THE Cambridge Hotel's Farewell Festival may still have its final day ahead, but it'll require something magical to surpass a stunning Saturday.
A capacity crowd of 3500 predominantly 20-somethings packed into Wood Street in Newcastle West to celebrate the final weekend before the live music institution is demolished and redeveloped as student accommodation.
It might have been a farewell, but the atmosphere was anything but sombre. It was pure jubilation.
"This is not a funeral, it's a wake," Joab Eastley, of Newcastle electro-indie duo Raave Tapes, told the crowd.
The beautiful winter's afternoon saw punters basking in the sunshine alongside the Quest apartments, while others posed for photographs in front of the Cambridge and its signs.
The soon-to-be historical significance of those pictures wasn't lost on anyone.
Of course the sheer quality of the music was a major factor in bringing people to the event, but you cannot down play the importance of the occasion and Novocastrians' love of their Cambridge.
Those who turned up early were treated to a Raave Tapes set featuring several yet-to-be released tunes in No Regrets, Goodbye and K Hi.
Raave Tapes are one of many local acts who rose to prominence by plying their trade at the Cambridge. In the spirit of the day Raave Tapes performed a chilled electro version of one of their oldest tracks, Corridor, which included a touch of harmonica from Adam Newling.
If there were any questions surrounding the importance of the Cambridge to artists, it was answered by the face of Newcastle's Ben Gumbleton, aka Boo Seeka.
Gumbleton - who before Boo Seeka fronted indie-folk band Benjalu - was clearly emotional as he told the audience he'd "played almost 70 shows here. It's where I cut my teeth and learned how to play live music."
After delivering cuts like Dream, Deception Bay and Kingdom Leader, Gumbleton turned the set over to the fans, taking on requests to play Turn Up Your Light and Gold Sail.
"I like this, you guys can just pick the set list all night," Gumbleton said.
The personal stories continued when Jack River, real name Holly Rankin, hit the main stage for her first live performance in eight months after having her first baby in December.
"My parents had their first date at the Cambridge," the Forster-raised Rankin said. "This place is so special to me."
Rankin's six-month-old daughter, Maggie, watched her mum from the side of the stage as she delivered Jack River favourites like Confess, Limo Song, Fault Line and Sugar.
The heavy use of backing tracks did detract from the spontaneity of the performance, but you couldn't deny the pure pop sensibility of Fool's Gold.
Jack River's 2017 break-out song provided the first mass singalong of the day.
Electro-pop outfit Northeast Party House, like their name suggests, turned up the energy as night fell and the spotlights took over.
Inside the Cambridge's main room ramshackle troubadour Adam Newling, armed just with an acoustic guitar and his sandpapered voice, busted songs like California On Fire and Morning Breath.
Unreleased song Difference Of Opinion earned a promising response, as did Balmy, Leather Face and Ocean.
Newling's played far more intense shows at the Cambridge, but his knack for melody cannot be doubted.
Back outside on the main stage The Rubens brought their smooth brand of indie-pop to Wood Street which was absolutely heaving.
All the hits were delivered - Live In Life, God Forgot, My Gun and Million Man, with charismatic frontman Sam Margin stepping up to the microphone with hands in his pockets.
There were points when The Rubens' chilled vibes threatened to lose the raucous crowd, but the double punch of their triple Hottest 100 No.1 Hoops, followed by Masterpiece, brought home a professional set.
For pure crowd energy nothing came close to Peking Duk's DJ set.
The Canberra duo might have spent the majority of the show obscured by smoke machines and dimmed lights, but they had the audience eating out of the palm of their hand.
The crowd raised their hands and bounced along in unison as Peking Duk fired off their propulsive beats and streams of fireworks.
Remixes of Fatboy Slim's Praise You and Eurythmics' Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This) were popular as was their 2018 single Fire.
There was also a rare live rendition of Cocaine Killa, a collaboration Peking Duk did with former Silverchair frontman Daniel Johns for his 2022 album FutureNever.
"Let's make some noise for Newcastle's prodigal son, Daniel Johns," Peking Duk's Adam Hyde said.
While it wasn't expected, it was hard not to feel a touch of disappointment that Johns didn't appear on the Farewell Festival bill somewhere.
After Friday's hip-hop and Saturday's indie and electronic treats, rock will take over the Cambridge on Sunday, headlined by alt-rock heavyweight Grinspoon, Dune Rats and The Smith Street Band.
The bar's been set high, in both class and emotion.
Now the Cambridge gets ready for the final goodbye.
