Wide Open Space festival took place 3-5 May, 2024, and created a special sense of community for those gathered together.
The festival is about an hour out from Mparntwe (Alice Springs) down the Ross Highway set in the beautiful surrounds of Inteye Arrkwe (Ross River) on Eastern Arrente Country.As we arrive, I'm struck by the surroundings. There's much to take in, the red dirt under foot and looking up at the undulating rock faces that frame the festival site and looms large behind the main stage.
DAY ONE
Having set up our tents and walked around the site, it's time for the Welcome and Smoking Ceremony from the Arrente Elders who are there for the weekend too. It's a generous welcoming with a touch of humour that sets the tone for the weekend and how things should be done. The overall message being we are all one family together this weekend and we should treat and look after each other as such.Once everyone had been through the smoke, some circus and acrobatic displays followed, while the James Range Band was setting up on the main stage. The lively reggae-tinged bush band sound that James Range Band create comes from a great tradition of bush bands from various communities. It is one that is special and largely doesn't reach much further out than those communities, so I felt a sense of privilege to be watching them do their thing.
James Range Band is a group of talented musicians from the Pitjantjatjara community of Utju (Areyonga), named after the mountain range from their home. Sense of place and connection to Country is conveyed from the name to the sound, in the lyrics and the musicality it feels like it could only come from this place.
The riffs came in fast and heavy when Southeast Desert Metal hit the stage; this is a band that has been around for over a decade and a half and know how to put on a show, having played with international metal bands and toured Australia.
Seeing this Eastern Arrente band from Ltyentye Apurte (Santa Theresa) on their own land was truly epic and moving. Their version of Midnight Oil's 'Beds Are Burning' got the crowd moving, but also taking it in especially when lead singer Chris Wallace yelled out "It belongs to us so give it back".
This was laced with feeling and meaning and is something that will remain with me for a long time after the dust has settled on this years WOS. As was the sentiment in new song 'Sacred Ground', which had the refrain of 'dancing on sacred ground' a concept that I made sure to keep in mind throughout the rest of the festival.
After the power of Southeast Desert Metal I went for a wander around the festival and found myself at the second stage where some disco heaters courtesy of Jez – or in this instance in his persona as DJ Scheiße Minnelli – were getting the people there dancing their butts off.
Walking into ABBA's 'Gimme Gimme Gimme' after the heavy riffs flicked a switch and it was time for a bit of cheesy fun which concluded with Phil Collins epic 'Something In The Air' with the crowd crouching down till that classic drum fill hit and everyone couldn't help but to dance.
Back to the main stage for Karnage and Darknis. A rotating cast of rappers provided a good insight into the local hip hop community that exists around Mparntwe. They were spitting truths and having fun with it.
Continuing with the hip hop, So.Crates hit the stage bringing their afrocentric boom bap with splashes of soul and jazz throughout the set. This was So.Crates second appearances at WOS, the band delivered a set of thought-provoking hip hop thematically travelling through time and space throughout the set.
A particular highlight of mine landed us in Cazeaux OSLO's home of California on the way to Joshua Tree which he drew comparisons with the Eastern Arrernte Desert landscape that surrounded us. This particular track was structured as a guided mediation, and really demonstrated how creative the duo are.
The entire set was very well thought out, word play aplenty and beats that played out as grooves to dance to. Perhaps my biggest takeaway was the connection the long running duo had with each other, a truly special friendship was on display.
Bouncing back to the second stage at this point in the night I found myself at the Peachy Party, which was a showcase of the amazing queer community that exists around Mparntwe. Hosted by Gloria Hole they laid out the ground rules in a funny, engaging and forthright manner. It is a space for queer people first and foremost.
The Peachy Party had some incredible cheeky performances. Femme Brulle broke the show wide open. Before Salt Bush Bill came on and put on one of the most hilarious performances I've seen in a while, reappearing with a fish head on and some clever appendage play. Gloria Hole topped off the performances by 'doing the peacock'. The individuality that was on display was embraced by all crouched down to watch it.
