Good Times Start HERE!

Biloela – or Bilo as it is invariably abbreviated to – is an hour and a bit south west of Rockhampton in the heart of the rich and beautiful Callide Valley – long famous for agriculture and beef cattle and now also a mining centre of considerable size. The population sits at almost 6,000 people & lies at the crossroads of the Callide, Leichardt & Burnett highways so, as with Rome it is no lie to say all roads really DO lead to Bilo!

Hi, I am the founder and face of VDMfest, Mark Di Ruggiero, a local farmer and former DJ, whom must confess to ‘learning as I go’ in the business of everything to do with putting on a Rock Edge Country Music Festival, but I’m giving it a red-hot go and have unlimited enthusiasm and passion for the project.

“I am committed to making this an annual event for the Biloela region and hope to grow bigger and better each year by becoming the Festival hub for not only Bilo but the whole Central Queensland Region.

Why go to the interminable effort, time, stress and financial risk to put on a Music Festival?

“Easy! I love music and I love to entertain and meet people who also love music and want to enjoy themselves and have fun. It really is as simple as that.

I want to create a fantastic and fun event that people can walk away from with excitement and smiles on their faces and be saying they cannot wait until the next year’s VDMfest.

What does the name VDM stand for? Long story short, the original concept was for a Valentine’s Day Music Festival, thus VDMfest, but due to inevitable delays that didn’t eventuate, the branding was too far along to change logos etc so it stayed.

An interesting VDMfest promotion that is engaging widespread interest (and will become an annual project), is a circuit of talent search heats being run around outlying centres of the region to publicize the event, and more notably, reward the ultimate winners handsomely. The winner of the finals gets to be the Opening Act at VDMfest, plus a Professional video clip thanks to the team at Mercury Digital, PLUS a guaranteed paid gig at the following year’s VDMfest.

A Soloist, Duo or a Band can apply to participate and the material is not limited to country rock.

I am also doing what I am calling a Wild Card Entrant, whereby ONE lucky Opening Act Contestant that didn’t get in on votes, but whom I felt deserved a second chance, will be brought to the Grand Final to sing for their life so to speak. This contestant will still face the Grand Final Polling and the decision is ultimately up to the people, not me.

SO,  I hope people come along and have a FANTASTIC time.  I can only achieve success in this with the support from you, the festival lover. I hope you enjoy the second annual VDMfest & most of all, I HOPE to see you all there!