South West bassist Peppa Lane’s Spacey Jane and Bunbury group Great Gable in the running for Hottest 100

A South West rocker in one of the country’s biggest indie bands and a group who played their first-ever gig at a Bunbury pharmacy are set to feature when Australia votes on the hottest tracks of the past 12 months. Triple J’s annual Hottest 100 countdown celebrates the biggest and best tracks in indie music and has grown into an arts and culture phenomenon in recent years. This year’s event, set to hit the airwaves on January 22, could feature several artists and bands from the South West, with a Margaret River bass guitarist among the contenders for a top 10 berth. Peppa Lane joined Spacey Jane in 2019, just before the West Australian group began its meteoric rise from pub gigs to packed out arenas. The ARIA-winning four-piece finished second in last year’s countdown with their hit song Booster Seat, and having filtered out singles this year in anticipation of their new EP, they will have three more entries this time year. Their song Lunchtime has been a fan favourite since its release last year and was one of two tracks released as a teaser for the new EP, as well as Lots of Nothing. READ THE WEST’S FULL HOTTEST 100 PREVIEW HERE Their take on the Beatles classic Here Comes the Sun — recorded as part of Triple J’s Like a Version series — is also in the mix. Bunbury band Great Gable will also have plenty of votes on the way for their track Hazy, and could be set to feature in the countdown for the first time ever. Their song All My Friends, of their 2020 album Tracing Faces finished 188th in the 2021 edition of the count, but the boys have never cracked the main list. Lead singer and guitarist Alex Whiteman and guitarist Matt Preen hail from Bunbury and are joined in the four-piece by Christopher Bye and Callum Guy. In an interview with the South Western Times to mark the release of Tracing Faces, Preen described the band’s sound as “eclectic”. Whiteman — the brother of WA and Sydney Thunder cricketer Sam — and Preen made their first appearance as a duo with a gig at a Bunbury pharmacy. Meanwhile, several groups set to feature in the top end of the iconic countdown are getting ready to hit the road and come south for the region’s first major festival in more than two years. Perennial vote-getters Ball Park Music, The Jungle Giants and Holy Holy are among the headliners for Busselton’s Out of the Woods Festival, as are former Hottest 100 winners Angus and Julia Stone. Ball Park Music’s track Sunscreen is likely to feature prominently, as is Holy Holy’s The Aftergone, while the Jungle Giants have a number of tracks in the mix, including Love Signs. The Rions, who hit the airwaves for the first time this year after being discovered as part of Triple J’s Unearthed High program, will be heading to Busselton on the back of what is expected to also be their Hottest 100 debut. Aussie rapper The Kid Laroi is the hot favourite to take out the number one spot this year after partnering with pop megastar Justin Beiber on the track Stay, while popular children’s entertainers The Wiggles’ take on Tame Impala’s Elephant is also likely to poll well.