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While many Aussie music festivals come and go (and come back again), there’s a party on a rural property in regional Victoria that just keeps on trucking. Golden Plains (the little sibling to the legendary Meredith Music Festival) celebrated its 18th birthday this year with a bash that once again featured an eclectic concoction of international heavyweight artists and local gems. While there wasn’t quite the same degree of star power as last year (headlined by PJ Harvey and Fontaines DC), those loyal to Golden Plains hold the consensus that it is so much more than its line-up.
The festival begins with an emotive Welcome to Country and Smoking Ceremony, with a resounding reverence hanging in the air. For the many faithful punters who have forged the festival’s cult-following, there’s an intensely tangible gratitude for the privilege to return year after year, and to have this special experience in such a special place.
Attending this unique festival is all about rolling with the waves of musical fluctuation, as the genre constantly vacillates. The trio of local acts that played within the first three hours were a perfect example of this: Public Figures kicked off with a powerful gut-punch of punk, followed by the ethereal sounds of Georgia Knight with autoharp accompaniment, then the chaotic internet-rap of Sidney Phillips.
With such eclectic acts back-to-back, the energy level can careen from mellow to frenetic within a matter of minutes – and if you don’t go along for the ride, you might feel like you’re getting whiplash. But the typical enthusiasm of the crowd is contagious, and the novelty of the varied sonic journey is disarming – even if some of the bands aren’t your usual taste, you can still appreciate that there’s nowhere else in the country you can see such an idiosyncratic line-up of artists, all on a single stage.
A heart-warming highlight of the festival’s first day was Marlon Williams’ set, featuring a Kapa Haka group who backed Williams as he soared through tunes from his latest album, sung entirely in te reo Māori. As Williams stepped aside from centre stage and let the music shine, his set unfolded into a joyous celebration of Māori culture and pride.
As midnight hit, the evening’s energy peaked with a much-anticipated performance from electronic duo Cut Copy – you can bet that any band with synthesizers will soar in the ‘Sup. You’d think that a forced medical stop towards the end of the set would’ve hurt their momentum, but fortunately they’d saved hits like ‘Hearts on Fire’ and ‘Lights and Music’ to finish on a high, with the crowd picking up where they left off.
Those who were able to rise early on the second day were treated to the soothing sounds of alt-folk group Way Dynamic. Their music has a relaxed, cruisy feel that's perfect for easing into the Sunday, complimented by playful touches like a melodica solo – and most bafflingly, a guy in the back corner of the stage cooking snags and handing out snacks to the band. A perfectly silly and random addition to make even the punters with sore heads from the night before smile. Frontman Dylan Young’s smooth vocals gently washed over the crowd, which was noticeably bigger than the typical size for that time of the morning.
The second afternoon of the festival is reliably a peak of the entire event, as the day wanes but the collective mood ascends. Anatolian folk band Derya Yildirim and Grup Simsek charmed the crowd with bass grooves and swirling psychedelic sounds, while rapper Devaura turned it up several notches with booming beats and bold bars.
The afternoon set was in the capable hands of French DJ Francois K, who packed out the ‘Sup with dancers as he remixed crowd favourites like ‘Once in a Lifetime’ by Talking Heads and ‘Running Up That Hill’ by Kate Bush. It was accompanied by an incredible dancer who fervently sashayed and body-rolled across the stage with unfathomable stamina, whipping the crowd into a frenzy as he twirled and shimmied. Looking around, you could see plenty of boots popping up into the air, the festival’s signature sign of enthusiastic approval.
Fast forward to after dark and there was a palpable anticipation among the punters for the festival’s headliners to hit the stage. Interstitial DJ O Honey adeptly hyped up the ‘Sup with a remix of the Round the Twist theme and Kid Cudi’s ‘Pursuit of Happiness’, and the vibes were suitably high.
But nothing could compare to when Basement Jaxx teared into their set blasting ‘Good Luck’. What followed was a kaleidoscopic, mind-boggling performance that featured countless vocalists, dancers and even acrobats. It was less of a festival set, more of a theatrical spectacular squeezed into an hour and fifteen minutes. A brief interlude between songs featured a ballerina en pointe, and during one track a performer in a massive, flower-like costume unfolded in the middle of the stage. Finishing with ‘Where’s Your Head At’, a gang of gorillas joined the band, running amok and going almost as crazy as the audience was.
All too quickly it was over, leaving the crowd to turn to each other with eyes wide and jaws agape. No one had expected to see such an elaborate production at a rural festival. But that sums up how a weekend at Golden Plains feels – no matter how many times you attend, there’s always a touch of incredulousness at how this festival unfailingly continues to make magic.
It’s in the impressive commitment of attendees to haul huge couches to the site so there’s plenty of comfortable spots to rest, or sport elaborate costumes and doof sticks just to make others smile. Or how so many of the artists who perform, whether they’re local or from the other side of the world, evidently understand that being up on that little stage is worthy of delivering a special performance. The festival’s magic is truly in so many things – it can’t really be pinpointed. When you’re there, it feels almost intangible, but clearly present. But whatever it is, it keeps drawing the crowds back year after year.
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