Indie singer-songwriter, and winner of this year’s Unearthed Big Piney competition, Dorah Jacson kicked off Big Pineapple’s 2019 festival.
Jacson has performed around the Sunshine Coast and Brisbane over the past few months, uploading her debut single ‘AWAY’ to Triple J Unearthed in February. Citing the likes of Angie McMahon and Middle Kids as her influences, there’s definitely big things in store for this up and coming act.
The Chats - image © Erin Taylor
Sunshine Coast locals, The Chats then brought the crowd out in the afternoon sun. Energy was high and crowd unity was truly felt during the sing-alongs of ‘Pub Feed’ and ‘Smoko’ – the video for 'Smoko', which was a viral sensation (featuring mullets, tradie worksites and Centrelink references), is close to hitting seven million views on YouTube. The lads will tour the US in July, followed by Europe and UK dates.
If there was any way to follow The Chats' energy, it would be by jumping into the crowd during your first song. This is exactly what lead singer Ray Dalfsen did, as West Thebarton took to the Triple J stage.
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With five guitars on stage, the Adelaide band are a complete powerhouse keeping the crowd jumping throughout the entire set.
West Thebarton - image © Erin Taylor
Over on the Superlove stage, pop queen Kota Banks truly emanated the powerful female energy that was presence throughout the entire festival. The singer-songwriter, who released her debut EP mid-2018, performed hits such as ‘I’m It’ and ‘Child’.
Kota Banks - image © Erin Taylor
Brisbane’s Hatchie then played the Pineapple XX stage. Hatchie has been busy since the release of EP ‘Sugar & Spice’ last year. Harriet Pilbeam’s dream-pop vocals have landed her support spots for acts such as Beach House and Death Cab For Cutie, even Kylie Minogue.
Only just returning from the US, Hatchie and her band are set to head back overseas for their Europe and UK tour next week, ahead of the release of their debut album in late June.
Back on the Sea Shepherd stage, Karnivool captivated festival-goers with their strong anthems and Ian Kenny’s iconic dance moves.
Karnivool - image © Erin Taylor
The sun went down, and the festival became full just in time for Vera Blue to take the stage.
Dressed in sparkly, blue tinsel it was hard to take your eyes of the singer as she danced across the stage, drawing applause from everyone for her incredible vocal skills. Everyone was pumped up during 2017 single ‘Regular Touch’, before the set ended with 2018’s ‘Lady Powers’; a very relevant song to the strong female vibe felt throughout the festival.
Vera Blue - image © Erin Taylor
It was then time for a bit of Aussie hip hop from Thundamentals. The boys played songs from their latest album ‘I Love Songs’, complemented by the beautiful backing vocals of Billie McCarthy and Inês.
The set also included ‘Sally’ (#7 in 2017’s Hottest 100) as well as more recent single ‘I Miss You’. The song discusses social media and technology addiction, which the artists made reference to by urging the crowd to try and stay off their phones during the song.
Over on the Superlove stage, punters gathered to watch Brisbane sweetheart Mallrat. With her song ‘Groceries’ coming in at #7 in last year’s Hottest 100, she has become a festival favourite with her catchy and relatable lyrics.
She brought out friend Tyne-James Organ to perform a cover of Billie Eilish’s ‘bellyache’, before surprising the crowd with an appearance from Allday during the duo’s song ‘UFO’.
Mallrat - image © Erin Taylor
Fellow Brisbanites, Last Dinosaurs then took the stage. The band played ‘Dominos’ and ‘Eleven’ from their latest album ‘Yumeno Garden’, as well as songs from 2015’s album ‘Wellness’ as well as their 2012 debut record ‘In A Million Years’; the songs from that release are still crowd favourites seven years later.
The band also played an impromptu medley of Flo Rida’s ‘Low’ and ‘Move Your Feet’ by Junior Senior, a cover they apparently came up with only a few days earlier.
Off the back of their biggest tour yet, electronic music duo Peking Duk then hit the Sea Shepherd stage. The act is constantly appearing as festival headliners, and the amphitheatre was truly packed for their performance. The power-driven set was concluded with pyrotechnics and confetti, as the duo performed ‘Fire’.
Peking Duk - image © Erin Taylor
Without giving the crowd any time to calm down, PNAU immediately began their incredible set. Formed back in the late '90s, the dance act has gone through a lot of change and growth over the past few years.
It was the band’s collaboration with singer and dancer Kira Divine that brought them back into the spotlight. The first song of their collaboration, ‘Chameleon’, was released at the end of 2016. A year later, the album ‘Changa’, featuring ‘Go Bang’, was released.
Kira Divine & PNAU - image © Erin Taylor
Kira truly mesmerised the crowd with her high energy and amazing dance moves. She was dressed in high vis clothing, and the stage was lit up with lasers and lights.
Colourful PNAU videos were playing in the background, truly capturing the full attention and praise of thousands of festival-goers. “We’ll see you all at Christmas,” Sam Littlemore said as the band left the stage. Perhaps a hint at more festival appearances to come (or a national tour).
Overall, it was another year full of powerful, high-energy Australian acts at Big Pineapple Music Festival.
