Output Weekender, Vanfest, lead post-restrictions charge promising ‘life affirming experiences’

Image: Output Weekender’s new site on Castle Mountain (Credit: Jack Toohey/Supplied)

Output Weekender and Vanfest are the first festivals to be announced after NSW began relaxing its restrictions on Friday.

Output director Paul Stix told TMN that its 2018 site on Goat Island in the middle of Sydney Harbour was “a life-affirming experience”.

He plans to recreate that in its new space on lush Castle Mountain on the Hawkesbury River in Wisemans Ferry on April 15—17 with the tag ‘We have been lost, but now we are found’.

The festival will feature music from the likes of Palace, Assembler Code and FBi Radio’s Motorik!

The weekender’s focus on escaping and relaxation will also see it play host to glamping, yoga classes, workshops, massage, guided meditation, nature discoveries and film screenings.

“Fast forward more years than we would have liked, the road to this point has not been without its many challenges, but we are grateful to be here,” Stix said.

Image: Vanfest/Facebook

Vanfest has two events at its Forbes NSW site.

One is a mini version on April 9 with Holy Holy, Julia Stone, Jarryd James and First Nations workshops on music skills.

The large one – which was drawing 12,000 visitors pre-COVID – is slated for December with international names.

Festival director Matt Clifton explained the taster is “to get people back outdoors and enjoying the things we have all missed so much”.

It is enabled by the NSW Government’s Regional Events program, Festivals Australia and City of Forbes.

The Newcastle leg of This That returns to full capacity on March 12, “singing, dancing and partying locked in”.

The Dashville site

So too is Americana / alt-country Dashville Skyline (February 25 to 27), rescheduled from October, and normally for 3,000 to 4,000 in secluded bushland called Dashville in Lower Belford.

Festival director Matt Johnson addressed the elephant in the room for returning festivals.

“It’s good these restrictions have gone, but it’ll now depend on if crowds feel safe returning.”

Thrashville (February 11 and 12), a no-show since 2020, only drew one-tenth its usual crowd.

Johnson blames the ‘no singing and dancing’ rule – “a ridiculous idea, totally unenforceable”.

“But the look of joy on people’s faces getting out after years of being at home was great to see.”

Johnson said as a result, it is more important to “take risks and forget about the financial worries”.

“Just get the wheels turning for the good of the industry. I’m positive about going forward.”

For Dashville’s next gig, Great Southern Nights (April 1), an all-female festival, he’ll work a lower capacity.

At this stage, punter enthusiasm seems to be in the main overtaking post-COVID caution at other festivals.

Melbourne’s inaugural EDM gathering Flying Colours (March 12, Reunion Park) is “starting to make some serious waves”, reports Moor Music and The Operatives.

“We have been working on this for over nine months now, and with reschedule after reschedule, this doozy has finally come to life.”

Adelaide Fringe had 100,000 punters in its first weekend, with long lines outside 385 shows at Gluttony and the Garden Of Unearthly Delights.

78,000 tickets were sold this weekend alone and the box office was up 5.5% on same time last year.

Bluesfest (April 14 to 18) is edging close to sell-out.

“The ticket sales reflect the feeling of the community of music lovers,” director Peter Noble pointed out.

The festival released its complete schedule, with 105 artists and 200 performances on six stages – “the greatest gathering of Australian artists in the history of Australian music”.

Noble promised new infrastructure is ready, and stressed the safety of the event.

“At Bluesfest my team and I never looked back. Sure, we felt the sting of COVID – no one escaped that – but we always looked forward to the day when we would present Bluesfest again. And that time is now only weeks away.”

Lee Kernaghan at the Muster

In Queensland, Gympie Muster announced its second round of acts.

Savannah In The Round near Cairns has snared an international headliner (Brad Paisley) for its second year, with a more mainstream bill to increase the 11,000 crowd from last year.

Adelaide’s Space Jams, which began as an online event, is staging on April 16 and 17 in a physical format headlined by Timberwolf and Teenage Joans with 350 punters each day.

Mount Gambier’s Generations in Jazz has gone digital for 2022, forfeiting the $3 million it brings to the region.

Kangaroo Island’s New Shoots, postponed from November, is held on April 2 at Penneshaw Oval to raise funds for victims of the bushfires.

Tasmania’s Party In The Apocalypse returns for a second year, heading south to Hobart on March 25 and 26.