Meredith Music Festival seems to be something of an anomaly in the festival landscape. As many festivals are struggling and a number are forced to cease, Meredith is stronger than ever.
It was sold out almost immediately and unlike previous years, tickets for stragglers were hard to come by on resale. Why is it able to stand out like this? Is it because it is unique as a BYO, one-stage festival that spans a multitude of genres?Or is there something deeper than that, which brings people back to Meredith each year? Fundamental to Meredith is its No Dickheads Policy, which fosters a caring and generous temporary community.
At the forefront of the collective memory of Meredith goers was last year's extreme winds and torrential rain, and so amongst the excitement of arriving at the festival site and setting up camp was weather chat and whether we would have a repeat of last year.
This time the weather gods looked down kindly on Meredith, and gave us rather mild weather for the majority of the festival.
Image © Mike Ridley
DAY ONE
Meredith began with a smoking ceremony and Welcome to Country from Wadawurrung traditional owners Uncle Barry Gilson and family.Uncle Barry, who has been delivering the Welcome for many years now, got up onstage and said: "Australia needs to stop killing women," then gave the microphone to Tammy Gilson, a powerful statement.
Tammy delivered the Welcome, which was spoken in Wadawurrung language and English sharing some of their storylines and encouraging the crowd to care for Country and each other over the weekend.
Image © Mike Ridley
There was some drizzling rain as Frenzee fired up the festival, the Melbourne via Crete sibling trio fronted by Apollonia Xylouris, who is a fierce frontwoman walking in the recent footsteps of Amy Taylor from Amyl and the Sniffers.
Apollonia owned the stage, sprinting from side to side and crowd surfing multiple times as well as spending extended periods in the crowd. A rowdy moshpit was an appropriate response to this classic pub-punk sound that was produced from a mixed Australian and Greek upbringing.
The trio cut sick in front of their biggest crowd to date; they have a busy schedule planned for the Melbourne summer so plenty of times to catch them. After the frenetic set from Frenzee, the mood shifted to a more laid-back vibe when Good Morning got onstage.
Frenzee - image © Mike Ridley
Formed in Melbourne a decade or so ago with Stefan Blair and Liam Parsons, but more recently basing themselves overseas, their set felt like a homecoming as the original duo expanded out to an ensemble of friends.
There was definitely a sense of fun during the set as a small choir of friends sang backup vocals and played tambourine and other instruments; clearly all onstage were enjoying themselves. Playing 'Country' last, which is taken from 2021's 'Barnyard', it got an elated response from the crowd with many boots appearing up in the air throughout the crowd.
The Meredith programme never sits in one genre for much longer than a set or two. Mike got on the mic bringing his soulful abstract rap to the Supernatural Amphitheatre.
He relied on crowd participation, but the crowd seemed a bit disengaged from it. There was a disconnect; rap seems to be a genre that needs to be done really well to win over the crowd at Meredith. Getting local rapper Chef Chung up onstage with him,who supported at his sideshows, was a nice touch.
Fat White Family dialled up the weird and bizarre, playing songs which spanned their career. Frontman Lias Saoudi came out sneering at the crowd wearing some sort of old-fashioned undergarment that left little to the imagination – his antics were both crude and captivating.
Fat White Family - image © Leah Hulst
Without caring to win over the crowd and at points showing a disdain for the audience he conjured up the spirit of wild performers saying "here is a song about Mark E. Smith, it's called 'I Am Mark E. Smith'". This early career cut was a particular highlight. Going hard on the absurdism, the crowd was split between those who were in awe of what was taking place and those who couldn't make sense of it.
A much anticipated set was Waxahatchee, who put out an album 'Tigers Blood' earlier this year that is sure to make it up the top of many album of the year lists.
By this time, we had seen a few bands of different styles grace the stage but I was immediately struck by the audio quality, isolating the sound of each instrument and not drowning one out the others to enhance the already incredible songs.
Katie Crutchfield of Waxahatchee has an understated stage presence; there is no pretence but a strong sense of sincerity that comes through in the songwriting and in the live performance. Wearing a Meredith Supernatural Amphitheatre trucker hat, she remarked on how special the festival was and "how everyone says it is the best festival".
Perhaps that "everyone" is collaborator MJ Lenderman, who was at Golden Plains earlier in the year. 'Right Back To It', the song they do together, saw Waxahatchee singing both parts. It was a highlight that got the majority of the crowd singing along and many boots in the air.
Waxahatchee - image © Danysha Harriott
Cloaked in much mystery is Glass Beams who wear bejewelled masks. They made their way onto a darkened stage to play their Indian-influenced psychedelic jazz and funk; with no talking between songs, it felt like one, long jam. The visuals behind them were entrancing – setting into the grooves made for a heady experience.
Genesis Owusu, who was last at Meredith in 2018 early in his career, returned having released two standout albums 'Smiling With No Teeth' and 'Struggler’ in that time. The majority of the set was lifted from these two albums.
There's an amazing range in Genesis' sound. While rooted in the world of hip hop, it often deviates from this touching on punk and metal, then into softer moments too. The crowd loved the way he was able to seamlessly traverse all these sonic worlds.
Mainline Magic Orchestra were described by Aunty Meredith in the press release as 'possibly the most bonkers act we've ever given the keys to'. Knowing not much more than that going into it, I was definitely intrigued.
The chaos that ensued blew many minds throughout the crowd, with some head scratches, some wide grins and lots of dancing. Bizarre catchphrases and unbelievable antics throughout the set. It was one that many were talking about the next morning.
