Sharing the musical talent of Ballarat with the world – artists and mentors announced for Be Hear Now

Five Ballarat-based artists and bands will have the opportunity to be mentored by celebrated Australian musicians and industry leaders as part of the City of Ballarat’s contemporary music program Be Hear Now.

The five artists/bands from Ballarat for the 2025 Be Hear Now program are Nasal Spray, Blue Ren, Hemlock Wilde, D.B.L.U. and Nekrome.

In its fifth year, the Be Hear Now program is providing ‘the ones to watch’ in the Ballarat music scene with a tailored mentorship program, pairing them up with industry professionals, to help them refine their craft and build their careers. The cohort will undergo training and receive support to assist in the commercial release of a new single, supported by a team of industry professionals and service providers.

Industry mentors include solo artist and bandleader of Epicure, Juan Alban; lead guitarist and songwriter of Magic Dirt, Raul Sanchez; singer songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Liz Stringer; ARIA award winning singer songwriter Lior; and touring musician and recording artist Lilith Lane.

The cohort will undergo training and receive support to assist in the commercial release of their single, supported by a team of industry professionals and service providers.

Underpinning the program will be an emphasis on building a team to support the creative practice and commercial viability of the artist/band through supporting the release cycle of a single from songwriting to recording, design and production, marketing and publicity, distribution and strategic planning.  

Each Be Hear Now participant will receive:

• Five dedicated sessions with an industry-matched mentor
• Strategic planning for single release
• Professional recording, mixing and mastering sessions
• Graphic design for single artwork and poster collateral
• Release strategy development
• Marketing and promotion funding
• Distribution support – how to get your music on popular streaming platforms
• Professional development in areas including music business, artist brand development, marketing and social media, publicity, live performance, recording and production, tour planning, digital distribution and playlist pitching. 
   

The Be Hear Now artists will release their singles in late 2025. For further information on the program and to follow the artists’ journey, visit the Creative Ballarat website. 

Ballarat artists and bands selected for the Be Hear Now tailored mentorship program

 Nasal Spray

Prepare your sinuses, because Nasal Spray is here to clear your head and fill it with an unrelenting dose of psych-punk pandemonium. Headed by the majestic James Ramsay, this Ballarat-based garage psych art collective isn’t just a band – they’re an auditory antihistamine for the clogged-up monotony of everyday life.

With guitar lines dripping in psychedelia, congas pounding out rhythms like a tribal call to the cosmos, and snotty, nasal vocals that hit you like a head cold in a wind tunnel, Nasal Spray delivers a sound that’s as infectious as it is cathartic.

Live, they’re a full-frontal sensory assault – the kind of band that makes your brain vibrate like it’s trapped inside a fever dream. It’s not just music; it’s an exorcism of your inner congestion, shaking loose all the junk clogging your third eye. Feeling blocked? These guys are the cure. Just one dose of Nasal Spray will have you riding waves of fuzz-drenched guitar, sweat-soaked rhythms, and vocal hooks that stick in your head like the best kind of earworm. If you’re ready to breathe deep and dive into a world of psych-fueled chaos and melodic mayhem, Nasal Spray is here to blow your mind – and your nose.  

Blue Ren

Blue Ren is a Ballarat-based singer-songwriter who crafts deeply personal music as a way of making sense of her inner world. With raw vulnerability and emotional honesty, her songs explore themes of grief, loss, and heartbreak—shining a light on the parts of the human experience often left unspoken.

Drawing inspiration from folk, country, and indie, each track emerges organically from her lived experience, offering a sound that is both intimate and cathartic. Her storytelling invites listeners into the depths of feeling, where authenticity takes centre stage.

Blue Ren’s recent singles Running From Myself and Ghost were featured on ABC Country Radio, and her third release, King of Pentacles, is out now.

She has recently shared the stage with the soulful coastal-folk artist Tom Harrington and Triple J favourite Adam Newling, marking her presence as a rising voice in Australia’s indie-folk scene.

Hemlock Wilde

Hemlock Wilde is a singer, songwriter based in Ballarat. They have been writing songs from their attic since they were seventeen and have always taken a story-telling approach to music. In 2024 they won first prize in The Piano Bar’s Got Talent music competition.

As well as creating original music, Hemlock enjoys rearranging and remixing existing songs, transposing across genres to create new meaning and sounds. Their influences range from Florence + the Machine and Elton John, to science fiction and fairy tales.

Their songs are filled with theatricality, vivacity, wit, and raw emotional honesty.

D.B.L.U

D.B.L.U. (pronounced like the letter W) is an upcoming independent hip-hop artist located in rural Ballarat. Inspired by the compound rhyme schemes of Rakim and Royce Da 5’9, and with intricate flows modelled after Method Man and Big Sean, Will began creating music around 2018.

Writing and recording short songs throughout high school, over the last two years he has pivoted to taking his music seriously, actively seeking out opportunities to release and perform his work. Utilising complicated lyrical patterns and rhyme schemes to analyse his own world, his music acts as an outlet for self-expression and exploration, with nearly every song marked with his signature ‘swung’ flows.

D.B.L.U.’s first single ‘1TRACK’ was released in March and has been purchased by the City of Ballarat for use in promotions for the next year.

Nekrome

Nekrome is a Ballarat-born and raised singer-songwriter, rapper, and producer. Blending elements of hip-hop, pop, and R&B, his music captures raw emotion through melodic hooks and honest storytelling.

