If you’ve been paying attention, Australian music festivals have been having kind of a tough year. The past 12 months have seen events that were once thought bastions and vanguards of our crowded festival scene collapse into a convoluted mess of debt and rumours.

But if you’ve been paying even closer attention, you may have noticed that there is one sector of the country’s festival industry that seems to be, for all intents and purposes, booming, and it might even be the least expected to do so – regional Australia.

To help us figure out if regional Australia is indeed as it appears to be, a new frontier for Australia’s ailing festival industry, we spoke to some of the people behind several of regional Australia’s most exciting festival prospects.

Matt Clifton is the director of VANFEST, which is set to kick off next month featuring a lineup of Chet Faker, Matt Corby, British India, Sneaky Sound System, Van She, Bag Raiders, Celia Pavey, and OXBLVD.

Lex Fletcher is the organiser of Beechworth Music Festival, which will be bringing the likes of Beaches, Jen Cloher, The Bennies, Ron S. Peno, The Superstitions, and expats Luluc to Beechworth, Victoria this January.

Shannan White is the organiser of Cool Summer, coming at you this January and February with a sublime and rocking lineup featuring The Delta Riggs, Dallas Frasca, Jakubi, Timberwolf, Animaux, and many more.

Adam Masters is the director of Mountain Sounds Festival, which returns in February with an insane lineup featuring D.D Dumbo, DZ Deathrays, The Griswolds, The Kite String Tangle, Northeast Party House, SAFIA, Tkay Maidza, and many more.

Jesse Higgs is the director of Party In The Paddock, which kicks off this February, topped by a stellar all-Australian selection featuring The Beautiful Girls, Allday, Jinja Safari, Dune Rats, The Smith Street Band, and Tommy Franklin.

The Motivation

Matt: “Growing up out in the country we missed out on all the live music kind of stuff, and after being in the entertainment industry for many years, my father and I decided to collate our networks and bring a little bit of the metro production thing out to the bush. It is more for the local communities; building tourism, helping local economy, educating youngsters, providing music culture to regional areas.”

Adam: “We grew up on the Central Coast and not only did we recognise the demand for a music festival but we also wanted to give back to the community by helping build music, art, and culture via local talent and local businesses alongside showcasing some of the best national artists the country has to offer.”

Shannan: “Cool Summer Festival was started eight years ago to celebrate a love of independent Australian music and to provide the people of the local area a chance to experience more music and the way festivals used to be. We still boast low security, BYO, cheap tickets, and free entry for children under 16.”

Lex: “At 52 years of age, it was time for me to grab my dreams by the scruff of the neck, shake the living shit out of them, and have a dead set crack! With 30-plus years of gig-going and broadcasting on community radio, as well as my passion for music, my partner Rikki, who has heaps of organisation and events experience, and I teamed up and put our skills together to make BMF a reality.”

Jesse: “I personally live out of town, 30 minutes east of Launceston, at the infamous Burns Creek. On my drive to Launceston, I’ve always been engaged by the beautiful scenery on offer. You know, it’s those sun glazed, hazy hills in the summer, mountains in the background as you weave in and around as the road leads you from a paddock, through a forest and then back to another open paddock with a spectacular view – just then I imagined it full of the best people I know who are having some of the best times of their lives.”

The Cons

Matt: “Credibility! Getting people to believe in your crazy idea. Being a first time festival is hard enough as it is, but being out in the country with no past events to support the idea, it was hard to get artists, sponsors, etc. on board. There is always the thought that people have to travel a lot further out in the bush than they do with metro festivals, which have high density areas within a stones throw, but realistically that’s what they are used to.”

Shannan: “Like any outdoor event, the weather plays a large part in the success of your festival. Unfortunately in 2013, we had to cancel Cool Summer Festival due to devastating bush fires in the area. We managed to come back bigger and better in 2014 and 2015 is shaping up the same way. This is something that is unlikely to affect a festival in the city.”

Jesse: “The hurdle of distance that some people may have to travel to get to the event – but generally I think it helps with our ‘no dickhead’ policy. I have a theory that the dickheads don’t like that little distance and would as easily be satisfied with a night out on the town.”

Adam: “Access to resources, larger freight costs, network problems, and too many unicorns.”

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The Pros

Matt: “Everybody wants to help out, everybody wants to be a part of it. So there is loads of support from local businesses who donate their time and resources, which undoubtedly have lowered our costs dramatically.”

Lex: “The sense and feel of community in Beechworth and the N/E in general is ingrained, and so the support, encouragement, and actual physical help (untold man hours from so many friends, relatives and community organisations) steers us in complete unison with a future legacy and vision for BMF that we are trying to achieve.”

Adam: “Not too much [is easier] to be honest! However, it helped that we grew up there so we had a lot of support from the community as we weren’t just a big city promoter coming in to take over – word of mouth is a powerful thing!”

