How all of Australia became part of the One Day crew

Back in 2015, the music world was abuzz with talk of the One Day crew, a hip-hop supergroup that bubbled up from Sydney’s inner west, consisting of Nick Lupi and James Boserio (Spit Syndicate), Nick Bryant-Smith and Adit Gauchan (from Horrorshow), Kai Tan and Raph Dixon (from Jackie Onassis), and Joyride.

They dazzled with their upbeat spirits, musical prowess and, later on, their legendary One Day Sunday parties. Now in 2018, the crew has set their sights on events that are bigger and better than ever.

Like WAVY, Australia’s first ever beachside hip-hop festival, set to take place at the end of November at Perth’s picturesque Port Beach and featuring some of the countries finest up-and-comers like KAIIT, Manus Crooks and SUPEREGO (fka POW! NEGRO).

While the crew might have made their name in Sydney’s inner west, One Day Entertainment director Lupi says the transition to the west coast was an easy one.

“They’ve got a really good sort of lifestyle and party culture over there. There’s a lot of venues. There are potentially more venues and spaces to put on parties in Perth than there are in other cities, which is quite odd when you consider the difference in population,” Lupi tells TMN.

One Day Sunday at Perth’s Noodle Palace

It’s an understatement that Sydney’s lockout laws have had a radical impact on the city’s once vibrant nightlife.

“The NSW government’s approach to governing our state is fucked up in so many ways, but perhaps none more so than their attitude towards festivals/partying/ events/culture of any kind that doesn’t involve gambling,” explains One Dayer and Horrorshow member, Solo.

“They don’t appreciate the value of these things to a healthy, happy and well-rounded society and it definitely feels like they’ve been waging a war on young people.”

But one city’s loss is another’s gain as the One Dayers make the pilgrimage Perth to share WAVY.

“As far as One Day, it’s pretty ridiculous that a collective and a brand that has such a strong connection to Sydney and NSW is freer to operate on the other side of the country in WA – but with that said, we’ve always had a lot of love for the west coast/Perth too,” Solo tells TMN.

“It’s a special place with a great energy and lots of people who love to bring good vibes – so we’re happy to have the opportunity to get down with them once more at WAVY in an iconic spot like Port Beach.”

No matter if it’s on the west or east coast, there’s one thing that’s most integral to Lupi and the rest of the crew: a sense of community.

“That word, community, is a really important one. Sometimes that word can get thrown around a little bit, and feel like it’s lost its meaning or it can feel a little bit lame but that has been underpinning our events from the start,” explains Lupi.

“This sort of sense of community, this sense of grassroots beginning, being for music lovers, by music lovers. It’s really just been about celebrating the local scene, the community, the artists and DJs in these different cities that we kind of do events in.”

Lupi’s words don’t ring hollow as him and he crew put in the hard yards to make sure their events are as safe, inclusive and downright fun as possible.

“With some of our bigger events we’ve done in Sydney, Joyride and myself will be at the gates at the end of night handing out waters and thanking people for coming. This has a sort of like practical egress purpose in the sense that it calms people down, and it helps sort of like make sure people get home safe,” Lupi says.

“It also kind of puts a face to this promoter and to this event. We’re not money hungry promoters looking for which market can deliver us the best sort of like return on our investment. We’re really interested in making sure the events we put on are on a different level.”

And that level seems to be stratospheric – not only is WAVY set to be blessed by its beachside venue but Lupi is making sure that the One Day events are for everyone.

“The core of our events is kind of we keep the ticket price low. It’s really just about making sure it’s accessible and appealing to a whole range of people,” Lupi says.

“That’s what makes any sort of festival good. It’s really all the different types of people that come to these parties and that dance and just have the best time of their lives.

“That’s what makes it fun. That’s what makes it a memorable, special experiences that people want to keep coming back to. That’s what makes us a community.”

WAVY Festival will take place on Sunday, November 25 at Point Beach in Fremantle. For more information, head over to the official website.