DO you remember a time when the Sydney Big Day Out was the pinnacle of every Novocastrian music lover's summer?
Despite the crowds, the sweat, the sun burn, the over-priced drinks, you had to be there. It's where you saw Rage Against The Machine, Hole, Beastie Boys, Metallica, The Strokes and countless other amazing acts.
Or maybe you and your mates would annually enter the ballot for the increasingly popular Splendour In The Grass in the hope that one of your crew could secure tickets for that winter party weekend in Byron Bay.
Closer to home, Maitland's Groovin' The Moo and Newcastle's This That festivals became a rite of passage for any Hunter youngster interested in experiencing the thrill of live music.
As of 2024 none of the aforementioned music festivals exist. Groovin' The Moo and Splendour In The Grass have at least publicly stated an intention to return in 2025, but you'd get shorter odds on the Newcastle Knights qualifying the NRL semi-finals.
Wednesday's announcement that Byron Bay Bluesfest director Peter Noble had decided to end the festival next Easter after 35 years provided further proof that the era of the major music festival was over, or at least, for the foreseeable future.
There's a wide variety of reasons why major music festivals are failing in Australia.
Production and insurance costs have sky-rocketed post-COVID and ticket-buyers, especially younger ones, have become more discernible with their disposable income as cost-of-living pressures bite.
Those who remain passionate about live music - possibly burnt by COVID cancellations - are increasingly purchasing tickets last minute. This in turn leaves promoters carrying unfeasible levels of financial risk.
On a positive note, live music isn't going away. Green shoots are sprouting.
Small or boutique music festivals are popping up around the Hunter. What they lack in big-name acts, they're compensating with more intimate and diverse experiences.
One such event is Earp Distilling Co's Portside Festival, scheduled for December 21 and 22 at The Station in Newcastle.
"The cost of all of those [larger music festivals] is so expensive and we saw there was a market for that boutique-style event of great food and great drink offerings at an affordable price," Earp Distilling Co. operation manager Cameron Burns says.
Day one of Portside will be aimed at the young adult demographic, featuring indie heavyweights Hockey Dad and San Cisco, beside Newcastle's internationally-successful Vacations, Rum Jungle and Raave Tapes.
The second day will target an older demographic headlined by '90s and 2000s acts The Living End, Eskimo Joe, Birds Of Tokyo and Killing Heidi. Capacity will be between 4000 and 4500 for each day.
"The main thing about doing it in the middle of the CBD was to create something for our Newcastle people to enjoy," Burns says.
"We have a music-loving city with great food and drink, so if we can bring that all together and be a platform to showcase that, then that's a big reason why to do it.
"We want bands to be paid, hotels to be full and the city to be vibrant and get people off their couches."
Portside won't be a one-off either. Earp Distilling have plans for another three to four themed boutique festivals at The Station in 2025.
Another new festival headed for Newcastle's CBD is Howlin' Country on February 15.
The Foreshore Park festival is tapping into the Australian public's current thirst for country music with American star Tyler Childers headlining.
The line-up also features red-hot commercial country artists Brad Cox, Sons Of The East and Taylor Moss. The all-ages event has already sold 10,000 tickets, with 70 per cent of punters coming from outside Newcastle. The crowd is expected to reach 12,500.
The Hunter Valley will also welcome a new music festival on September 28.
Tocal College has launched Heartbeat Of The Hunter, a family-friendly music festival featuring all-Australian music and all-Hunter beverages courtesy of IronBark Hill Brewery and Briar Ridge Vineyard.
The line-up includes country stars Robbie Mortimer, Felicity Urquhart and Josh Cunningham, Adam Harvey, alongside folk-pop duo Busby Marou and blues mainstay Ash Grunwald.
Tocal Field Days event manager Charise Foulstone, who previously worked at Roche Estate, said Heartbeat Of The Hunter was part of a concerted push to make greater use of the venue's rural setting.
"It's a brand new event and we're delighted to showcase Tocal and the beautiful area of Paterson," Foulstone says.
"We decided why not? There's nothing better than enjoying a nice glass of local wine and watching some music.
"With the state of the live music scene, it's really important to not let that die and it's such an important part of what we plan on doing."
The collapse of major multi-stage music festivals has also led to innovation from some of Newcastle's most creative minds. Thinking outside the box, has not only been encouraged, but has become essential.
One such idea is The. Act. Newcastle, an intimate concert series, which begins on October 25 at Earp Distilling in Carrington.
The line-up features indie-folk singer-songwriters Alex The Astronaut, Didirri, Hein Cooper and Ben Morgan performing on a central stage surrounded 360 degrees by an audience of 250 to 300. The evening will be filmed and recorded for the exclusive use of the musicians in the line-up.
"We were just scratching our heads and thinking what we can do to bring a new re-defined experience to the community? That was when we conceptualised The.Act," co-promoter Bailey Watts says.
"For me, I do see a future in it. It could be the new normal, more smaller intimate festivals, intimate settings, rather than your major national touring festivals just because of those [financial] risks."
More editions of The. Act focused on different genres, are planned for 2025.
While The. Act, Howlin Country, Heartbeat Of The Hunter and Portside are all new additions to the Hunter's music festival scene, the established Dashville Skyline is proof hard work and catering to a niche market is a viable business.
The Americana-themed festival began in 2015 and returns on October 4-6 for three full days of music on the Johnston family property at Lower Belford.
The line-up features a host of established Australian talent like Ross Wilson, Shane Howard, Kingswood, Ella Hooper and William Crighton, alongside emerging US stars like Hurray For The Riff Raff and Uncle Lucius.
Dashville chief Matt Johnston spent last week in Darwin as a member of Music NSW's delegation at the inaugural Regional and Remote Music Summit. The plight of music festivals was a hot topic.
"I think there is definitely a sweet spot in that risk matrix," Johnston says music festivals. "For me, because I've been doing things for so long and putting things back into the operation in terms of infrastructure, we've been able to keep our operational costs down.
"Because we own the venue it gives us a huge advantage in a sense. I'm applying that advantage to my artist budgets, so I'm able spend more on the artist side of things."
Going ultra-local is another methodology that's finding success. On October 6 West Best Bloc Fest returns to Newcastle West for its third edition with 100 all-local acts on 12 stages across nine venues.
In undoubtedly its strongest line-up yet, nationally-successful Newcastle acts like Adam Newling, Gooch Palms, Raave Tapes, The Porkers and Eat Your Heart Out headline the bill.
