The gigs are part of Carclew’s 2011 Off the Couch program and the first event – the FUSE Festival Showcase – will kick off at Adelaide UniBar on Thursday, February 17.

“The Off the Couch program has been running successfully for 15 years now and in this time it has helped many young South Australians make a start in the music industry,” said Off the Couch Project Officer Drew Landt.

“The program seems to be getting bigger and bigger each year. In fact, the 2010 Off the Couch program attracted record participant numbers and the event’s six performances also drew some of the strongest crowds in the program’s history.

“There’s a lot of fantastic unknown talent out there and we’re really encouraging everyone to come along and get involved.”

Some of the state’s top musicians and bands will be performing at the first event, including Son of Dad, Pimpin Hours, Hightime, Red Apparition and Radio Spectacular!!!

Off The Couch is a program that is run by young people for young people with the assistance of industry professionals. It was developed to address the lack of performance opportunities for young musicians in South Australia and expanded to provide opportunities for young people to learn hands-on about the performance industry through sound engineering, marketing, promotions, stage management and much more.

More than 700 bands and musicians have pounded the boards at Off the Couch events in the past 15 years, showcasing to a total audience of more than 70,000 at some of Adelaide’s most popular venues.

Off The Couch – FUSE Festival Showcase will be blasting through the subwoofers at Adelaide UniBar (Gate 10, Level 5, Union House) on Thursday, February 17. Doors open at 7.30pm, with free entry. This is an all ages, licensed event.

For the other Off the Couch events:

Saturday, March 19: MYSA Festival, Gawler Place Canopy
Friday, April 1: Youth Week launch, Hindmarsh Square
Friday, April 15: Hard Heavy Loud, Fowlers Live
Friday, May 6: Acoustic, The Promethean
Friday, May 20: Rock, Venue to be confirmed