Australian Festival Promoters Are Eying Larger Crowds

With the resurgence of live music, Australian Festival Promoters are aiming for bigger audience numbers.

In early May, Falls Festival announced that while its NSW show at North Byron Parklands will continue to cater for 35,000, its new Victorian site Pennyroyal Plains will have a larger 25,000 capacity and the new WA site at Fremantle Park will fit in an increased 30,000 punters.

Beyond The Valley (Victoria) has applied to the Golden Plains Shire Council to stage in the farmland region a 40-minute drive from Geelong on New Year’s Eve.

The figure applied for is for 35,000 punters, to lift to 50,000 in five years.

Unofficial estimates have it drawing 16,000 at its current home in Lardner Park in country Victoria.

If approved, it would inject $30 million into the Golden Plains economy.

“After successful operations since 2014 in its current location, Beyond the Valley is looking to further establish and strengthen its industry-leading event with the ability for the event to continue to grow at the location now proposed as part of this application,” the application read.

The promoter behind WA’s Good Day Sunshine and Out Of The Woods, Ross Macpherson, has applied to turn his Little Bird Farm in Sabina River into a festival site, said the Busselton-Dunsborough Times.

He wants the City of Busselton to allow the property to be used each year for two three-day camping festivals and three single-day events.

Some of these are designed to draw up to 12,000 attendees and 6000 campers.

“By encouraging the audience to visit and stay in the Busselton area, events of this nature will generate more than $2.8 million per event in external economic benefits to the Busselton region,” Macpherson argued.

In other new initiatives, the City of Sydney announced $3 million in funding for 14 new projects and events to start in June. It waives fees for outdoor events, power access and venue hire for these projects.

They include a street party in Redfern; a Hollywood precinct in Surry Hills where bars and diners will highlight art, live music and culture over six weeks; a four-week festival in the YCK Laneways hub; a First Nations ‘festival of fire’; and six months’ of Friday-night music, sound installations and workshops in Erskineville.

The first Springtime (September 2 – 4) on the Gold Coast has Hermitude, Thelma Plum and Skegss, and incorporates the Gold Coast Music Awards.

Tropic Sounds in Townsville had its planned debut cancelled last year due to COVID, but goes ahead in June with a huge bill at Reid Park headlined by Lime Cordiale and Thelma Plum.

The inaugural Last Light Festival in Wollongong on July 16, brings 30 acts as Cool Cool Sounds w/ Flowertruck to seven bars.

Meantime, the numbers for major festivals on the weekend were impressive.

Darwin’s BASSINTHEGRASS drew 16,000 to Mindil Beach, half of whom were from outside the NT.

In 2019 it generated $4.3 million for the Darwin economy and $5.13 million for the NT.

Drawing large crowds were Hilltop Hoods, Dune Rats and Xavier Rudd whose set got a special roar when NT rapper J-Milla jumped on to guest on their “Ball And Chain” single.

Blues on Broadbeach. photo by Bianca Holderness.

At the 21st Blues On Broadbeach, 60 overseas and local acts played on 12 stages on streets, parks and venues.

Exact figures are not available for a few more weeks from organiser Major Events Gold Coast but a rough estimate has a total of 170,000.

64% are from outside the Gold Coast and are likely to bring $25 million into the local economy.

“The fans continued to come out and support every artist despite the showers, their dedication and love for the music not lost on the artists who expressed their heartfelt thanks,” general manager Mark Duckworth said.

Out Of The Woods, WA’s first major festival since the hard border lifted in March, drew 7,000 to the Busselton’s foreshore.

Making comebacks are Meredith Music (Victoria) after two years, on December 9—11.

Darwin’s Garmrmalang Festival (July 29—31) is on Saturday (May 29) announcing its full program at Darwin Entertainment Centre – its first under creative director Wendy Ludwig – with a performance by ‘Rolling Stone’’s best new artists King Stingray.

This article originally appeared on The Industry Observer, which is now part of The Music Network.