BLOG

By James Adams. ‘Magic Dirt’ in crowd. The ‘Club House’ Some tasks come with a certain pressure from fear of not doing justice to its amazingness. Writing about Boogie festival is one such task. I’m going to give you two breakdowns of Boogie. A brief one and a meandering attempt at opening a window to what the Boogie experience is like. 1. Boogie is a music festival in Victoria that all in attendance camp at. Caravan club. Dusty figures. 2. Arriving to the farm fills the belly with butterflies. On one hand, it’s because you know what’s ahead, and on the other hand, it’s because you’ve got no idea what’s ahead. Around 2,000 people slowly populate the paddocks and hills with their campsites. Some as basic as a swag beside a Harley, some as elaborate as a seasoned camp dad’s tent city with functioning shower, kiddie pool, ping pong table, couches, kitchens etc. You want it to be comfy because this will be the home to so many great times, hilarious times, in the 3 days ahead. Simple Bikers Camp. Sunset viewing deck. Once your camp is established and you’re all set up you’ll find yourself at an extremely exciting point in time. This is the starting point of what will become the next few days. Not, 3 days, the next 3 days. In weeks and months to come when you look back, you’ll remember setting up camp but everything after that is difficult to pin point to a specific time. It becomes a happy mess of memories. Ozzy Wright from the Goons of Doom & Eamon from The Chats. You’ll be drifting through days in unrecognisable states of adrenaline and/or exhaustion and be constantly bewildered by what has just happened and unable to predict what is about to happen. Retreating to your camp before dusk for a cheeky cocktail and to upgrade clothing to cold weather wear, you find a minute to yourself and feel a memory of your childhood that you’d previously forgotten. Not a visual memory, just a feeling of total freedom and lack of responsibility or pressure that only that time of life could deliver. It’s a feeling you’d wish to grip and hold but the sun is setting and right now needs to be gripped as well so you’re required to snap out of it and proceed with the present and try to remember that feeling next week when you’re back living in reality. Ali Wells & Ben Marwe from Bad Dreems. Zach from Hockey Dad with Ali Wells from Bad Dreems. Watching bands and watching people you soon understand that nobody is on a clock. Nobody doesn’t want to be exactly where they are. It’s time for yourself to do as you please. Whatever you want. You are free and that might be one of Boogie’s greatest secrets. There is no fear. This is the vibe that has been orchestrated when 13 years ago a handful of mates, all with deep roots in the music industry, decided to make their own festival. Calling it a festival is taking the easy way out. It’s more than that. The music is just one facet of Boogie that everything revolves around like a sun. Pricey and Bogis from The Chats with the legendary James Young.  James Bartold from Bad Dreems. Glen Dickey from Music Australia. With no corporate sponsors to appease the parameters of what they can do is limitless. Eg. Having an equally large stage in an amphitheatre purely for the afterparty every night, why not? Perhaps a full time, 2 storey Western Saloon style Club House that plays host to a High Tea, a Karaoke Bar, a Cocktail Lounge and hosts a full blown kids concert for the little Boogers, done! Country Music playing over the speakers every morning to gently wake your battered soul and blistered ears, sure! A shipping container decked out with mirrored walls and a DJ booth half buried in a hill over the back of the property only operating after the after party and not spoken about or advertised at all? of course…. And to top it all off. Boxwars! Hundreds of lunatics decked out in themed cardboard costumes causing havoc and demolishing each other to old timey war music and the commentary of a quick lipped cowboy… As I said, there is no limit. BOXWARSSS!!! Cowboy with Vaughan, Ozzy and Killer from the Goons of Doom. The day time is practically recovery time very well disguised as entertainment. Once the sun sets magically over the rolling hills each night, eyes glaze over with a film of excitement, wonder and under the cover of darkness the world opens up into a void of what the fuck is about to happen. And every night is different. Maclay Herriot. Mel and Rhiannon.  Boogie will take you back in wondering if this is what fun used to be like and it’ll take you forward in pondering if this is the future. Days stop, night can last forever and the moon is massive 100% of the time. It’ll either act as a stimulant for mood and behaviour or at least be an excuse for your actions. Like mistaking a caravan for a toilet. Eamon from The Chats. Monte from The Delta Riggs. The Chats and Maclay Herriot. If it turns out that there is someone looking down and watching over all of us, i’m not sure if they’d be confused, fascinated, worried, thrilled or amazed but i know they’d be entertained. I sure as shit was and I’ll pair what memories I’ve made at Boogie with the photos I took and hold onto them as some of the greatest times of my life. Alex Cameron from Bad Dreems. Ozzy from the Goons of Doom with the major of Byron Bay, Paul McNeil. Does that make sense? Maybe, maybe not. It probably will make more sense if you’ve been. Cheers Mate! See all images here.   Shop our womens festival collection and mens festival collection now.