Back at the main stage was the first foray into the world of dubstep that would be the trademark of most of the late night DJs. Ashez began his set in the realm of junglist drum & bass then came the dubstep. He was able to seamlessly traverse the sounds melding them together and making it work. There was some big build ups that lead into some even bigger drops.
DAY TWO
Waking up to the discovery of a stolen esky was probably the sorest point of the festival. As this was being sorted out, True Intent and then Virus and Black soundtracked the confusion then exploration of trying to find the aforementioned missing esky.When New Boys came on it was time to make my way to the main stage to take in this ripper bush band. A mighty noise came from the rocking reggae-tinged band. During their set what stood out to me was the importance of these bands to their communities that they hail from.
Double Dinghy was a two piece whose third member was a drum machine; what on paper shouldn't have worked as well as it did. It was a very fun set with some funny shoutouts to politicians such as Robert Hawke and George Christensen. A dark and swampy garage punk sound with plenty of swagger.
Making the trip down from Larrakia Country (Darwin), their lead singer made reference to the Darwin- Alice Springs alliance and if Double Dinghy is anything to go by it's a strong one.
It was at this point that I made my way over to an important meeting at the Bush Boardroom. This was a much discussed meeting and the outcome was an outrageous amount of dancing produced by the beats being provided by those chairing the meeting.
When I got there Ayebatonye was chairing. An eclectic set that included a very danceable edit of 'Rock The Casbah' by The Clash and plenty of other extremely danceable tracks. Those attending were in their best doof business attire, as dancing is serious business.
Making my way back to the main stage I was greeted by the Eastern Reggae Band. Again an incredible display of the vibrancy of bush bands. Extremely grateful to get to see these bands that don't often get beyond their own communities; also aware that I'm only scratching the surface of bush bands that are making phenomenal music.
Stellar Sea hit the stage with their urgent post-punk sound. There's many political bands floating around Australian music, but with this band which consists of band members who are active members of the Mparntwe activist and arts communities it is obvious that they truly care.
As the festival unfolded, it also became apparent that members of Stellar Sea played a vital role in the operation of the festival so kudos to those legends.
There were activities going on in different areas of the festival but at this point Inteye Arrkwe Arrente Dance Group was the only event on, which was quite moving as they danced along the sacred Seven Sisters songline, and paid tribute to an Elder who had recently passed away.
The dances provided a moment of reflection and grounding of the Country that we were on. It was somewhat jarring when following this poignant still moment there was no real lead into the much hyped Rona., whose brand of rhythmic electronic music is deeply rooted in Country.
Rona. is a Kayetye woman who spends time between Naarm (Melbourne) and Mparntwe. Weaving through her own originals into a set that seemed harder than her recorded material, there was some profound samples of Elders that she held space for from both the Countries she resides on Eastern Arrernte Helena poem and a protest rally address from Uncle Gary Foley.
Amaru Tribe's set was emotionally charged and full of cumbian grooves. With a vowel renewal to boot, this was clearly a special set for the band and was a pleasure to witness the band in full flight doing their thing.
Taking the stage without too much fanfare POOKIE's stage presence is such in an understated way that is engaging as the audience hang onto every word whether it be poignant or cheekily exploring different aspects of her personality.
Through her art POOKIE is proof of the proliferation and diversified hip hop scene that Australia now boasts. A comparison could be made to UK's Little Simz, however POOKIE exists in a unique league of her own with individuality streaked throughout the set.
The sound was bass heavy and could feel vibrations through the ground. The sound was consistently left of centre whilst being R&B leaning and flitted with different genres throughout and with ease.
Kodiak Kid continued the hip hop with a DJ set that explored various niche and broader sounds within the world of hip hop. Beginning with a Sampa The Great burner, largely exploring hip hop sonic territory when he dropped Doja Cat's party starter 'Paint The Town Red' it had the intended effect – and the dancing in the red desert reached a fervent level.
