Get Your Groove On (GYGO) is a new, outdoor concert series that brings a little slice of 'Hunter Valley cool' to Sydney this summer.
The new event is being spearheaded by Sound Addiction Event Management, based in the Hunter Valley and run by Grant Smith who has over 25 years experience throwing parties and organising music events. “It was time to do something in Sydney,” Grant says of why he decided to start GYGO.
“You can say there are lots of things to do in Sydney, but I don't know if there is. There's not a lot of outdoor events, especially in some places around Sydney, and I thought it was about time we'd bring a bit of Hunter Valley cool down to Sydney.”
'Hunter Valley cool?' I hear you ask? Let Grant explain. “It's an outdoor concert in a nice setting, but it's involving Hunter Valley wines instead of the plethora of garbage you get from South Australia and everywhere else,” he laughs.
“We've got a few Sydney food trucks, but we're also bringing down a couple of restaurants from the Hunter Valley, and produce like Hunter Valley Cheese Company will be down there with their wares.
"Just nice, different bits and pieces but then supplementing all of that with the massage stations and hopefully some tarot readers and really good market stalls.
“The whole thing is going to be thought about and curated… it's more upmarket, in a good way not a bad way, and not necessarily more expensive.”
As well as some of the finest gourmet delicacies and beverages the Hunter Valley region has to offer, GYGO also presents an impressive musical line-up for their first two concerts that begin in February at Bella Vista Farm.
The first concert will be headlined by Birds Of Tokyo and British India, while the second sees Pete Murray and Thirsty Merc take centre stage to entertain the party people. Grant says their choice of acts reflects the event's ethos of providing a wide choice for all ages.
“The whole thing musically about Get Your Groove On is that it's going to be a series of concerts and we want diversity, not so much eclectic or completely different, but diversity and it's always important to have some good and interesting names upfront to try and grab everyone's attention.
“Birds Of Tokyo work really well with British India and it's really nice to have them there for the slightly younger audience, and the opposite which is Pete Murray and Thirsty Merc; it just works for our demographics as well.”
With over 25 years experience organising and managing events from concept through to completion, Grant is confident GYGO will have a place on the local event calendar for years to come.
“This is only our first year; we're going to adapt and change and refine and continue all the time and that's the plan, but hopefully we get it pretty much right the first time and if not we'll just keep working towards what we're after,” he says.
“[Get Your Groove On] is a really nice, casual, relaxed day for everybody. Somewhere you can bring your kids in a nice, safe environment that's not overly packed and jammed in.
"It's just nice and cool and groovy and relaxed to sit on the grass, hire a deck chair or bring a blanket and just chill out.”
