One of Australia’s biggest musical festivals returned for its ninth edition and took us into 2025 with its best lineup yet.
Making its home at Brunah Plains, Victoria, and produced by Untitled Group, 2024’s Beyond The Valley music festival attracted an impressive 35,000 people to camp, visit, drive or bus to the site and indulge in four days of captivating, diverse and “why can’t I stop moving my feet?” acts.
To say Australia’s festival scene has had some heartbreaks of late would be a severe understatement. Due to a multitude of reasons, 2024 saw the cancellation of Groovin the Moo, Splendour in the Grass and Spilt Milk, all just the tip of the iceberg.
It’s only fitting that, like its attendees, much of BTV’s longevity and success can be accredited to its endurance, unique style and culture and, of course, love of music from national and internationally acclaimed artists.
Sticking to their special ingredients, BTV headliners graced one of three main stages which each appealed to different kinds of festival goers and music tastes.
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Dr Dan’s stage was an audio and visual masterclass built around shipping containers that showed off the unmatchable deck skills of Soju Gang, FOURA and Eluize. On the other side of BTV was the iconic Dance Dome, the place to be if your plan was to dance from dawn till dawn.
The Dome showed off the likes of Odd Mob, Little Fritter, Malugi, and Sam Virji and, on NYE, took it to full throttle with a set list that just built and built, from a secret appearance from Hayden James to DJ Boring, sending off the year.
And thirdly, The Valley stage, which homed everyone’s favourite electro-duo, Confidence Man, scored a DJ set from Royel Otis and a full set from Ice Spice. On the final day, Sugababes wholesomely rounded out 2024 before passing off to Fisher, who, on the dot of midnight 2025, hit the decks with a generous amount of fire, sparkles and new-year staples.
Outside of the main stages, there was plenty to keep attendees exploring and discovering. One being Red Bull Unforseen’s BTV station, which heavily mimicked the design of Melbourne’s public transport system and hosted a rotating door of DJs. Another was Smirnoff’s Cornerstone, which, upon stepping through the shop’s secret fridge door, became Schmall Klub’s dark warehouse rave.
Once guests were grooved out from Poof Doof’s “Cirque Du Slay” or dancing classes, they could stop by Jack Daniel’s House Party or the Beach Club for a much-deserved drink.
The effort put into the design across all aspects of the festival not only elevated the relatively smaller stages and artists to a similar level of the main acts, but greatly enhanced the overall experience by reinforcing its cheeky left-of-centre appeal.
Meeting organisers in the middle, a BTV staple is the equally impressive doof sticks that revellers attend with. The level of commitment and creativity that most put into their sticks can’t be understated and if it wasn’t for their bizarre designs, it would almost seem like too much effort. But when the sun goes down and the lights of the sticks go on, you can’t help but think you’re sharing an experience that is unlike any other.
Of course, one of the unavoidable consequences of a huge four-day event in the Aussie summer was the subsequent dust that covered everyone and everything. Assuming the crowd didn’t lose their voice to singing and yelling, the dust certainly would’ve finished the job. However, this would only alarm the uninitiated and for many, has become just as much part of the festival’s culture.
This was aptly reflected in the outfits and accessories that attendees strode around in. While most people’s attire complemented the festival’s quirkiness, many also provided a functional element, such as face and hair coverings that would’ve proven essential to them enduring the four days.
But this is not to suggest BTV were playing out a game of survival of the fittest. In fact, quite the opposite. Any large event is susceptible to incidents and festival staff played a huge role in minimising damage from the elements with round-the-clock maintenance and offering guests plenty of supplies.
On site, there were instrumental health services readily available, such as the much-discussed pill-testing facility, breath testing, calming quiet spaces away from stages, plus massages and osteotherapy.
Despite a lack of music festivals in 2024, Beyond The Valley buried any middling expectations and set a bold new standard in terms of acts, venues and experiences. It’s safe to say that BTV attendees went home completely fulfilled and rightfully exhausted.
With 2025 being the year Beyond The Valley enters its double-digit anniversary, anticipation is already building as festival goers wonder how they could possibly surpass this year’s phenomenal event.
