The 2009 Soulshine Festival Season Preview

28 January 2009 by Max Easton

With the Big Day Out finalising its last shows around the country and the Summer’s heat boiling everyone into an alternate state of matter, it’s time to look forward to what’s on offer for the 2009 Festival Season. From weekends away in secluded locations to the heart of city centres, we look at the next three months of music festivals.

It’s a time of year that music fans are increasingly finding themselves migrating to – Australia’s Summer Festival Season. With Festivals like Livid and the Big Day Out introducing festival culture to a new generation in mass numbers, it was only a matter of time before it skyrocketed into pop culture. Today, festivals sell out faster than virtual e-queues can calculate, people suffer crush wounds entering festival gates and the frustration of over-populated bar lines exceed only the frustration of broken $50 tents. New festivals are popping up every year, recent ones are strengthening in stature and the classics are still rolling out their brilliance in force. With Summer well and truly upon us, we take a (very) quick snapshot of the festival scene for the coming months starting in the very near future with Sydney’s Playground Weekender.

The Playground Weekender (Sydney, 6th – 8th February) *Soulshine Recommends
One of the more unique festivals to have popped up in recent years. Going for its third showing, the Playground Weekender has doubled its ticket sales from the year prior based off fabulous word of mouth. With such oddities as a swimming pool, giant chessboards and connect four, abundant ping pong tables and the odd showing of foozeball, this festival lives up to its name in extravagant fashion, delivering a playground with music as a backdrop. With a diverse line-up every year (seeing names such as Ian Brown, Elbow, Primal Scream and Jose Gonzalez making appearances) speckled with supreme talent and dotted with up-and-comers, it’s a festival arranged with the experience in mind. Cruise around and see the sights of the beautiful Hawkesbury River, resident Kangaroos and amazing cutaway forest scenery with no need to be sprinting from stage to stage. It’s been hailed as a festival experience like no other, and seeing an entire festival in fancy dress for the Saturday night, it’s no lie. The Playground Weekender is sure to be phenomenal this year around as it was in the two years prior, so get in while you can.

www.playgroundweekender.com.au

Nannup Music Festival (Nannup, WA; 27th February – 2nd March)
Celebrating its 20th anniversary, the Nannup Music Festival brings the weekend festival to Western Australia with artists in the vein of the Woodford Folk Festival. With bands like Mama Kin, Freya Hanley and Lior making an appearance this year, it promises a chilled environment with all the drawcards a festival has to offer – market stalls, warm beer from a can, great musicians and a great feel. Nannup is known for its family friendly atmosphere and sense of laidback fun. As one of Western Australia’s few festivals, its more than worth checking out whether local or from abroad.

www.nannupmusicfestival.org

WOMADelaide (Adelaide, 6th – 8th March) *Soulshine Recommends
One of the few international festivals, WOMAD (The World of Music and Dance) was kickstarted by a collective of people with the intention to bring the music of the planet to one site in various locations across the world. The acronym just happened to fit the glove, and thus, WOMADelaide was born. WOMAD collects the world’s finest traditional musicians together for a weekend in Adelaide’s Botanic Gardens. There is no on-site camping, but set parallel to the lengthy Adelaide Fringe Festival, there is no shortage of people to spend time with in the city’s various eateries and pubs. The line-up consists of the finest local powerhouses to the most esteemed internationals from Liam Finn to Femi Kuti, as well as an overwhelming smattering of artists from all over the globe and at home. Included in the experience is a host of roving performers, various bizarre visual treats and experiences like ‘Taste the World’ where select International artists cook a traditional meal for onlookers. Womadelaide is a unique experience worth more than its weight in new, revived and old.

www.womadelaide.com.au

Port Fairy Folk Festival (Victoria, 6th – 9th March)
It sits on a weekend clashing with enough festivals to drive you insane with choice, yet it firms itself as a more than formidable contender. Featuring an array of talented artists from the Waifs to Little Red, it collects a diverse line-up from variant backgrounds to present a well-known and much loved festival. Sitting on the southern Victorian coastlines, it’s a family friendly experience with a sense of fun. Word is that tickets are on the move in speedy fashion, so if you’re in the southern state, then be sure to get onto it quickly.

www.portfairyfolkfestival.com

Golden Plains Festival (Meredith, Victoria; 7th – 9th March)
Recently picking up a festival of the year award, Golden Plains is the guest of the Meredith Supernatural Ampitheatre, the venue for the famous Meredith Music Festival. It has a reduced capacity in comparison to the very popular Meredith, but sees no shortage in the stature of the travelling artists. With Mogwai, You Am I and Gary Numan sitting atop the line-up announcement in 2009, it’s a musical experience not worth missing.

www.goldenplains.com.au

Apollo Bay Music Festival (Victoria, 27th – 29th March)
The hometown of festival favourites The Vasco Era, Apollo Bay has often been on the checklists for curious festival goers. Traditionally featuring a wealth of the country’s favourites (in the vein of The Beautiful Girls and Mia Dyson,) Apollo Bay delivers a top festival experience for a section of month void of competitive festivals. With Tex Perkins headlining this time around, it’s worth seeing for its diverse array of artists (including a world music group celebrating the songs of Tom Waits) as well as its stunning location and fantastic festival atmosphere. With another line-up announcement due in the near future, it’s sure to rival the interest attracted in recent years.

www.apollobaymusicfestival.com

April

East Coast Blues & Roots Festival (Byron Bay, 9th – 13th April) *Soulshine Recommends
With a line-up encompassing any Australian Festival all year round, Bluesfest (as it is affectionately known) stands tall above the line-up assemblages of other festivals and spits on their attempts. With artists like Ray Davies (The Kinks) and John Fogherty (Creedence) showing up last year and Ben Harper and Lucinda Williams rocking up this time around, it’s not to be messed with. With a wealth of musical options every day, it’s a treat to the ears. Just minutes from Byron Bay and located at Belongil Fields (the home of Splendour in the Grass) for the second year running, it’s a well-organised, smoothly running festival guaranteed to provide the fun and good times you’d expect from such a location. Running for 5 days, it’s a full-on experience for the full-on festival goer, with artists playing multiple times over the weekend, there’s only a minor chance that you might miss out on who you came to see. Tickets are in their final round and despite not selling out last year and a new line-up announcement to be released shortly, a sell out is always on the cards.

www.bluesfest.com.au

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Of course, this is only a sampler of the coming festival season. There’s just too many festivals around to mention, let alone detail. Be sure to have a peek around our community forums for festival discussion and keep tabs on our festival section for all the news and reviews for the upcoming festivals in 2009. If all else fails, have a phenomenal Summer of Festivals and stay hydrated...beverage of choice optional.

(Photo: Tom Brookman 2008)

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Forum Comments

Posted by ghoti-max at 7:46pm, 28 Jan 09

And so it begins! A week and a half til Playground then it rolls on...hope this ridiculous heat dies down though. There aren't enough wet teatowels in the world to make this bearable.