For those who have been living under a rock, Willow Beats are a constantly evolving electronic duo from NSW who burst onto Australia’s music scene last year with their massive self-released Alchemy EP.
Masters of producing incredible live shows- a feat often tricky for electronic based acts, this uncle niece duo have recently dropped their lush new single ‘Merewif’ the first release from their upcoming EP set for release later this year, you can catch them in action as they tour ‘Merewif’ nationally this August.
Already veterans of the festival circuit, Willow Beats’ electric live show has garnered them spots on a huge number of festivals including Falls, The Plot, Outside In, Bigsound, Strawberry Fields and Hong Kong’s Clockenflap Festival just to name a few. In the spirit of camaraderie and good festival vibes, the beat making half of Willow Beats, Narayana Johnson has put together a musos’ guide to surviving music festivals.
Introduce Yourself To Sound And Lighting Technician
These guys really have the power to make or break your set… Make sure you’re super friendly to these fellas. We actually find festival sound techs a lot easier to deal with than club/venue guys. Say hello and give them a clear understanding of how you want to sound.
Mingle With The Good People
We’ve made some great new friends at festivals. All kinds interesting people attend! Hang out and be merry. It’s also a great feeling when you see someone you’ve met earlier at your set.
Bring Water
You can get goon sacks full of water from most supermarkets. We usually bring 2 or 3 of these. Having to pay top dollar for a little bottle is horrific.
This One Is Obvious, But: Cater To Your Crowd
These different boutique festivals attract very different kinds of people! We played our trippiest songs at Strawberry Fields, Chilled beats at Outside In and Inca Roads, dancier at The Plot etc etc.
Bring Your Friends
Festivals will generally give you a couple of free tickets to bring your buds. Take advantage of this! We’re actually constantly asking for more frees because we want to bring as many homies as possible.
Enjoy The Festival
Remember people pay big money to come to these events and there’s a reason! It’s easy to fall into the trap of “oh this was free I’ll just take it easy back stage and leave after we play”. Get into the thick of it and see as many acts as you can. There’s honestly nothing as inspirational as seeing live music for us.
And Finally, Get There At The Start, Leave When It Ends!
We much prefer festivals that go for a couple of days. After a couple of days of beautiful tunes and great people you begin to feel like you’re in another world and this for us is where the true festival magic happens. Don’t just turn up on the day you play then leave!
Photos sourced from Facebook.
Willow Beats ‘Merewif’ Tour
Friday 1 August – Mondo, Perth WA
Friday, 8 August – Black Bear Lodge, Brisbane QLD
Saturday 9 August – Goodgod Nightclub, Sydney NSW
Friday 15 August – Rocket Bar, Adelaide SA
Saturday 16 August – Northcote Social Club, Melbourne VIC
For tickets and info visit willowbeats.oztix.com.