Things changed pace significantly when Ungus Ungus Ungus took to the stage producing a weird and wonderful set. A surprise appearance from Katanga Junior was a particular highlight.
While the crowd was dancing, the nature of the set left me wondering would it be better suited to a more family-friendly timeslot. As it definitely had a child friendly appeal. In terms of this props to the festival organisers for making a festival that was not only family friendly, but designed with that as an intention and accessible for people of all ages and walks of life.
Making the trip to the red centre all the way from the northern suburbs of Naarm, BabyTones delivered a fun set of what he branded as 'Italian Disco'; best visuals of the festival must go to BabyTones as many Australian Italian staples appeared on the screen such as Franco Cozzo, La Porchetta and Dolmio.
The visuals were hilarious and slightly deranged, but so was a lot of the crowd by this point of the night. Ending on Cher's 'Believe' there was much enjoyment to be had and in no way corresponded with the next set. A transition that felt like chalk and cheese it was time to lay down on a half inflated mattress to the soothing sounds of Redamon's dubstep.
DAY THREE
Waking up feeling a bit dusty but after yesterday definitely ready for more. Commitments outside the festival for some meant that the crowd downsized throughout the day, but this in no way impacted those performing on the stage providing exceptional performances to be enjoyed.Jimmy O'Hare's folk stylings soundtracked breakfast. His narrative-driven songs accompanied by his fingerpicked and intricate guitar playing. While JUMAN brought a completely different set, with the inspiring lyrics and instrumentals extremely grounding at this time of day.
Performing with backing tracks, JUMAN with a live band would be extraordinary. The final song was particularly inspiring as she explored her connection to culture singing in Arabic and the power of honouring ancestors in this way was felt deeply.
Wandering through the festival site I was struck by how much was going on around me with laughter yoga to one side and African drumming to the other. A choir that was formed over the weekend were rehearsing and on the main stage Monkey Marc was providing what felt like meditation music to dance to.
Whiskey Dram's style of sea shanties and bush folk was raucous. Definitely knocking out any cobwebs that might have been there from what had to this point already been a large weekend. With a sound that sits somewhere between sea shanties and bush folk, perhaps bush folk is sea shanties for the land. There was dancing and singing aplenty.
Having already had a number of guest appearances with other acts by this point in the festival Katanga Junior's set was much anticipated and definitely delivered a vibrant set of localised Afrobeats.
Katanga Junior is a vital member of the Mparntwe music scene and while watching I was grateful for the varied acts from this scene I had the opportunity to see this weekend, but also aware that I'm only scratching the surface. Backing up Katanga Junior with The Tamala Express kept the audience dancing, we can rest once the festival is finished.
The Sunset Ceremony was a truly special moment; perhaps the most moving moment of the festival was Aunty Marie Elena Ellis performing her heartfelt spoken word poetry backed by a classical strings arrangement. This grounded the weekend for me as I heard her affecting words of resilience.
The WOS Choir demonstrated the special community that was created at this festival over the weekend. Coming onto the stage with an array of instruments but not a guitar to be seen, in a formation purposed for jamming facing each other, the camaraderie, kinetic energy between the No News band mates was electric. A mish-mash of jazz, funk and adjacent genres. The bouncy and eclectic sounds that came through in the set showed true musicianship.
Finding myself at the second stage for WOS Jam Sessions, again showcased the sense of community that exists both at WOS and within the Mparntwe music scene. The unpredictability of a jam night and pure spontaneous magic is the appeal and this is the case here. Different formations of bands, including a young drummer ripping a cover of Seven Nation Army and Whiskey Dram doing a bonus mini set that very much seemed like it could have extended if allowed.
Wide Open Space was a truly unique festival in a landscape where there is much uncertainty about the future of festivals. It provided hope for the weekend and cemented why these smaller scale festivals are so needed. The force of volunteers and what they were able to put together for this weekend was amazing and shows what can be done when people really care.