Drawing inspiration from artists like The Kid LAROI, Ruel, Post Malone, and Lil Tecca, Nekrome creates tracks that explore love, heartbreak, self-growth, and faith. As an emerging artist, he's passionate about refining his craft and building a meaningful connection with listeners.

With a growing catalogue of self-produced music and a debut album just around the corner, Nekrome is steadily carving out his place in the Australian music scene — one track at a time. 
 

Be Hear Now industry mentors

Juan Alban

Juan Alban is the former vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter of Epicure, one of Ballarat’s most successful and celebrated bands. Epicure had four songs make the Triple J Hottest 100, appeared in ARIA Top 100 charts, sold out tours nationally and appeared at multiple festivals including Falls Festival and The Big Day Out.

Songs written by Juan have been synced to television both nationally and internationally. As a solo artist, he has released two solo albums, with his third (‘Juan Alban’s Guilt Zone’) scheduled for release on 6 June 2025. Juan is a passionate advocate for Ballarat’s thriving music scene and is excited about sharing his experience with the next generation of Ballarat songwriters.

Juan will mentor Nekrome as part of Be Hear Now.

Raul Sanchez

Raul Sanchez i Jorge is a Valencian-born Australian musician, now living in Ballarat, whose work transcends genre. For over 30 years, he has explored music as both a conduit and a kind of medicine—opening pathways into emotion, memory, and the liminal.

With an independent spirit and an ear tuned to the unconventional, Raul began his professional journey as the guitarist for the multi-ARIA nominated band Magic Dirt, later composing, performing, and recording with acts such as Midnight Woolf, River of Snakes, and The Ape (with Tex Perkins), touring stages across Australia and the world.

A true musical polymath, Raul is a multi-instrumentalist, recording producer, and soundscape artist. His solo work spans five solo albums, an Electronica EP and multiple collaborations. In recent years, Raul has brought his eclectic, emotionally resonant style to film and visual media, crafting immersive scores.

Raul will mentor Nasal Spray as part of Be Hear Now.  

Liz Stringer

Liz Stringer is one of Australia’s most admired and versatile songwriters and instrumentalists. With a career spanning seven studio albums and a slew of honours including Port Fairy Folk Festival's 2023 Artist of the Year and the Woodford Folk Festival 'Emerging Legend of Australian Song' in 2020, Stringer is a venerated guitarist and vocalist.

Her notoriously powerful live performances and melodically rich, story-based songs earned her a unique place among the most important Australian songwriters of the modern era. In Summer 2023, Stringer worked with Grammy nominated/Ivor Novello Award winning producer/engineer Beni Giles (Lianne La Havas,) at Iguana Studios in Brixton, London, to complete her most accomplished offering yet.

Liz Stringer’s sixth studio album, First Time Really Feeling, was recorded at Toronto’s Union Sound Company, produced and engineered by Chris Stringer (Timber Timbre). Released in April 2021 through Courtney Barnett's Milk! Records, the album debuted at #14 on the ARIA Charts, and earned the 2022 AIR Award for Best Blues and Roots Album and a place on the shortlist for APRA's Song of the Year 2022 (Dangerous).

Beloved equally for her rock stylings, knee-buckling ballads and a world-class lyrical and story-telling prowess that sees her write affectingly from a staggering range of perspectives, Liz Stringer is carving a fiercely autonomous creative path while maintaining a deep sense of connection with her devoted and ever-growing audience.

Liz will mentor Hemlock Wilde as part of Be Hear Now.

Lior

Lior is one of Australia’s most treasured singer songwriters, renowned for his beautiful voice and songs that radiate truth and sincerity. He burst onto the Australian music scene in 2005 with his debut album Autumn Flow which has become one of the most successful independent debut releases in Australian music history.

Lior has since released a further seven albums and has toured extensively both in Australia and internationally. He is a multi-ARIA award winner as well as an APRA Screen Award winner for his song-writing work for film and television.

Lior was recently awarded the prestigious Sidney Myer Creative Fellowship, awarded to only nine artists nationally across all artforms for displaying outstanding excellence and courage in their chosen artform.

Lior will mentor Blue Ren as part of Be Hear Now.

Lilith Lane

Lilith Lane is a a self-taught musician and songwriter. She has toured internationally with solo and band projects, appeared as a guest on national television show RocKwiz duetting with Tim Finn (Split Enz, Crowded House), played solo supports for Australian songwriting royalty Robert Forster (Go Betweens) and Stephen Cummings (Sports), and been nominated for Best Female Artist in the Age EG awards. She has also contributed to a number of projects as a session player.

Her most recent album release was a collection of piano and guitar based acoustic recordings, Trickery. This follows three full-band solo album releases, and is a departure from the jangling guitars and full-band sound of her previous album Pilgrim or Gold Diamond which played homage to strings and piano. Her debut self-titled record is a roots, folk album that was warmly received by the local music industry. Her side project and alter-ego Baxter Avalon is a synth-pop retro wave high energy performance and recording project.

She is a member of Les Yé-Yé Girls, a 60’s French pop collective, and has toured in the UK and EU as a member of Black Pony Express (Beast Records) and the Cliffy Davis Goodtime Band. As a session player, Lilith has performed at stadiums around the country for the Countdown Spectacular, and contributed vocals to projects by Stephen Cummings, Four Hours Sleep, Angie Hart, Clinkerfield, the Ukeladies, Horsestories, George Byrne, the Devastations and others. She also moonlights as a producer, studio recording/live sound/live broadcast engineer player.

Lilith Lane will mentor D.B.L.U. as part of Be Hear Now.