PBOB MANIFESTO

Parents Battle of the Bands : Connecting through Music.

Parents Battle of the Bands exists to put music back at the centre of everyday life. We bring adults together in community-led band battles that then support inclusive music programs within the public primary school system. 

As communities prepare and gather for our events, the experience draws people together, strengthens local bonds, encourages social engagement, and creates welcoming spaces where everyone feels part of something bigger. 

Over time, this cycle embeds music into daily life as a levelling and transformative force that inspires, unites and empowers both children and adults, with enormous benefits for community and individual wellbeing. 

An inherent part of this loop is the programs it champions, giving children boosted and joyful access to music, tending to the creative seed already within them. Confidence, collaboration and creativity are hereby nurtured, the human qualities we need most today. 

The cultivation that begins here is later harvested as a life filled with music. 

Keeping the cycle alive. 

Music. Connection. Creativity. Growth. Turn It Up! 

2017:

There are four parents’ bands around St Kilda that are performing at their school events and other fundraisers. One of them, the Elwood Primary School parents’ band, had been going for two decades and had even counted members of Hunters & Collectors among its ranks.

Anna Vermooten, then a member of her own primary school parents’ band, heard the story. The obligatory banter ensued. Somewhere in it came the mention of a battle.

What if we put all these parents’ bands on a real stage for a Battle of the Bands?

And why would we do it? How could we get people to care?

Cue the missing piece: what if we reinvested the proceeds into music education, donating them exclusively to the music programs of the participating schools?

Parents Battle of the Bands was born. 

Dagmar Yeaman, a member of one of those bands, soon came on board with unflagging enthusiasm and boundless energy. The team was born, too.

2026: 

What started as a grassroots experiment with a handful of friends and local schools has grown into a movement reaching communities across Australia. The ambition was there from the beginning. The first pitch to the Prince Bandroom already carried a simple vision: to make this a national movement. 

The Battles get people in the room and then the real story begins: rediscovered creativity, new friendships and stronger school communities through music. 

Music as a mechanism for connection and societal wellbeing. 

We believe PBOB belongs in Australian culture. And investing in music education is an investment in that vision: to put music back at the centre of everyday life.

VISION

TO PLACE MUSIC BACK IN THE CENTRE OF LIFE

BELIEF
MUSIC IS ONE OF THE INVISIBLE FORCES THAT HOLDS

HUMANS AND SOCIETY TOGETHER

PURPOSE

RECONNECT PEOPLE TO THEMSELVES, EACH OTHER AND

THEIR COMMUNITIES THROUGH THE OLDEST LANGUAGE

HUMANS HAVE: MUSIC

MISSION

WE PUT PARENTS ON STAGE, BRING PEOPLE TOGETHER

AND SUPPORT KIDS' MUSIC PROGRAMS.

ONE SCHOOL, ONE BATTLE, ONE NEIGHBOURHOOD AT A TIME, UNTIL EVERY COMMUNITY IS PBOB ACTIVATED.