For Sure – the Canberra app turning local music discovery into a reason to go out
Posted on
Three hours on stage. An audience made up of bar staff. Not a single clap.
Canberra musician Harry Carman knows what it feels like to give a gig everything and play to an empty room.
Now he wants to help change that – for the artists behind the microphone, the venues booking them and the locals who might love their music, if only they knew where to find it.
His answer is For Sure, an app designed to bring Canberra’s music and comedy events together and give people an extra incentive to turn up. A . Part gig guide, part discovery platform and part rewards scheme, it is built around a simple ambition – getting more people off their phones and into the room.
For Harry, the idea began with a familiar pub tradition, reimagined for the local stage.
“It started with a pretty simple thought: wouldn’t it be cool to reward people for coming to gigs? Kind of like an exclusive meat tray. You enter by following the artist and the venue, the artist draws the winner halfway through the set, and you have to be in the room to win.” he says.
Behind the playful premise is a problem he has experienced firsthand.
“I’ve played shows where it’s literally me and the bar staff for a full three-hour set…As an artist, you don’t want to go back to that venue. As a venue, you don’t want to book an artist who plays to an empty room.
“So we started asking people how they actually find gigs. We’ve been doing vox pops at gigs around town, and most people said Instagram and word- of-mouth. The ones signed up to ticketing newsletters or Bandsintown told us they either miss things on Instagram or only hear about shows in Sydney. Nothing gives a local act the kind of exposure a big touring band gets.”
“That became For Sure: everything happening in Canberra with music or comedy in one place, and a reason to actually turn up.”
Picture a Friday night when the group chat is keen to go out but nobody knows where to go. For Sure lets users browse what’s on, listen to local acts on Scene Radio and click through to buy tickets. For the indecisive, Roll the Dice picks an event. Gigs can be shared to the app’s feed, the Scene, or a group chat.
Harry describes a platform that connects discovering a show with supporting the people who put it on. Venue check-ins earn stamps towards venue-set rewards, such as a beer or food voucher. Fans can share footage, leave reviews, follow and tip artists, or check out their merch. Points earned along the way will be able to go towards things like drink vouchers and merch discounts as more artists and venues come on board.
Built by a musician, for musicians
Harry’s perspective comes from years of making music. He taught himself guitar in high school, has appeared on Australian Idol, opened for other acts and released EPs and singles. He still gigs regularly around Canberra.
That experience runs through the app’s design. Artist profiles combine an electronic press kit with a résumé and a short and snappy bio. Scene Radio offers another route to discovery, letting fans listen to local artists within the app.
A central principle, Harry says, is that artists never pay – no buying exposure or boosting posts. Instead, fans receive five applauses each day to give to artists they rate, feeding into the For Sure charts. He sees those charts as a potential tool for promoters and tour managers looking for local support acts – another way an audience built at home could lead to a bigger opportunity.
For Sure has been operating as a web app for a while but has recently arrived in the iOS App Store with Android to follow. It is free for fans.
Harry says the response from venues, fans and artists has been enthusiastic. But the platform is still in its early stages, with a familiar catch-22: venues want to see more users, while users want to see more venues.
For now, the focus is on getting people using the gig discovery features, securing rewards with venues and artists, and introducing more in-person features in early 2027. Harry also wants to put on events showcasing Canberra artists. The app’s potential depends not simply on downloads, but on whether discovery translates into people walking through venue doors.
Supporting live music is about more than filling a Friday night for Harry. It is about recognising the value of a scene that can offer connection as well as a livelihood.
“Taylor Swift can go on tour and bump up a country’s economic forecast. Live music is good for mental health, community and belonging, but it’s also an industry and a really valuable export,” he says.
“With AI everywhere and everything on demand, people are craving real human experiences, and live music is about as real as it gets. The problem is that most people find music through Spotify or Apple Music, so they’re missing what’s happening down the road.”
“My goal is for every Canberran to have a local artist in their Spotify Wrapped within a few years. That just takes a level of exposure Canberra hasn’t had before, and that’s what For Sure is built for.”
Ask what holds Canberrans back and Harry is quick to challenge some familiar explanations.
“”It’s too cold” is a cop out. We brave the frost for the Green Machine and GWS, so we can do it for live music. “We just need a stadium” is another one. Big acts already come here without one: Powderfinger are playing Stage 88 next year. And a stadium doesn’t help if locals don’t know who’s playing.”
His diagnosis is a discovery problem. Social media can generate likes without bringing anyone through the door, he argues, while ticketing platforms tend to promote the larger acts that drive ticket sales. For Sure still uses Instagram and Facebook to reach people, but the aim is to build a dedicated audience actively looking for somewhere to go, rather than make artists compete with everything else in a feed.
There is a longer-term possibility, too – a clearer picture of the local audience. Harry hopes follows, check-ins and gig reviews can help show what Canberrans actually go out for. Understanding who attends events and what brings them there, he says, can help inform arts investment. For now, that remains part of the app’s potential, rather than a finished picture.
“Then there’s mindset. A lot of us (me included) think “I’ve never heard of them, why would I pay to see them?” and stop there. For Sure is built to turn that into curiosity. If we want the big acts, we’ve got to back the small ones.”
The ambition stretches beyond the ACT, but Harry wants to build the audience at home first.
“I’d love to see it go national, and that’s where we’re hoping to be in a few years. The problems facing Canberra artists and venues are the same everywhere. I’d love local artists to use it to find places to play interstate, and touring acts to use the charts to find local support. Starting at home means that when it does go national, Canberra acts are first in the door.”
For Canberra, the opportunity is not just another place to list a gig. It is a chance to make an unfamiliar artist easier to discover – and turn that discovery into a ticket, a return visit or a new favourite band. For Harry it is a simple ask.
“Download the app and have a crack. Check out what’s coming up, and go and see an artist you’ve never heard of. If they’re not on For Sure, tell them about it. Word of mouth has always been how Canberra’s scene works, and it’s how we’ll build this too.”
You can download the app at apps.apple.com
