Secret Garden’s impact on Australia’s festival landscape will be felt forever

On Tuesday, the last ever Secret Garden Festival lineup was announced. For Australian music lovers and festival goers, the announcement came with an overwhelming sense of bittersweetness and sentimentality.

Boasting the likes of The Preatures, Genesis Owusu, Ali Barter, Mojo Juju, Imbi The Girl, Brendan McLean Tia Gostelow, Pist Idiots, These New South Wales, the lineup truly encompasses the unique identity Secret Garden has cemented for itself over the last ten years.

Inherently eccentric, on the cutting edge of trend and not afraid to get just a little bit freaky, Secret Garden’s impact on the Australian festival landscape with reverberate long after its end.

In 2009, Australian summers were peak mega-fest season. With Big Day Out, Soundwave and Stereosonic at the helm, thousands would flock to stadiums, sweltering in metropolitan heat as whoever the year’s most sought after international took to the mainstage. Whilst those festival experiences leave a trail of fond memories and coming of age tales for music fans countrywide, something more curated was needed.

Watch: Highlights from Secret Garden 2016

Just an hour from Sydney’s CBD, it provided an oasis of hidden pathways, pop up performances, karaoke bars and more. A 48-hour secret forest party, with an emphasis on love, freedom and expression was the perfect antidote for those needing a break from Australian flag donning mega-fest crowds.

Not many festivals can boast the honour of having your event sell out completely before even hints of the lineup begin to drop – between 2011 and 2013, party-ready punters flocked to ticket retailers, selling to capacity just as the festival was announced. It’s clear the atmosphere and vibe created at the festival provided something Australian music lovers were clearly after.

Authenticity and liberation bled through in every way the festival operates – with a humble 5000 punter capacity, it’s hard not to feel like the event is run by a family member or old friend. With all proceeds going to charity, no other festival operated with the intention of generosity quite like Secret Garden.

Secret Garden is also responsible for housing some of Australia’s most well-loved acts before they entered total takeover mode – The Preatures, King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard and Gang of Youths just to name a few.

Gang Of Youths – Secret Garden 2016

Upon announcement of its cancellation, Secret Garden organisers reflected on its ten years of fun, colour and life-affirming partying.

“Each year 100’s of musicians, dancers, performance artists, visual artists have descended on our forest and turned it into an explosion of creativity and adventure,” organisers said in a statement.

Multiple awards, almost $500,000 raised for charities, and 10 sold-out forest discos later, next month’s final run is set to be a celebration of everything Secret Garden represents: community, creativity, adventure, and more.”

“We started Secret Garden because we desperately wanted a different kind of festival experience. A festival less about the headliners and irritable crowds, and more about getting together a community of good people, in over-the-top costumes and creating a world where patrons participate rather than just spectate.”

Punters were sent into disarray. Hundreds of tagged mates and reminisced of times spent dancing without abandon.

“An eternal thank you to everyone who has worked on this festival over the last 11 years. One of the best festivals I have ever attended anywhere in the world. You will be greatly missed,” said one punter.

A glimmer of hope was left at the end of organiser’s reflection –

“We may reappear in some other form in the future. But as a wise person once said, always leave a party when you’re still having fun,

The last ever Secret Garden takes place on February 22nd and 23rd Brownlow Hill, NSW. 

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