By Daini Stephenson. Last week the NSW live music industry was used as a fall guy. The recent drug involved deaths and incidents at NSW festivals have caused a right stir in Australia’s political climate of late, with tyrannical dinosaurs ignoring a harsh, but very factual reality of the 21st century: People take drugs. The NSW Government are getting really good at refusing death and injury prevention strategies, and as the pill testing conversation dies out, the ‘war on festivals’ continues, and music itself has become the scapegoat. Last week, NSW Premier, Gladys Berejiklian introduced new licensing agreement laws applying to festivals that are considered ‘high-risk’. Festivals that previously have had deaths and a considerable number of harmful incidents will be categorised as ‘high-risk’, which, under the new agreements, will force festival owners and organisers to comply with a ‘user-pay’ system for onsite police and health services. To put it simply, and directly quote the horse’s mouth:   “...festivals which have had deaths or serious injuries in the past will be deemed high risk and will have to "step up”". Festivals have always been places of extremes, and when drugs, heatwaves and festivals meet in NSW of late, young people have been falling victim to overdoses and ill-use. There is no denying that some festivals should be considered high-risk, and the owners of these festivals should have to re-evaluate how they run a festival. However, this new policy of a ‘user-pay’ system has been unfairly applied to other festivals where there has been no history of drug-related issues. Mountain Sounds Festival, which was supposed to happen last weekend for it’s 5th consecutive year, was cancelled just one week out. A direct result of the newly imposed safety, licensing and security costs. Regardless of the fact that the festival has had no major incidence of drugs or drug related crime in the years prior. Way to kill the vibe, Gladys. It seems as though there is a problem, and the problem isn’t really being approached. It’s a classic case of psychology really - The issue is being suppressed and blame is being projected towards easier targets. People are taking drugs, people will continue to take drugs, but the education surrounding the power of these drugs is completely denied and the quick fix seems to be the suppression of culture itself. Affective policy and realistic implementation will be a result if and when the NSW Government tackle the crux of the problem, that Australian youth aren’t provided with enough education about drug-taking, other than the abrasive and ineffective ‘don’t take drugs, they will kill you.’ What about perhaps creating a safer environment for the inevitable? A disproportionate component of these NSW licensing agreement laws is that their targeting mostly youth festivals, whereby a good old iron fist is being used to make festival organisers pay the Government to hire police and medical services, and if you can’t pay, then festival no more. And who takes the smack? The live music industry. A thriving, booming and culturally positive economy, where the purpose is enjoyment and trust is employed. Sure, ban the man that doesn’t comply to rules and regulations regarding festival legislation, but don’t just take it away all together, that’s not saving anyone. At home here in Byron Bay, we almost lost our chance to celebrate our very own Blues Fest for its 30th anniversary, as the Government's festival policies would have forced Blues Fest out of NSW. Following the cancellation of Mountain Sounds and the foreseeable threat to the music industry in NSW, Blues Fest Festival Director, Peter Noble, issued an open letter to the NSW Government stating that despite Blues Fest’s policies being that of an industry leader in regard to alcohol, medical services, crowd security and care, Blues Fest would cop the same regulatory beating. All the hard work building Blues Fest to be the best in the country would be eradicated and stomped all over by a policy that should not even apply to them. The result of a panicking Government who has rushed the judgement of the music industry, without any consultation of