The Gum Ball 2014 Festival Dates, Lineup Details Announced

The Gum Ball 2014 festival dates and lineup details have been announced.

To mark its 10th year as an independent boutique music and arts festival, The Gum Ball has some exciting plans for its decade-long birthday.

Following on from the launch of the sister winter festival, Pigsty In July, the main event is set to take place again at the pristine country venue ‘Dashville’, in Lower Belford, held over two nights; Friday 11th and Saturday 12th April 2014.

Dashville is the gorgeous bushland venue located at Belford in the Hunter Valley region of New South Wales, will open its gates slightly earlier on the calendar this year, the two night event will be held on the first weekend of the April school holidays. A move that organisers hope will better suit families looking to get away over the break before Easter kicks in.

Organiser Matt Johnston feels a mixture of joy and relief at having made 10 years in the highly competitive Australian festival market. “It’s been a rollercoaster of passion, fatigue, joy and hindsight. In the end though, the reason we keep putting The Gum Ball on is for the people that come to the festival and make it what it is,” he says.

Johnston attributes the unique atmosphere and family-friendly nature of The Gum Ball as the reason it has sustained a growing popularity over the years.

“People have become ‘festival experts’- they go to so many events they begin to realise what they want in their down time,” says Johnston. “In our experience people are seeking comfort, serenity and uncomplicated set ups to help them enjoy good music making for good times.”

The line-up for The Gum Ball 2014 is tipped to be a big one, themed as a celebration of the best of the last 10 years with some fresh long-awaited inclusions.

The Gum Ball 2014 lineup announcement is expected mid-December, but judging from the pedigree of the festival’s previous bills across its 10 years, it’s set to be the best yet.

Over 200 acts have graced The Gum Ball stage, previous years have included: Turin Brakes, Mia Dyson, Regurgitator, Tumbleweed, Redgum, The Beards, Jinja Safari, Saskwatch, Katalyst, The Bamboos, Eugene Bridges, Jordie Lane, Kora, Ash Grunwald, Mat McHugh (The Beautiful Girls) to name but a few.