Australian music festivals aren’t just about riding the Soundwave or enjoying some Splendour In The Grass. Down Under, we’re lucky enough to have a thriving and ever-expanding selection of boutique events as we discussed recently in the piece on the thriving boutique music festival scene .
Many punters are opting to go boutique, not only for the music but also in a large part because of the experience. It’s often is more chilled and relaxed and lineups and traders are more often curated to particular tastes.
To find out whether and why boutique festivals are about more than just the music, we chatted with Brent Lean the Director of Newcastle’s This That, happening this Saturday Oct 31st, the event prides itself on the ability to tap into the “new age of modern tribal culture, honing in on trending sub culture movements.” We also caught up with Chloe Foster who is spearheading the debut of Panacea a “music and lifestyle festival featuring 50+ musical acts plus yoga, meditation and workshops and mad vibes.”
The Beginning
Chloe [Panacea]: “Panacea festival stems from a love of celebrating music and people and life. Panacea is the ancient goddess of remedy, at the festival we provide natural healing; massage, meditation and yoga plus music, dancing, swimming, fresh air, free hugs – remedies for the body and soul.
I’ve booked some young acts that I’d never heard of until applications started rolling through, and that for me is the magic of it – discovering new talent and providing a live platform that opens up a new audience for these acts.
[include_post id=”461209″]We’re all about collaboration, it’s people power that makes these things work so if someone shows initiative and gets in touch about an idea or wanting to help out, we’re all ears. The inspiration to start something new is is to also create an interesting avenue for fundraising. I started in this industry purely by giving a damn and wanting to contribute more than what I had – having a background as a musician, putting on gigs and donating the ticket sales made the most sense to me as a kid who wanted to donate thousands, but only had hundreds to spare. It sounds basic, but that’s what is was.
The idea behind Panacea has been years in the making, to be honest it came down to having the time and resources to create a festival from the ground up that at its heart is a fundraiser instead of a pay day.”
Brent Lean [This That]: “The live music scene is obviously always evolving,and we’re also now witnessing a continuing evolution in the food and beverage realm, with a definite raising of the bar in regards to choice and expectation.
We wanted to provide more of an overall experience within the event by bringing these core elements together, aligning them with the musical experience.
The ‘mine is bigger than yours’line up days have been alleviated somewhat by the evolution of these niche markets. Certain people are moving away from the bloated one size fits all event,to something more curated,more defined to their own personal tastes,without ‘wastage’. The delivery of all this is what we’re about.”
What Are The Non-Music Attractions?
Chloe [Panacea]: “We’re offering classes and workshops by Australian and international yoga practitioners, many festivals have a sunrise yoga class for example, but we’ve not seen it feature this heavily before. A weekend at Panacea will rival your favourite yoga retreat,Stefan Camillieri who has curated the yoga line up assures that there’s something for everyone, from beginners to pros. Panacea also offers meditation, interactive art installations, stalls and surprises along the way.”
Brent Lean [This That]: “As touched on above, you wont see generic mid strength cans of beer and pre mixed spirits, instead it will be premium brands serving the best craft beers,ciders, high end mixed drinks and cocktails. Brands such as Young Henrys,James Squire,Stone & Wood,Murrays and Six String breweries all personally providing an experience. People can discuss and learn about the range of products direct with the supplier serving them on the day.
We wanted quality food options to match and hooked up with a dozen of the best food trucks in the country,ranging from New York Deli Style to Organic offerings to South American to Vietnamese – an around the world food experience.
“People are craving an all over experience.”We’ve also have Andy Allen,winner of Masterchef,in control of the VIP kitchen, along with Lizottes creating an outdoor café. We also wanted to deliver a performing arts style enclave,so in collaboration with local performing artists have developed ‘The Other’ where you can immerse yourself in the weird and obscure.
There’ll also be mini colour runs scheduled throughout the day, the Hunt & Gather market group is on board to host the markets and stalls and we’ve also put a bit of a unique spin on the silent disco. Don’t want to give too much away as we want people to be surprised and uplifted on the day,and have a playground to explore!”
Why It’s Important To Have More Than Just The Music
Chloe [Panacea]: “People are attending festivals for an experience, not simply a gig. Although live music is very much at the core of the majority of festivals, boutique festivals in particular have the opportunity to offer a range of activities because the numbers of attendees make it manageable.
We’re attending these events to feel free, try something new, let loose, not feel any judgement or pressures from “the real world”. Some of the best and most memorable festival moments are the wacky, weird, wonderful and unexpected, plus the people you meet along the way. When punters are spending a few days on site it’s important to mix it up.”
Brent Lean [This That]: “People are craving an all over experience. We’ve gone thru a period when music festivals exploded,and initially it was all about the artist line up,with other elements secondary or even after thoughts.
[include_post id=”370103″]Festivals were then defined and painted into a corner whereby they had to match or outdo their previous line up in order to maintain their brand and following,let alone increase it.
