After more than a decade away, the iconic Vibes On A Summer’s Day is returning to Sydney and Brisbane next month.
Founded in 1994 at Bondi Pavilion in Sydney, legendary Australian DJ Phil Smart played at the originals Vibes.
“It’s going to be a good, fun day. I expect it’s going to be a bit like a reunion this year with a lot of old crew coming into town from all over the world and the country,” Phil says.
Vibes On A Summer’s Day was one of the first all-day music events and was known for its feel-good vibes. “It was a big deal for us in our crew and scene in Sydney to have something like that; there weren’t a lot of festivals around at that time. It’s played a very special part in Sydney’s evolution,” Phil says.
“It’s a cool thing to be back. It was always a good day. I remember it always put the buzz through the city when Vibes was approaching. Everyone always used to look forward to it. It made people feel happy, so it’s good to have it back.”
Not only will Vibes attract past performers, people involved and people who remember and love the festival, Phil expects it will also attract a new, younger audience. “Given the line-up and the way it all is and the fact that it’s called Vibes – it’s not just a name, one of the things is actually the vibes that it creates – I think even the young crew that never went to the original Vibes will catch the vibes, so to speak.”
An established DJ with more than two decades of experience, Phil has twice been voted in DJ Mag’s Top 100. So he knows what he's doing when it comes to programming the music. “For Sydney I think it’ll be a day party so it’ll be a little bit different and sort of more house/summer vibes. Because the Brisbane gig is in a club it might be a little more different but we’ll have to wait and see how it goes on the night ... I sort of tailor or custom-make a set and hone in on different sounds for a different kind of set.
“So I like doing things like [Vibes] where you can explore different music, play something you wouldn’t normally play and try and do something a bit different and still give people a good time.”
Phil has a lot of good memories of Brisbane and is excited to come back and play while catching up with a lot of old friends. “Brisbane definitely has a soft spot in my heart; I’ve had some really good fun playing up there over the years.”
Vibes On A Summer’s Day Brisbane is at The Triffid 23 January. The Sydney event takes place at Bondi Beach Pavilion 24 January.
