The Button Collective buttons up victory

Folk group The Button Collective has taken out Southern Cross University’s final of the National Campus Band Competition on Thursday night (September 5).

The Button Collective edged out blues and roots group The Swamp Stompers who finished as runners-up at the Lismore campus’ Unibar. Both will head to Griffith University next Thursday (September 12) to contest the Queensland final.

“It was very much a surprise that we won, we were up against some very good bands,” accordionist Kwinton Trembath said.

Clocks and Dice and The Outlanders were the other finalists.

The Button Collective has been together for about a year and all of the members are either current or past students at Southern Cross University.

They describe themselves as a ruckus folk band of gypsies and scoundrels with their music heavily influenced by folk-dance bush bands of Ireland and central Europe.

The size of the band changes from gig to gig, depending on the vibe of the night and the size of the venue. With the option to perform as anything from a duo to a seven piece band, The Button Collective incorporates guitar, accordion, mandolin, fiddle, banjo, mouth-harp, double-bass and drums.

The winner of the Queensland final will play-off in the national final at the University of Canberra on October 11. The winning band will take home a grand prize of $10,000.

“Southern Cross University has a great history of success in the National Campus Band Competition,” said organiser of the SCU final and Unilife student affairs officer, Ann-Maree Wilkinson.

“As recently as 2009, SCU group The Downstairs Mix Up won the competition. Previous SCU winners include Proem (2002), Chenlab (1999) and The Simpletons (1993).

“It’s a well-respected competition. Successful groups like Jebediah (1995), Eskimo Joe (1997) and The Vasco Era (2004) are past NCBC winners of the national final. Other alumni include Grinspoon (former SCU band), The Vines, Waikiki, Frenzal Rhomb, 78 Saab, Augie March and George.”

NCBC is the largest live band competition in the southern hemisphere, running on Australian university and TAFE campuses across the country for 21 years. Each year up to 400 bands from over 40 institutions compete live.

To enter the competition, bands must have at least one member attending a tertiary institution and be willing to dive head first into the Australian music industry.

Photo: The Button Collective.