Shannan: “The enthusiasm of people in the regional area, and this enthusiasm is very high, so it makes working with local businesses a delight. All local people are very happy with the idea of bringing more people and tourism to the area.”

Jesse: “You don’t have to work so hard on making the surroundings as pretty, it comes with its own atmosphere.”

The Punters

Matt: “You would be very surprised at how many metro punters have bought tickets to VANFEST. People are coming from far and wide, as well as locals.”

Lex: “Punters come from all over the place. It’s an easy 3 hours up the Hume Highway and we had a strong contingent from Melbourne but punters came from as far as South Australia, Wollongong in NSW, from down Gippsland way and the Surf Coast as well as central and regional areas of Victoria generally. And there were plenty of locals and those from surrounding towns.”

Adam: “We have a mix from all areas! The Central Coast, Sydney, Newcastle, Wollongong, Melbourne, Perth and there were even punters from China – tourists who followed others onto our free bus service from the train station not knowing what was going on and bought tickets on the door! The Central Coast is a perfect escape for the weekend.”

Shannan: “Our attendees come from all over Australia! A large majority are from the local area which spans up to a three hour drive away. In the country three hours is close:) haha! We also get a lot of city folk who want to get away for the weekend and experience the beauty that is Mt Hotham in the summer time.”

Jesse: “We get them all, including a large interstate audience.”

Regional Crowds vs. City Crowds

Matt: “They don’t [differ]. They may wear high leather boots, the occasional akubra hat and prefer a few Bundy cans, but overall, they still love the music just the same.”

Lex: “Regional and local audiences have that real community casualness and relaxed nature about them – the urgency of locals is much less.”

Jesse: “Regional festivals attract more of a variety of audience and it’s great to see them mingle. City boy meets hippy chick = happy days.”

Shannan: “Just like city crowds, regional audiences love live music! Most people are very appreciative of having the chance to see live music at regional festivals.”

Adam: “How do regional crowds differ from city crowds? No steroids.”

The Bands

Matt: “Bands are definitely more hesitant to play a regional festival. It’s not a proven success yet, as there are very few festivals out there to install a level confidence in the artists. But on the flip side, it is something different for them, and everyone on the VANFEST line-up are super excited to play out in the bush.”

Adam: “Most of them are always eager to play regional festivals. Country and coastal towns heavily influence Australian culture and a good proportion of all these acts grew up in these areas! International acts want the experience.”

Shannan: “We have not had any internationals play at Cool Summer Festival, but I have found that Australian acts are very excited about coming to regional areas. It is great exposure for their music as there are an abundance of music lovers living here. The artist always have a wonderful time and a great weekend away when they come to the festival.”

Jesse: “I know a lot of our acts are really keen for the experience of the beautiful regional Tasmania.”

The Fall Of The Big Names

Adam: “The large and established festivals are going at each other like never before! The competition is based on who can get the biggest and most expensive international headliner, which, of course, increases their ticket price points. The punter is forgotten about and it makes the market unsustainable.”

Matt: “The music industry over the past few years has seen a lot of change in the way we listen to music. This puts a lot of pressure on the artist to continually perform and drains their time, which is now really the only way they can make a few dollars. With the continuous touring, they charge accordingly, which naturally has a flow-on effect for festival bookers. This makes it hard to source artists sometimes.”

Lex: “Punters are looking for that intimate festival experience, a well thought out lineup with a personal touch and a great environment where they can just enjoy the music, the artists and feel the great sense of community that a small festival can bring.”

Shannan: “Costs of running a festival are very high and it is very hard to cover these costs and break even from ticket sales. It is a difficult balance of trying to keep ticket prices low and affordable and covering all costs.”

Jesse: “It’s probably because of the rise of all these boutique festivals providing other options. The commercial/mainstream vibe is done and I think that the smart ones — Splendour and Falls — have caught on big time and it’s clearly projected in their lineups, probably always has been and that’s why they’re still cool.”

A New Frontier?

Jesse: “I wouldn’t say new, you know, like we’ve had Groovin the Moo and Triple J does the One Night Stand – but it certainly stands as a fresher frontier and a far less explored one that will excite people for sure. Why not see some of the prettiest parts of Australia and listen to some of your favorite music at the same time? That’s a fresh experience right there.”

Matt: “I absolutely believe so, there is a huge market for live music festivals in the central parts of the country, not just NSW. People underestimate the sheer amount of potential festival-goers there are outside of metro areas, and they are happy to travel.”

Adam: “There is a place for both regional and metropolitan festivals, but there’s something about that fresh air out in the regional areas… we can see the stars at night too!”

Shannan: “Definitely! Regional Australia has a lot to offer, especially in the area of boutique festivals. Not only are there a lot of people living in regional areas that love live music, it is a great opportunity for people living in metropolitan areas to visit regional Australia. It adds another element to the festival – the draw card of visiting the local area.”

The Future

Matt: “I do hope [more regional festivals pop up in the future]. Should we see success with VANFEST, it will go to show there are festival goers in regional areas who don’t mind to travel.”

