In its 37th year, the iconic Gympie Music Muster makes a shift to re-focus on the spirit of community, music and mateship the event represents.
Program Director for the Muster is Jeff Chandler who says the Gympie Music Muster always has and always will be underpinned by the fact it was established as a charity event.
“The festival was founded on giving back to the community,” Jeff says, “and we've kept that going because the heritage is that rather than have a whole bunch of service contracts for various services that are required such as cleaning or bar work, rather than have all commercial contractors a lot of that goes back to community groups.
“It could be a local football club, school or a service club and they get paid for carrying out the work that would normally go to a commercial contractor. That way that puts the money back into the community.”
Jeff adds that for some of these groups a year's worth of fundraising is accomplished over the four days of the Muster, making it an essential source of income for local organisations as well as businesses such as hotels and restaurants.
For the past 36 years the Gympie Music Muster has grown from a local celebration to a defining country music festival, and has raised over $15 million for charity and community groups.
This, Jeff says, is the true spirit of the Muster. “Not that that's been completely lost but it has been a little bit lost along the way, which is what happens when other things become a bit more dominant,” he says.
“We try and make sure that what the Muster stands for is still out there and understood.”
On a larger scale, the Muster also provides opportunities for local, national and overseas artists to perform in front of one of the largest outdoor audiences in regional Australia.
Last year alone, the event was measured as having contributed more than $6 million to the Queensland economy.
This year's line-up for the Muster features Troy Cassar-Daley, who is also the 2018 ambassador for the event, Lee Kernaghan, John Williamson, Beccy Cole, Ian Moss and many more.
Jeff says that while the staged acts are second-to-none, audiences should also make the most of the Muster's other entertainment options.
“We have a very popular guitar jam and this year that's going to feature Ian Moss, Troy Cassar-Daley, Lloyd Spiegel and Fiona Boyes, and there's more to be announced. It's a very popular event held in our blues and roots bar and that's part of the programme that we're very proud of having developed.”
Set in the picturesque surrounds of the Amamoor Creek State Forest deep in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland, the Gympie Music Muster is four days of fun you can truly feel good about knowing it all benefits the local region. “It's a huge camping festival,” Jeff says.
“The area just turns into a village made up of tents, camper trailers and caravans and it becomes a community in itself.
"It is a great experience to actually go and stay on site for the duration of the event because you just immerse yourself in the whole thing and not just the music but the spirit of the festival and the mateship that happens.”
