Love Music, Will Travel II: Australia and New Zealand Summer Music Festival

Article by: Ghita Loebenstein, October 2007

Their seasons may be upside down but the Antipodeans have their heads on straight when it comes to music. Summer in Australia and New Zealand is festival season, and nothing brings the locals out like live music, cold beer and that famous sunshine. Come on down and be sure to bag yourself a ticket to one (or all) of these rockin' festivals.

Meredith Music Festival

14-16 Dec 2007, Meredith Supernatural Amphitheatre, Meredith, Victoria

Seventeen years ago, a little boutique music festival sprang up on private farmland near the Victorian town of Meredith. Since then, MMF has stuck to its non-commercial ethos - tickets are capped at 10,000, there are no ads and no sponsors, the camping is free and it's BYO - and with several off-beat traditions like The Meredith Gift (a nude running race) still in the mix, the weekend has managed to retain a certain down-home feel. This year the festival goes luxe with 'Breakfast in Bed' (delivered to your tent). The indie-centric line-up always has a decent splash of local bands.

Headliners: The Gossip, Andrew WK, Midnight Juggernauts, Dr Dog plus...

Homebake

8 Dec 2007, The Domain, Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney
Tickets: $88.50

Homebake takes its name from its all-local line-up and since 1996 has served up a broad selection of Oz and Kiwi sounds. While its inaugural year was an infamous mud bath in Byron Bay, this one-day festival now calls The Domain, Sydney's grand inner-city parkland, home.

Headliners: The Divinyls, Missy Higgins, Muscles plus...

Woodford Folk Festival

27 Dec 2007–1 Jan 2008, Woodford, Queensland
Tickets: $353 (season ticket with camping)/$94 (day ticket); discounts available for youngsters and kids

Packed with everything your vegan heart could desire, Woodford is a folk festival with frills. Set in a stunning rural valley in Queensland's hinterland, the family-friendly program offers a six-day spree of folk music, film, dance, debates, workshops…and a giant New Year's lantern procession.

Headliners: TBA 1 November

The Falls Festival

30 Dec 2007–1 Jan 2008, Lorne, Victoria and Marion Bay, Tasmania
Tickets: $148 (Marion Bay)/$186 + bf (Lorne), includes camping.

If you like your music with pastoral views, salty coastlines and a beach within strolling distance, The Falls is your festival. The Falls began 15 years ago on a family farm in Lorne, a town on the Great Ocean Road. Today a parallel festival also operates in the picturesque surrounds of Marion Bay in Tasmania. Includes an arts festival, tai chi, chai tea and all the happy camper trimmings.

Headliners: Kings of Leon, Built To Spill, Paul Kelly, Girl Talk plus...

Rhythm & Vines

31 Dec 2007, Waiohika Estate, Gisborne, New Zealand
Tickets: $150-$200+bf

Gisborne is pretty much the first city in the world to see sunrise, so if you're the kind of person who likes to front the queue, Rhythm & Vines is your NYE ticket. With fireworks, a waterslide, a 'sacred lake' and the beautiful Waiohika vineyard as the setting, R&V is the perfect out-of-town New Year's alternative.

Headliners: Blue King Brown, The Checks, Die! Die! Die! plus...

Summadayze 2008

1 Jan 2008, Melbourne; 5 Jan 2008, Gold Coast; 6 Jan 2008, Perth
Tickets: $113.35 (Melb), $94.85 (GC), $102.50* (Perth) *early bird price

A decade ago, Summadayze caught on to the fact that some people just don't want to stop dancing when the sun comes up on January 1. Melbourne's premier New Year's Day dance-party turns 10 this year, with beat-lovers QLD and WA not far behind.

Headliners: New Young Pony Club, David Guetta, Groove Armada Soundsystem (Melb), Spank Rock (GC), plus...

Big Day Out

18 Jan–3 Feb 2008, Auckland, Gold Coast, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth

Tickets: On sale from 10 Oct 2007 (Syd), 11 Oct 2007 (GC), 12 Oct 2007 (Auck, Melb, Adel, Perth)

When it comes to Australian music festivals, Big Day Out is the daddy of em 'all. 2008 marks the 16th anniversary of an event that's grown formidably since 9,500 punters gathered in Sydney to see Nirvana on the precipice of fame. The festival now draws crowds of 250,000 over six cities, making it one of the biggest (if not the biggest) events on Australia's live music calendar. Think big names, big stages, big toilet queues and big fun.

Headliners: Rage Against The Machine, Bjork, Arcade Fire plus...

Rippon Open Air Festival

2 Feb 2008, Rippon Vineyard, Lake Wanaka, Aotearoa, New Zealand
Tickets: $115+bf (day)/$75+bf (after-party)

This bi-annual festival is the brain-child of one of Rippon's hippest high school music teachers. The one-day event is set against stunning Lake Wanaka and includes a line-up of local rock, reggae, hip-hop, dance and dub music. Headliners: Shihad, Shapeshifter, Kora plus...

Camp A Low Hum

2-5 Feb 2008, near Wellington, New Zealand (exact location emailed upon ticket purchase)
Tickets: $200 plus $100 for travel arrangements

'A four-day music camp for people who can't handle regular music festivals' - so says Blink, the festival's director. The Camp eschews flashy stages and green rooms for intimate shows, cheap food, spontaneous band jams and unexpected friendliness. The dude will even make your travel arrangements for you!

Headliners: A Low Hum doesn't reveal its line-up before the festival; it believes its vibe is more important than a flashy line-up. If this testimony from one of last year's punters is worth anything, you won't be disappointed: 'I went to heaven without dying. I don't want my old life back now.'

St Jeromes Laneway Festival

Feb-Mar 2008, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane
Line-up and tickets: check www.lanewayfestival.com.au in November

Melbourne is famous for its tiny laneways and St Jeromes Laneway Festival was born to celebrate all the grit, garbage and street-cred contained in these inner-city haunts. Although the day-long street-party is based out of Melbourne's St Jeromes drinking hole (think milk-crates and dirty hairstyles), the festival has spread to Sydney and Brisbane. The line-up is suitably indie cool.

 

If you want to get the most out of your festival experience, check out these tips ›