For nearly 20 years, Northern Sound System has been one of South Australia’s most important creative incubators. From ARIA winners to first-time performers, discover how it continues to change the state’s music scene.
Last year, Adelaide indie band Pomegranates stepped onto the Academy Stage at WOMADelaide. That stage was curated by Northern Sound System (NSS).
For 19-year-old Neo, the band’s lead vocalist, it was one of the moments that made the path from “kid who likes music” to “working artist” feel tangible.
“Before Northern Sound System, starting up a music career was such a far-off, scary dream,” she says. “I’d probably still be sitting in it and very confused and scared if I didn’t have NSS.”
What is Northern Sound System?
For two decades, NSS has helped young people in Adelaide’s north turn creative ambition into skills, paid work and professional opportunities.
Run by the City of Playford, with ongoing support from the SA Government (through the Music Development Office) and federal government, the Elizabeth-based hub combines a 400-capacity all-ages venue, professional recording studio and structured programs designed to build creative skills and real industry pathways.
Its impact has also been recognised through South Australia’s premier arts and culture accolades – the State Government’s Ruby Awards – for its contribution to the state’s creative ecosystem.
When it opened in 2006, it was a bold move. A council-run music hub in Elizabeth was not a small idea. Nearly 20 years later, it looks quietly visionary.
The artists who’ve gone big
Over the past two decades, Northern Sound System has helped nurture artists who’ve gone on to national and international stages, including:
- Tkay Maidza – ARIA Award-winning rapper and global touring artist
- Teenage Joans –ARIA-nominated punk-rock duo
- George Alice – indie-pop artist with millions of streams
- Elsy Wameyo – internationally performing singer-songwriter-rapper
- TOWNS – indie-rock duo with national festival slots
- DEM MOB – APY Lands hip hop collective touring nationally and overseas
- MARLON X RULLA – First Nations duo blending soulful R&B and hip hop with a rock edge, forged through sport, family and community.
And for every headline act, there are quieter milestones – first recordings, first paid production roles, first community gigs – and that spectrum matters just as much.
From bedroom musician to festival stage
Neo had always known the arts would be part of her life.
“I’ve always been creative,” she says. “I like to read, write, sing, dance, compose – anything.”
She’s of African descent, the first in her family born in Australia, and grew up balancing different identities and influences.
Her music is still evolving. Her band Pomegranates leans “groovy indie rock” – loud, expressive and “a bit feral”, while her solo work is slower and more intimate. She experiments with RnB and rap with friends. She’s also learning to produce her music.
Neo says studio time, engineers and mixing can be prohibitively expensive for emerging artists. Through NSS’s Studio Lab sessions, she’s able to book free studio time, experiment and learn what happens on both sides of the booth.
“You can make mistakes and it’s okay,” she says. “Sometimes it’s difficult when you’re new to the scene. You worry about being judged. NSS makes it feel less scary.”
A place that makes dreams feel possible
Lyric has loved music since she was little – raised on her parents’ playlists and hooked after watching Michael Jackson videos as a kid.
“I was like, that is so cool. I want to do that,” she says.
She first walked through NSS’s doors at 14. Now she’s 16, a registered volunteer turned paid staff member who has completed a tech internship in lighting and is writing an EP for her Year 11 project.
“It’s literally a dream job,” she says. “To be 16 and work at a place like Northern Sound System – it makes you feel really accomplished.”
She’s also worked behind the scenes at WOMADelaide through the NSS Academy partnership – her first festival experience.
“To experience my first festival like that was really, really cool,” she says. “It felt like the biggest brag ever.”
“NSS has given me confidence,” she says. “It makes being a musician professionally feel like it could actually be reality.”
She’s also developing as a live music photographer, shooting local acts like Teenage Joans and documenting Adelaide’s music scene from another angle.
That portfolio-style career thinking – performing, tech, photography, digital – is increasingly how the industry works. NSS reflects that with a diverse lineup of programs for all kinds of young creatives.
Rewriting the narrative of the north
Manager Creative Industries Georgy Rochow – herself a working musician who is performing her own show, Neuro Spicy: The Musical, at this year’s Fringe – says NSS is about creating a safe, accessible space for young people to tell their stories and build the skills to back them up.
“I see every day the stories young people have to tell. There’s so much talent, so much culture, so much to say,” she says.
“A lot of what we do at NSS is around confidence. Giving young people permission to create for the sake of creating – and then following where that leads.”
It’s also about giving people a place to see what they can become. NSS is a live music venue featuring local, emerging and nationally recognised artists.
“You can’t be what you can’t see,” Georgy says. “NSS gives people the chance to see live music up close – to see local artists and big names on stage, and to imagine themselves there too. We are currently upgrading the venue to make it fully accessible. We want NSS to be a space where everyone can participate in live music and belong.”
Growing with the industry
Not everyone who walks through the doors wants to be the one holding the microphone. Some want to run sound. Some want to design lighting. Some want to shoot music videos. Others discover those paths along the way.
“Success looks different for everyone,” Georgy says.
Since opening, NSS has expanded well beyond band programs.
Young people can now learn sound engineering, lighting, event production, photography, digital content creation, podcasting and music business basics.
Through WOMADelaide x NSS Academy, emerging artists perform on the Academy Stage while young technicians gain hands-on experience across four days at an international-level festival – learning stage management, artist liaison, tech operations and production in real time.
And NSS’s new Next Wave: Building Creative Careers program pairs emerging musicians with videographers and photographers. Participants leave with a demo, a music video and structured industry mentorship.
Creative careers in 2026 are rarely linear. They require technical literacy, collaboration and business understanding alongside artistic skill – and NSS has evolved to meet that reality.
“Council recognised early that providing pathways into music and the arts was an important way to engage young people,” says Playford Mayor, Glenn Docherty.
“NSS was a bold investment and continues to create opportunities outside traditional models that help our young people express creativity through music and art, while also building capability, collaboration and adaptability.
“It reflects Council’s commitment to ensuring Playford is not only growing, but leading in how we support skills, innovation and opportunity in the creative arts scene.”
See it in action
This Adelaide Fringe, NSS is taking over four Friday nights with Northern Sounds – a multi-stage program stretching from the 400-capacity main room to the Launch Pad skate park outside.
Each week, from 20 February to 20 March, features two curated headline shows indoors alongside free live sets under the lights in the skate park.
It’s a chance to catch emerging artists like Abbey Amber, LIL CUE, Tereza and ZAV-E before they outgrow rooms of this size – with tickets ranging from free to just $20.
In a festival season dominated by CBD venues, Northern Sounds is a reminder that some of the most interesting things happening during Fringe aren’t always in the Adelaide Parklands.
“I want people to know NSS is worth the drive,” Georgy says.
For audiences, that means discovering artists before they hit bigger stages. For young creatives, it means seeing what’s possible – and knowing there’s a place to start.
Find out more about Northern Sounds and book your tickets here. Find out more about Northern Sound System and its programs here.
