Since beginning as a hang-out for local music fans, Yours & Owls has expanded to become a record label and crucial promoter for acts looking to play around the South Coast region.

It’s been a steady road of expansion for the clique, who now call the Yours & Owls festival their pride and joy. Taking over Wollongong for a weekend in early October, the lineup is stacked with some of Australia’s most exciting acts including DMA’s, Hermitude, Tkay Maidza, Remi and Client Liaison. Punk legend and double bass enthusiasts The Living End are even on the bill for all those who still have three-quarter shorts in their wardrobe, while internationals like Antwon will be spitting live and uncut for the festival.

Now, ahead of the festival, a Yours & Owls mural has been revealed on the side of their spiritual home at Rad Bar. The wall has long been a spot of legal tiffs for the Yours & Owls crew, but now an official mural has been completed in all of its colourful glory. See the progress shots and finished mural in the exclusive images below, as well as the story behind the infamous wall from Yours & Owls promoter Ben Tillman. You can also grab tickets to the festival right here:

We see this mural as a kind of metaphor for the creative & cultural state of Wollongong.

Five years ago we were told to paint over a mural we had ‘commissioned’ for our shop’s front wall – which may or may not have been legally approved. It was done by the guy who is now behind the legitimate street art festival ‘Wonderwalls’. The mural was then ordered to be removed by the then landlord who threatened a hefty fine if the art was not removed.

Long story short, we kicked up a bit of a stink, but then unfortunately resigned to the fact we couldn’t wear the fine & had to paint over it. A couple of weeks later another graffiti piece was mysteriously thrown up on the wall and we were charged & set to appear in court for malicious damage – of our own shop!

Anyways, we were let off the charges, and now five years on, that very same wall has been legally approved to paint on.

So while its been a long time coming, I really feel like this mural is the perfect symbol for arts & culture in Wollongong. It’s always been there, bubbling away under the surface, but now it feels like this side of life has just become accepted on a much bigger scale. The city is covered in legal street art, now a part of every Wollongongian’s daily streetscape. There are gigs, parties and art shows on every night of the week and I think that’s the thing that is making the difference. Obviously people are into it as more and more keeps happening, but I think the effect outside of those circles is equally as important. The people outside looking in, going ‘Oh what’s that, that seems like fun – I might go do that next time.’