It’s fair to say that once again the 2016 Big Pineapple Music Festival played out all but perfectly. It was sold out, packed out and without a doubt a BIG display of some of the best musical talent Australia has on offer.
As Queensland put on its finest weather, the 10,000 strong crowd filled the Pineapple’s natural amphitheatres last Saturday, eager to explore the smorgasbord of entertainment on offer, which included three stages, dodgem-cars, a ferris wheel, FMX display and a smattering of stalls.
With two distinct, contrasting identities in the musical offerings, it is difficult to pinpoint exactly what or who Big Pineapple is. A split lineup of Australian rock royalty vs EDM saw the crowd change in composition and behaviour accordingly.
Stand out rock performances from the main stage included The Delta Riggs, Regurgitator, You Am I, The Smith Street Band and The Bennies. The Bennies giving a memorable moment when they stage-crashed longstanding mates and tour buddies, Smith Street for ‘Don’t Fuck With Our Dreams’, the song inspired by the 2013 fan-stabbing of Bennies guitarist, Jules Rozenbergs.
It was clear the majority of festival goers were 18-25 year olds, drawn to the festival for the dance music. The amphitheatre energy reached a whole new level of intensity and excitement when Rufus, Hermitude and Tkay Maidza dropped their beats on the throbbing masses.
In addition to mainstage headliners, this year featured a dedicated EDM stage curated by Sunshine Coast dance party specialists, Pineapple Express. With the likes of Odd Mob and Opiuo, this proved a great move by organisers that saw the tides of young people ebbing and flowing between the two stages according to genre changes on the main stage.
In the middle, both physically and musically, sat the Avant Garden stage. While showcasing some of the region’s best emerging talent, including Ayla and Transvaal Diamond Syndicate, unfortunately, the musical genres sat in no-man’s land between the two prominent identities of the day – EDM and accessible rock.
As a result, crowds accumulated to a few hundred, with most of the other 9,000 or so patrons simply passing by on the well beaten path between the main and EDM stages.
[include_post id=”480111″]The Veronicas were an unusual addition to the lineup, but went down an absolute treat with thousands of screaming fans singing along to the Brisbane pop duo’s classics performed to perfection.
As expected with any event hosting ten thousand people with a strong EDM lineup, there were some challenges. Toilet cues resulted in some patrons squatting amongst the crowd, clouds of red dust clogged pores and large queues for transport left numerous punters choosing to make the long trek home by foot.
All in all, Big Pineapple 2016 was well organised with staff and emergency services proactive and responsive. Other than a hay bale set alight and numerous dehydrated party-goers needing paramedic attention, the day was relatively incident free.
This was surely in part due to the extended entertainment program, an initiative organisers emphasised was aimed at minimising drug consumption and drug related incidents at the festival.
“We’ve never brought this up before but due to the deaths and near deaths at certain festivals this year in Australia we think it’s time,” said Big Pineapple Music Festival Director, Mark Pico in an email to ticket-holders the day before lift-off, “The only high you’ll need is the natural one you’ll get from all the fun at the fest.”
Against his heart-felt pleas, it was obvious many were chemically enhancing their entertainment experience on the day. However, perhaps serious incidents were avoided thanks to further advice from Pico, “Please under no circumstances if you get to the festival and you have drugs on you – don’t think ‘Oh shit!!!! What am I going to do??? I better eat them all,’ that’s how people die, get brain damage and all the stuff that goes with.”
If there is one thing we’ve learned in recent times, it’s that a festival needs a strong identity extending beyond the lineup to build a dependable, loyal following ensuring its longevity.
In a climate of fast folding festivals, it remains to be seen whether Big Pineapple’s split offerings will hinder or enhance its sustainability in the long run, despite its commendable success right now.
Photo credit: Photography by Lachlan Douglas (SomeFX)