DAY TWO
First thing in the morning, the Ballarat Municipal Brass Band did their thing with covers of 'Sweet Caroline' thrown in with the Village People; the dagginess of this traditional slot is endearing and gets many punters out dancing first thing in the morning.Maple Glider was the perfect way to ease into the second day, her delicate songs hold a lot of emotional weight. Looking around there were a few tears as the lyrics connected with the audience and many hugs.
Staying in the realm of chill music, Keanu Nelson in only his third show garnered a lot of new fans. Keanu comes from Papunya where he met Yuta Matsumara. Yuta's minimal, ambient, dub beats is the perfect backdrop for Keanu to sing his poetry, which are sung in both Luritja and English.
Image © Mike Ridley
Centred around themes of Country, family and loneliness Keanu, who remained with his hands in pockets for the entire set, let the music do the talking, and it felt like we were witnessing something really special.
Shifting gears, it was time for a regular in the Melbourne punk scene as Billiam and The Split Bills took to the stage. Things were no longer chill, as the band brought their wired hyperactive energy to the 'Sup.
Continuing with the punk music, feminist punks Mannequin Pussy dominated the stage. Frontwoman Missy Dabice brought what she described as "feral feminism" energy. It was a set that started off soft and built in intensity throughout the set till it was ferocious at its end.
Partway through the set, Missy in a whisper spoke of how people have a problem with the word "pussy", especially men then encouraged all men in the crowd to yell "pussy", then the whole crowd. This led into 'Loud Bark', which had a lot of boots in the air.
She later encouraged the crowd, who obliged, to let out a primal scream at the top of their lungs. There was also a call for "Christian fascists to suck my dick". A sense of catharsis was felt throughout the set.
Mannequin Pussy - image © Leah Hulst
Holding it down in the mid-arvo for the legacy set was Leo Sayer. It was a truly delightful slice of nostalgia. He embraced the crowd and showed that he's still got it, hitting the high notes and dancing around the stage.
He had a slideshow behind him showing photos from throughout his career just to boost the nostalgia. The amphitheatre filled up for this one, many people were in group dress-ups and generally having fun with their mates making for a really amusing time. The sunshine started to crack through the overcast clouds during Leo's set.
Image © Leah Hulst
Backing up Sayer was a hard timeslot to be in; as many people who filled up the amphitheatre for Leo, there were a lot that left afterwards. However, Precious Bloom brought the good vibes with their Indonesian disco.
There was stunning vocals from Adinda Dwimadasari backed by a deep groove from the band, which continued the dancing. As the vibe shifted the dancing continued with Oolof Dreijer taking on the customary afternoon DJ spot, a set that could have easily fitted in at 3am, but was well received at 5pm.
Barkaa is known for being one of the staunchest voices in Australian music and she showed why in this set. From the moment she got onstage the proud Barkindji Malyangapa woman delivered a powerful and unapologetic set as she rapped about police brutality and deaths in custody.
It also felt triumphant as she told the crowd: "I've been dreaming about playing this festival for a minute now and I'm here," telling of the adversity she overcame. She had the crowd with her for the set, especially the mob at the front.
Barkaa - image © Leah Hulst
Angie McMahon's heartfelt songs were the perfect set for the sunset, which was a pearler. Her songs celebrate vulnerability and feel like a warm hug, of which there were many hugs throughout the captivated audience who were singing along with almost every song.
Programmed for prime time was Party Dozen, the duo brought their mighty sound of saxophone and drums to the 'Sup and did not let up for the entire set. It was relentless as Jonathan Boulet pounded the drums allowing the perfect platform for Kirsty Tickle to do her thing.
Wielding the sax like a weapon, Party Dozen blasted the crowd with their wild sounds. There is a phenomenon of bands lifting when performing on the Meredith stage, particularly Australian bands. Party Dozen definitely rose to the occasion putting on a thrilling show.
Angie McMahon - image © Mike Ridley
After The Dare's one-man, indie-sleaze show, it was time for the Meredith Sky Show which is always a spectacle – this year, it was set to a soundtrack of Sonique's 'It Feels So Good'.
Then it was time for Jamie xx. Starting off with 'Treat Each Other Right', it was an hour and a half masterclass of EDM. Jamie xx changed up some tracks from the records, playing extended versions and layering different sounds on top. It was a euphoric time in the 'Sup.
Image © Mike Ridley
DAY THREE
Essendon Airport eased us into the final day, the sonic meanderings were ideal for some heads that had been bent a bit out of shape over the last couple of days. The experimental minimalists from the '80s, who reformed in the last few years, brought a sense of calm after the last few days.Yara and band joined the stage. Yara's upbeat R&B pop had more people filtering back into the amphitheatre as she delivered a beautiful set. The Palestinian-Australian singer sang a special song of resilience called 'Common Sense', which was adapted with lines from Palestinian poem by Refaat Alareer 'If I Must Die'.
Cool Sounds provided a fun set of jangle pop. As local favourites that have been around for almost a decade, they played a set of mostly new songs and were very well received by the crowd.
The Meredith Gift - image © Mike Ridley
Following Don Glori's cosmic jazz, it was time for the annual tradition that is The Meredith Gift. After last year's mud, there has been a rule change making The Gift, a nude race, now a power-walking race rather than a running race.
After The Gift finished up, many people left but those that remained were treated to the delight that is Hot Tubs Time Machine headlining the festival as the last band to play. Making reference to The Gift that just happened, Marcus Rechsteiner started the set by taking his pants off and singing about 'Pants Off O'Clock’.
Each song was a hilarious anecdote from Marcus; there were stories about 'Sneaky Meat Boys' and the set concluded with 'Ned Kelly', which Marcus got the crowd cheering for Ned. A bizarre way to finish off a weekend that had many weird and wonderful bands.
Meredith is a tradition for many and a place that lots of people look forward to coming back to each year for the magical times. Long live Meredith!