Adam: “[More regional festivals will arise] for sure, we feel like it’s a natural progression. People are already moving out of the condensed city areas.”

Shannan: “I think [more regional festivals will launch in the future]. Since Cool Summer Festival started 8 years ago there has been a number of festivals popping up in the local region. It is awesome!! Gives me a chance to go and experience a festival locally where I don’t have to organise it!”

The Competition

Matt: “We compete by providing a safe, fun, engaging atmosphere to a larger demographic, and always listen to what they want to hear on stage. We theme the event in a way which will always differ you from the rest, push the envelope, get creative. But again, always provide the music that they want to hear. The demographic isn’t quite dense enough to be able to niche the music genre just yet.”

Lex: “We provide a personal festival experience which is all about the music in a magnificent venue and all the time sticking to our ethical practices.”

Adam: “We offer extremely reasonable ticket price (first release for just $79), we’ve introduced camping on-site for 2015, ALL Australian lineups and an amazing experience overall which we feel gets lost in today’s festival landscape…we also had a giant penis sculpture in 2014!”

Shannan: “At Cool Summer, we have remained true to our original idea of delivering festival the way they used to be. Low security, BYO, cheap tickets with free entry for children, It’s a festival that caters for families, the young and hip and the older festival goer. It’s three days of music and indulgence in the middle of nowhere with the luxury of everything! Camping is available or if you like 5 star accommodation to suit your taste.”

Jesse: “A priority for us is to always maintain the good bits from either side of the fence and to remain fresh.”

The Local Scene

Matt: “You don’t necessarily need an established scene to hold a festival. Just be very sure you promote in all the appropriate mediums. Regional areas rely on different mediums than that of metro areas.”

Lex: “There is already a host of exciting talent in all regional areas of Victoria and especially in the N/E and nearly NSW Border areas.”

Shannan: “The Mt Hotham region has a great appreciation of live music and you don’t need a large population for this to happen. So despite the small population, there is often something on offer, being a live music liver though there is always more needed.”

Jesse: “I think that’s a good idea if you want a better chance of the festival succeeding.”

Filling The Void

Matt: “There is definitely a void in the market. There is over 600,000 residents in the near radius of central west NSW who don’t have the privilege of seeing live music festivals in their area. That’s a big supply/demand opportunity right there.”

Lex: “There are all kinds of events and festivals on offer in regional areas. They form the glue that keeps the communities strong and vibrant and there is a fantastic variety of music and culture for all tastes.”

Shannan: “I think it is definitely needed in the regional area. It is really wonderful that people in regional areas are able to experience the best live music Australia has to offer without having to make the trip down to the city.”

Industry Health Check

Matt: “I think we compete quite well on the world circuit for a country with a less dense population. New boutique festivals are popping up all the time, as others are fading out. Hopefully we can hold a healthy balance.”

Lex: “The health of the Australian festival market is growing!”

Adam: “Its health is strong in areas and ready for change in others – the boutique model is definitely making it’s mark!”

Shannan: “As mentioned before it is difficult to cover costs when running a festival. It is a hard to balance that with keeping the tickets prices down and affordable for everyone. It is important for everyone to keep supporting these festivals by buying tickets and attending as it will be a sad day if they all disappear. Touring artists often miss regional areas on their tour schedules so festivals are a great way for local people to see bands. We need to keep supporting these festivals.”

Jesse: “Less is more [laughs] Well, I think that the ones that are meant to survive will and when others fall, there will always be something to pop up and replace it. An example was Big Day Out, that made plenty of room for Beyond the Valley, etc. We even had an early thought of claiming that date and am now glad we didn’t. I think it’s a very healthy market, with many options for punters and it’s really forcing festivals to be the best experience they can be, or punters will just go to another festival next year.”

Local Co-operation

Matt: “This would depend where you are. Regional areas are most welcoming to the event. It’s a win-win for everyone. However in the metro areas they are not so easy going.”

Lex: “Very broadly, Tourism Victoria’s charter is to support regional events and increase visitation in regional areas. Councils and local tourism organisations and operators are right on board and locals, with their strong sense of community, want to help in any way they can.”

Adam: “The local council and residents are really behind us. We have tailored the festival to be a vehicle to showcase local artists and businesses.”

Shannan: “The Mt Hotham township is a very small community and I have found local residents and businesses to be very positive and helpful. It is important for this to continue so we can ensure the success of festivals.”

Jesse: “They have been great to us.”

Advice To Future Promoters

Matt: “Do your homework. Make sure you have plenty of networks. And be prepared to take a risk.”

Lex: “Hang on for the ride of your life!”

Adam: “Don’t start a music festival, but if you do, make sure you’re doing it for the right reasons!”

Shannan: “Planning, Planning, Planning… and lots of enthusiasm!”

Jesse: “Have a strong foundation to begin with. It’s only the support of both the group of people around the festival and our extended family/community that has kept us together.”

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