How Avalon Is Becoming A Quiet Powerhouse For Australia’s Next Wave Of Music Artists

The Northern Beaches have a pretty distinct creative energy—you can hear it in the musicians who grew up here, and in the artists who find themselves pulled back whenever they need to reset.

Avalon, in particular, feels like a town that accidentally became an artistic engine room. Kids busk outside cafés, house parties turn into impromptu gigs, and local venues quietly nurture the next generation of songwriters and storytellers. 

This summer, that creative current gets its biggest spotlight yet. The Deep North Festival is debuting across Avalon, Whale Beach and Palm Beach, bringing three days of music, art, film, food and coastal culture to the peninsula. And fittingly, the lineup includes artists born and raised in the community, as well as those shaped by the coastline in quieter yet equally powerful ways.

We sat down with four of the biggest acts gracing the stage this December: Megan Washington, Tilli Kay, Ben Morgan, and Le Shiv—to hear a little bit about their influences, what brings them back to the coast, and what aspects of the festival they are most looking forward to. 

Tickets are on sale now — trust us, you’ll want to be there.

Megan Washington

Image credit: Washington Gram | Instagram

Deep North headliner Megan Washington has lived more musical lives than most artists fit into a single career. She first emerged in Australia’s jazz circles (performing as Washington) before pivoting into indie pop and alternative rock, carving out a sound that’s both sophisticated and emotionally fearless. Since then, she’s moved through multiple artistic identities, each era marked by a new creative evolution rather than a reinvention.

Her most recent album GEM captures this perfectly: nature-soaked, emotionally intuitive and filled with the kind of lyrical detail that makes you feel like you’re leafing through someone’s private notebook. It’s no surprise she cites coastlines, soundscapes and long stretches of water as anchors in her creative process.

“I grew up in Port Moresby and spent a lot of time on the water there”, she tells Urban List. “There’s definitely something about being near water (any size, any kind) that tends to make things begin to flow.”

Across albums, film work, voice acting and collaborations with some of Australia’s most respected artists (as well as multiple ARIA’s), Megan has become one of the country’s most distinctive storytellers. Her songs blend vulnerability with sharp, unexpected humour—one of the things she’s most looking forward to bringing to her set.

“I just hope people enjoy listening to the music, and to my jokes.”

She’s also equally excited to be an audience member: “I love playing festivals because I love the opportunity to see and hear everyone else. I want to catch James Morrison, I want to see William Barton, I want to do a sound healing, maybe get a spontaneous tattoo!”

While Megan is one of the only acts who isn’t originally from Avalon, her sound is heavily influenced by the community where she grew up—a story that resonates with all those performing this year. 

“When I was coming up as a late teenager, there was a venue in the Valley in Brisbane called The Troubadour, which was like the dojo for a whole raft of songwriters. I was lucky to be able to be part of that”, she reminisces. 

“I spent years going there as a punter and dreaming of taking my turn on stage one day until finally it happened. Small, loving venues that uplift and develop emerging songwriters should be heritage listed.”

Tilli Kay

Image credit: Tilli Kay | Instagram

Tilli Kay is part of the new wave of Northern Beaches talent making serious noise beyond the peninsula. An indie-rock singer-songwriter with a sharp lyrical edge, Tilli blends raw honesty with a guitar-driven sound shaped by influences such as Angie McMahon, Sam Fender, Kings of Leon, and The Vanns. Her songwriting feels lived-in — shaped by long coastal walks, late-night drives, and putting emotion over logic.  

“Most of my writing relies on giving myself space”, Tilli tells us. “The landscape around Avalon—the beaches, headlands, bush tracks, are always the perfect places to sit and feel inspired. That sense of openness always ends up in the writing process of most of my songs.”

She’s spent the past few years building a reputation across Sydney’s live scene, backed by a tight band that amplifies her mix of vulnerability and power. Her debut single Crossroads, released in May, is a clear statement of intent: unvarnished, emotionally direct, and anchored in open authenticity that’s quickly becoming her signature.

In terms of community, Tilli is a living, breathing example of how tight-knit the beaches can be. 

“The local community and musicians have backed me from the very beginning. There’s always been this genuine sense that people want to see you grow, and that support has been a huge part of why I’ve kept going.”

“I met my best mate and guitarist, Noah, up here. We were both doing a busking competition at the old Kave Bar and have played together ever since.” 

Noah, who'll be performing alongside her, has been one of her biggest cheerleaders.  “If it weren’t for the push from him, I don’t think I would’ve had the guts to start playing my own music live with a band.”

Tilli’s music feels unmistakably Northern Beaches — spacious, grounded, and full of heart — but her appeal extends far beyond home turf. The Deep North marks the next chapter for an artist who’s only just beginning to carve out her place in Australia’s indie-rock landscape.

