Two bands emerging from Southern Cross University’s contemporary music course will take to the stage at the Mullum Music Festival at Mullumbimby near Byron Bay from November 22 to 25.

The Mullum Music Festival will also feature workshops by the University’s Contemporary Music Course Coordinator and renowned bassist Dr Barry Hill.

University bands Fat City Strut and The Familiars were selected to appear on the SCU Showcase stages.

Fat City Strut is a seven-piece dub band that fuses different genres. With influences in funk, reggae, afro beat and afro Cuban, FCS gets people up and dancing with their tasty grooves and catchy melodies.

Fat Cat Strut – appear 6pm Friday November 23 at Mullumbimby High School

Renowned for a blisteringly high energy live show, The Familiars make full-blooded, two-guitar driven, high impact indie rock. It's got a dash of grit, plenty of melodic sensibility and a heck of a lot of dance-ability.

The Familiars – appear 11.30am Saturday November 24 at Mullumbimby Ex Services Club

Dr Barry Hill will run two workshops at the Mullum Music Festival, with the support of Live Solution, an Australian government-funded concept developed by Mushroom Marketing to challenge the culture of binge drinking among people aged 16-24 across the country.

'What makes a good music jam sound and feel good?' Saturday November 24 at 12.15pm This interactive music workshop looks at ways to make jamming with others sound great. Dr Hill will demonstrate some ways of turning jam sessions into great sounding bands. Participants are encouraged to bring their instruments.

'Turning smart phones into musical instruments' Saturday November 24 at 1.30pm Dr Hill has a special interest in technology and the social impact of music. In this workshop he looks at thought-controlled computing and the new technology of music making.

The location for both workshops is the Byron Community College, corner Burringbar and Gordon Streets, Mullumbimby. The workshops are free to festivalgoers.

A full program for the Mullum Music Festival is available at www.mullummusicfest.com.au