Local Aussie promoter, Adrian Buckley made news recently after criticising Triple J and their apparent bias towards Aussie mega-festival, Splendour In The Grass. It’s no secret that year after year, the radio station lays in a cozy bed with Splendour, giving promotion and support as well as a lineup that seems to have been hand picked from the Triple J playlist.
We spend our lives reminiscing so it’s only natural to revisit. Narara 2017 is set to bring back the golden age of Rock festivals, before the E’s and Bindis
Whether you agree with his statement or not, Buckley did make a good point about the government funded station’s responsibility to support the wider music community rather than placing immense focus on just its behemoths. “I’m definitely no hater, but I have questions about the influence the station has on the wider music industry & its public responsibility to broaden its level of support & promotion. It is after all a public station,” stated Buckley in a piece for Newcastle Live! Then what’s he gonna do about it?! You ask.
Well, yesterday we got our answer. Buckley announced his involvement in the resurrection of an Aussie festival that took place in the early 80’s, promising a fervent utopia of rock n’ roll nostalgia and a return to the heart of what music festivals are about – the love of music.
Narara Festival was famously headlines in its 1983 debut by Aussie icons, INXS who were preceded by The Angels, Cold Chisel and Choirboys among others. The following years of the fesival featured international acts such as Def Leppard and Eurythmics. So 80’s.
The reboot is set to be based purely around Rock n’ Roll and psychedelia and will be relocated to Forest of Tranquility in Ourimbah. “Leave your yoga mat at home,” says Buckley, explaining he wants to strip the festival back to its bare bones and revisit the essence of a music festival sans superficiality. He goes on to say “We want to capture the essence of the old school festival where music & the love of music created an energy all of its own, so though we’ll create an amazing space in an amazing place it will be a stripped back & raw festival experience.”
The reboot is set to arrive in May 2017 and, whilst we haven’t yet had any reports of a lineup, we’ll be on the edge of our seats until we do. It’ll be interesting to see whether or not the old mates at Triple J will back the festival all things considered but, one thing’s for sure: we better keep our eyes peeled for more on this tantalising idea.
Check out the video below of The Angels tearing it up in the original incarnation of Narara.
First seen on Music Feeds.
