The wildly successful regional music festival series Groovin the Moo has locked in its 2023 calendar, although no artists have been announced.
The festival is famous for catching future stars on their way up, and providing the perfect concert vibe for many first-time festival attendees in regional Australian cities.
The Maitland event in the Hunter Valley, where the festival began, is scheduled for Saturday, April 22.
Other dates and venues:
- Wayville, South Australia, on Friday, April 21.
- Canberra, ACT, on Sunday, April 23.
- Bendigo, Victoria, on Saturday, April 29.
- Sunshine Coast, Queensland, on Sunday, April 30, at Kawana Sports Western Precinct.
- Bunbury, Western Australia, on Saturday, May 6.
"We are so happy to be able to do a full tour across the country in 2023," GTM founder Steve Halpin said. "We have missed you terribly and can't wait to bring back the good times around the country. Whilst we are very sad not to be returning to Townsville, we look forward to bringing GTM to the Sunshine Coast."
The only venue change is Queensland; adding the Sunshine Coast and subtracting Townsville. In a press release organisers said "the logistical challenges and increased financial pressures are too great and unfortunately we are not able to return to the top end in 2023".
Artist announcements are expected soon.
The 2022 GTM concerts included Hilltop Hoods, Spiderbait, Middle Kids, Milky Chance, Broods, Chaii, Mashd N Kutcher, Hope D, JK-47, HP Boyz, Masked Wolf, Montaigne, Snakehips, Riton, Wolf Alice, Thomas Headon, Polaris and, Redhook.
Nick Milligan wrote in his Newcastle Herald review of the 2022 GTM in Maitland: "The programming of the main stages, from top to bottom, proves a celebration of female musicality. When you crunch the numbers on the line-up, which includes Montaigne, New Zealand's Broods, Triple J Unearthed winner Teddie and Central Coast artist Molly Millington, 80 per cent of the curation features lady singers (Hilltop Hoods and Peking Duk both invite female singers on stage as guests)."
History
When teacher Rod Little and his wife Catherine and their statistician mate Steve Halpin and his university lecturer wife Wendy Gunthorpe threw the inaugural Groovin' the Moo festival in Gloucester in 2005, they had no inkling they were creating an entertainment beast that would soon be roaring around the nation.
''A week before the show it was all very casual and we were kind of waiting around, having lunch and a few beers and then we'd do a bit of work,'' recalls Halpin, who grew up in Nelson Bay and played bass with '90s Newcastle band Stickman.
''A day before the show the fence was half up and we thought 'oh, we'll just get up early and finish it tomorrow, then there we were, trying to finish it, and suddenly people were showing up, we had ice to pick up ... we were totally naive.''
