Festival of the Sun is, without a doubt, one of the most chilled out festivals in New South Wales. It’s hard to pinpoint the exact reason, but the seaside Port Macquarie location has an easygoing feeling, it’s at a sweet spot in terms of size, and the people there are showing up for the right reasons.
What we will say with certainty is that we’ve been heading to Festival of the Sun for a few years now, and it just gets better and better.
In the tail-end of the year, you can always count on a particular NSW festival to deliver in spades. Here’s what you missed at Festival of the Sun 2019.
On the lineup were some big names, and every single one of them Australian. Incredible sets from Amyl & The Sniffers, Briggs, Baker Boy, Lime Cordiale, Julia Jacklin, Methyl Ethel and more were bolstered by a solid mid-range, including Sydney-siders Georgia June, The Buoys, Johnny Hunter, and more.
The venue had been set up beautifully, the main stage sitting right next to a smaller lot, with performances alternating between the two to avoid long change overs. It also meant you could plant yourself front and centre without worrying about missing an act or running off to another location.
That lack of worry was definitely felt everywhere you went, from the locals greeting you at the festival’s front gate to the feeling of community in the campsite. There was a pool and the ocean to duck into if you needed a break, a pop-up record store for the diggers, and of course – the festival is famously BYO.
The crowd were buzzing hard – no doubt catching up on cutting loose after another year on the grind. A few heavy mosh pits started raging during the harder acts like Trophy Eyes or Amyl & The Sniffers, but there was plenty of swaying in between. On the first night, the crowd were even treated to a cooling off thanks to a spot of rain during Lime Cordiale’s set.
Check out a few snaps from the festival below, and be sure to keep the calendar open for Festival of the Sun’s return in 2020.