Competition for acts has driven up artist fees to debilitating levels in some cases, and we’ve seen the end of some music festivals due in part to this. So in response promoters need to look to other experiential elements that compliment the artist line up. We don’t want to be, or can afford to be, 100% reliant on artist availability/ affordability, in order to produce a successful event.”
How Concept Affects Line Up Choices
Chloe [Panacea]: “When it comes to line up we’ve aimed to provide an eclectic and diverse mix of talent. You’ve got your rockers, hip hoppers, electronic, soul, funk and sweet acoustic tunes. I focus more so on curating a line up that flows nicely and creates the right vibe. Not many want to hear pumping base heavy beats at 10am on a Sunday.
[include_post id=”455428″] When you have a captive audience for three days it’s I believe it’s important to provide peaks and troughs. I didn’t particularly let the yoga element sway the music choices or visa versa, I didn’t want to make assumptions and pigeon-hole it to one genre. We have heavier rock bands on the bill who are mad into yoga – which I didn’t even realize at the time of booking!”
Brent Lean [This That]: “It’s absolutely integral. You can’t try and attract a particular audience to an event with a specific slant on overall content, while at the same time confusing them with mixed messages generated by a ‘one size fits all’ line up.”
Rationale Behind Line Up Decisions
Chloe [Panacea]: “Many acts are already friends, or artists I’ve worked with. Some are artists I’ve wanted to work with, and this happens to be the right opportunity. Then there’s acts who’ve sent in applications and their songs really stuck.
I had an idea of who and what I wanted up front, but I specifically left 40% of the time slots open for the killer discoveries I knew we’d make along the way. Just last week at Bigsound I caught a band that captured my attention instantly, I was standing with their agent and manager at the time and booked them on the spot. A big part of it is the instant tingle you feel at a live show. Every artist on the bill is first and foremost a talented musician, and they’re great song writers. They all poses something special that audiences will connect with.”
Brent Lean [This That]: “We really wanted to create a positive and uplifting event with the delivery of the line up.
We wanted to avoid any confusion with what we’re about; all the elements previously mentioned working together to create the best overall experience possible so it was a real ‘blending’ exercise. We thought acts traversing electronic,hip hop,and highly produced pop/rock acts would deliver the right mix,so it was then a matter of selecting the right ones and trying to secure them.
It can be tempting to chase an audience by booking acts from every possible genre in order to sell as many tickets as possible, however I was always conscious throughout the booking process about each acts impact on the atmosphere and style of event we were looking to create.
We can’t wait to see everyone in full flight and are confident the overall atmosphere will help produce some amazing performances.”
The Best Thing About Panacea / This That
Chloe [Panacea]: “The property is very special, visiting Riverview will be an experience in itself. What they won’t feel is a divide. It’s going to be a really chill and inclusive space, that’s why there wont be any premium camping or VIP bars. Punters will likely interact with artists here and there too. Very much a community vibe.”
Brent Lean [This That]: “We’re under no illusion that we are reinventing the wheel here; there’s so many great events out there that fall under a similar ideal as THIS THAT,but with different focus. I think it will be the attention to detail in all areas – its really a music event,Craft Beer & Beverage Festival,Foodies Festival,and Arts Festival all rolled into one.
All elements have equal importance to us and the sum of its parts will hopefully result in a great experience for our audience. The venue is also so important in delivering the right atmosphere.We’re so fortunate to have such a beautiful greenspace – nestled between the beach and the Harbour. We’ll be making the most of Mother Nature.”
Why The Future Of Music Festivals Is About More Than The Music
Chloe [Panacea]: Boutique music festivals are and will continue to be about more than just the music, absolutely – and I say that as a massive music fan, artist manager and muso myself.
The set up is very important, I’m a fan of festivals that put effort and resources into creating a comfortable but interesting and thought provoking site. I don’t believe the basic sterile infrastructure cuts it these days, people want to be wowed by their surrounds, the colour and the eclectic spaces before the music even starts.
[include_post id=”458498″]There’s a growing trend of people coming out of their shells at these sorts of events, they’ve become an outlet to be creative for everyone involved, punters and organizers alike. Offering platforms and activities for that expression whether it be yoga, meditations, a dress up party tent, games, even pool toys to float with in the water – it really is about creating mad vibes and a whole lot of fun, the live music is one element of that.
Brent Lean [This That]: Most events that go under the ‘boutique’banner have primarily been created with this as their core principle,so that they’re not solely reliant on the securing of high profile acts in order to attract an audience,while also simply wanting to create a unique experience.
The positive side effect of this is that promoters in this realm are required to be very creative ,as you have to value add to the experience and find new and exciting elements to satisfy an audience.
This That Festival
Saturday, 31st October 2015
Newcastle Foreshore, Newcastle
Tickets and info: This That
Panacea Festival
Friday, 20th November – Sunday, 22nd November 2015
Riverview, Tatong VIC
Tickets and info: Panacea Festival