“I love coming back home to such a beautiful place, but I think stepping away is just as important. It breaks the cycle and brings new ideas into my writing.”​​

Ben Morgan

Image credit: Ben Morgan | Instagram

Ben Morgan may be a recent arrival to Avalon, but his music slots easily into the landscape. 

“Avalon has a crazy allure — even though I haven’t lived here super long, it still hits me every time I come around the Bilgola bends”, he notes.

Fresh from a European run supporting Ziggy Alberts (including a bucket-list performance at London’s Royal Albert Hall), Ben returns home with a sound shaped by both distance and deep familiarity.

“I was just in Europe, and the stuff I was writing there was pretty different from what comes out of me at home. Avalon shifts with the seasons — from bright, easy summer days to more wild, rugged winter ones — and that gives me a pretty broad range, from light folk-leaning tracks to darker, moodier blues songs.”

His songwriting draws from American and UK folk traditions, shaped by years of travel, surf, and a steady relationship with the ocean. 

“I remember coming up to surf in my late teens and being instantly drawn in by the waves. When surfing beneath those stunning headlands, the rawness of nature really sinks in, and that’s exactly the kind of energy I try to capture in my songs.”

Since moving to the area, the mix of bushland, headlands and shifting swell has already begun influencing the tone of his newer work. And despite being a newer face, the community has made room for him quickly — The Deep North marks the start of what feels like a long-term creative connection.

“Avalon has such an amazing community — everyone’s pretty like-minded and shares similar values, which means it's pretty easy to be myself when performing.”

“It’s like a small town tucked inside Sydney, totally centred around nature and the waves…it’s kind of like an out of tune piano being played by a maestro — as raw and imperfect as it is breathtaking.”

When asked what venues in town are most special to him, Ben had no hesitation. “Bookoccino, 100%. Sally and the crew are not only legends, but they also genuinely support local artists by giving us a platform every Sunday morning and some nights too. It’s a must-see if you’re new to Av — you can grab a coffee, browse through books by both local and well-known authors, and feel part of the community.”

Le Shiv

Image credit: Le Shiv | Instagram

Le Shiv’s story reads like a series of well-timed accidents, the kind that only happen when three musicians decide to throw themselves into the unknown and figure the rest out later.

Before Le Shiv existed, Pencil, Moss and Jarleth were playing together as The Ruminaters on Sydney’s Northern Beaches. 

“Growing up on the beaches and around Avalon, we didn’t really have many venues to play like the city has,” the band tells Urban List. “It forced us to grow up in a fun generation where your friends would throw house parties every weekend.  Instead of getting a DJ, they would get a friend’s band to play — and a lot of the time it was us. So that’s kind of how we learnt to play live and put on a show.”

After years on that project, the trio wanted to break their own patterns, so they packed their bags and moved to Los Angeles in search of something new. What they didn’t expect was to find their drummer over a casual game of pool.

This jump-in-first approach shaped the band’s early LA period. Living and writing on a winery property outside the city, they started producing music that felt more direct and emotionally clear than anything they’d done before. That shift brought a string of opportunities — tours supporting Skegss in the US, shows with Grouplove, and growing attention back home.

Despite the international chapters, Le Shiv’s DNA still comes straight from their Northern Beaches upbringing — the loose, sweaty house parties they cut their teeth on, and the sense of community that helped to form their sound.

“I remember a Halloween party we played one year…it was so hot and overcrowded in a tiny little house, playing in the living room, and people were destroying the place. I remember thinking this is the funnest thing anyone could do—to be the cause of the chaos and not have to feel guilty about it.”

The Deep North brings them back to the coastline that shaped their earliest shows, even if the band members now live in different corners of the country. This one feels like a home gig — and they’re leaning into it.

“It’s exciting, we all kind of live in different parts of Australia now. So it’s one of those shows that just gets you excited a little more than others. You get to come home and see friends and family.”

The Deep North Festival will be running from Friday 5–Sunday 7 December. Across the weekend, The Town Tent will be playing host to a stacked list of musicians and storytellers, from James Morrison and Joseph Tawadros, to The Super Silly Seaside Circus, and an in-conversation session featuring Bob Brown and Pulitzer Prize–winning Geraldine Brooks. No two sessions look the same, so you're bound to be wowed no matter when you rock up. 

Tickets are on sale now (and going quickly), so secure your spot before it's too late.

Book Online

Main image credit: The Deep North | Supplied

Urban List editors independently select and write about stuff we love and think you'll like too. Urban List has affiliate partnerships, and if you purchase something through the links in this article, we will earn a commission from those partners. To find out more about who we work with and why read our editorial policy here.