Take some of the worlds best musical acts, add to that 15,000 music lovers, a few comedians, sunshine and a lot of smuggled wine (of the cask variety, of course!), and you’ve got yourself one hell of a weekend!
For all those eager beavers who got down early to take advantage of Fabulous Friday, they not only got to choose the best campsites but they were also treated to some of the best performances of the weekend. The super-human they call Michael Franti together with his mates, Carl Young on bass and Melbourne’s own Kieran Murphy on guitar, took to the stage early playing rather a mellow set, yet still managing to engage the entire audience the whole of the time.
Late Friday night saw the ever so incredible Basement Jaxx grace the Valley Stage. The amount of energy and costume changes these diva’s crammed into one set was absolutely phenomenal.
Saturday rolled on by, bringing with it a lot more campers and some awesome performances by the likes of Josh Pyke, Dan Kelly, Little Birdy and The Sleepy Jackson. Modest Mouse did not disappoint, proving all the hype surrounding their name sure isn’t for nothing. Saturday night saw yet another awe-inspiring performance by Michael Franti and Spearhead, but this time the audience was required to do a lot more dancing, jumping, singing and clapping, as commanded. Many hours after Franti’s set finished, choruses of ‘Yell Fire’ could still be heard echoing around the festival grounds. Hilltop Hoods proved to be another crowd favourite. After a lot of bouncing and singing along most people called it a day, hitting the hay early to save energy for the big one, New Years Eve.
Melbourne band, Illzilla, woke the festival up early on Sunday, pulling a large crowd to the Big Top stage to help kick off the day. Jamie Lidell turned up the heat, getting everyone in the party mood. Despite the rain, The Black Seeds managed to turn up the heat a few more notches providing some extraordinary Kiwi reggae to get the knees bopping. Next, Aussie rock legends, You Am I, rocked Falls an hour closer to the New Year. The John Butler Trio made an impressive return to the Festival scene, belting out a few new tracks amongst their much-loved favourites. If the party had started earlier, it was well and truly on fire when Wolfmother took to the stage.
Finally, the moment we had been waiting for, came and went without anyone really noticing. At 12:15, a countdown was performed in record time (10 to 1 in just over 3 seconds!) and the New Year was welcomed in by 15,000 exceedingly happy, screaming, dancing, slightly paralytic, Wolfmother fans. The rest of the night was rather a blur for most, but was likely to involve a lot of cheering, well-wishing, resolution setting, dancing, and maybe even a New Years kiss for those lucky ones…
Photography by Jane Saunders and Brendan Harris.
Jane and Brendan document the Falls Festival in Lorne, VIC
Woodford Folk Festival 2008 
Michael Franti and Spearhead
One World Music