current program page lists 2026–27 Round 1 closing at 4:00pm on 3 December 2026 and Round 2 at 4:00pm on 3 June 2027. |
| WA Music Week and WAM Showcase (2025) | Live programming and an inaugural showcase intended to connect emerging acts with talent buyers and the public, alongside WAMCon and a gathering for regional attendees. | WA Music Week ran 12–21 September 2025; the government announced over 70 local acts across 13 venues and 20 emerging acts in the showcase. |
Applying to the Contemporary Music Fund
The Contemporary Music Fund Development Program page, reviewed 1 April 2026, says applications should explain how the proposed activity will develop the applicant’s career and why the timing matters. The grant ceiling is not a guaranteed award: check current guidelines and eligibility directly before preparing an application.
A separate WA Government announcement on 6 November 2025 reported that 24 musicians had received nearly $400,000 from the fund since 1 July 2025, with grants of up to $20,000. It cited mentorships, EP production, national and international tours, including Noah Dillon’s 2025 UK/Europe support dates with John Butler and FN Focus’s BIGSOUND 2025 involvement. Those are examples and totals reported at that date, not a statement of current applications or future outcomes. See the 6 November 2025 announcement.
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The WA Government’s WA Music Week 2025 announcement described access to bookers, agents, labels and other music professionals as a potential career opportunity. Creative Industries Minister Simone McGurk said the event gave artists an opportunity to perform for those professionals, which “can lead to advancing their musical careers.” A showcase can create contact and visibility; the announcement does not show that participation advances every artist’s career. It also reported $605,750 in combined Cook Government and Lotterywest support for WA Music Week over four years.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What this snapshot can—and cannot—say about WA music
The artists and programs point to several ways emerging musicians may develop and present work: one-to-one mentoring and production, public funding for defined projects, and live events that bring acts together with audiences and industry. The documented opportunities span outer-suburban, regional, national and international activity.
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They do not establish how many emerging artists WA has, whether the scene is growing at a particular rate, how audience demand is changing, or whether public funding caused any individual success. The official announcements are useful records of program design, dates and reported figures, not independent artist profiles. The cohort’s descriptions also should not substitute for each artist’s own account of their music.
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