stake-holders or meeting with entertainment & music industry professionals. Furthermore, Noble ends with a punch line of the century, as he claims to charge the Government with a systematic failure in fairness, imploring all politicians from all parties to become involved with what is a serious injustice. Hey Gladys, maybe you can ask festival organisers (the ones who plan, run and know all the ins and outs) what else they think can be done in order to create safe and enjoyable festivals? With all the backlash from the ‘war on festivals,’ things are heating up. A new initiative, Don’t Kill Live Music has been born out of a people power throwback, challenging Gladys’ dinosaur behaviour. This initiative is seeing the likes of some of the biggest names in Australia’s music industry co-signing the petition to protect an industry that doesn’t deserve the blame. 115,000 have already signed the petition that will be further actioned with a rally today in Sydney’s Hyde Park from 6pm. Gladys, no knee-jerk reaction ever got anyone anywhere. Your interstate brothers and sisters in QLD and VIC seem to be investing in music and the live arts, and their ability to create safe spaces has been doing them good. Follow suit, would you? If you are in or anywhere near Sydney today, Thursday the 21st of February, get on down to Hyde Park at 6pm to show your support of the music industry in Australia, and your opposition to the suppression of culture and freedom. The rally organiser’s have been kind enough to add a slew of great Australian bands to remind the brass just what it is we will be losing if these laws are able to continue to continue unopposed. There will be live performances from Ocean Alley, The Rubens, Cloud Control, Dan Sultan with Polish Club, Urthboy and Olympia. If you aren’t in Sydney, you can still show your support by signing the petition here.

By James Adams Laneway marks the annual migration of "The Hot Crew" pulling themselves away from their own pouting and clenching reflections, syncing outfits, and watching the very bands that dictate their look. It’s like bands are playing to an army of their adoring clones. God forbid anyone plays too well and the crowd break character and dances, it’d be enough momentum to convince the clone army to form a revolution against... Whatever PC stance is getting heat at the time.  It’s easy for me to talk shit, but the fact of the matter is that I’m standing there with them. I’ve pulled myself away from my gorgeous reflection just like everyone else, probably due to Laneway's faultless reputation for showing people what they will soon be adding to their playlists and what musicians will be in their faces all year. Laneway draws a crowd of music fans that seem to want to see the future and who doesn’t want to take a peek. Here is what it looked like and some delirious after thoughts. (After thoughts) I’m at the Brisbane airport, it’s 6.30am the morning after Brisbane’s Laneway. Needless to say, I wish I were sleeping but that being said I feel surprisingly ok. What is this feeling? I know my stomach isn’t thrilled with me. My eyes aren’t either, but I’m alert, I’m awake and I’m happy. I think what I’m feeling is the residual high from yesterday. I do this shit all the time and I usually feel like a pile right about now. I know I probably smell like the Jameson seeping out of my pours and my mascara is a little smudged but this morning I’m high on yesterday. It’d be foolish to credit my state of being purely to yesterday with the knowledge that I’m about to do it all again today. Maybe it’s half residual high, half anticipation high. Either way, it’s 6:30am, Brisbane airport. And I’m fucking high.  Shop the Thrills Festival Edit here. Our girl Sophie Marsh wearing our new Surplus Short (dropping soon). The Chats at Laneway Festival, Sydney. Gang of Youths at Laneway Festival, Sydney. Toby from Skegss with Jacob from Miniskirt. Neil from Jameson with Maclay Heriot enjoying a drink between bands. Parquet Courts at Laneway Festival, Brisbane. Spotted: Zar from Israeli Chicks. Everyone's favourite front man -Sniff from Pist Idiots. Taz from Ruby Fields.    Shop our womens festival collection and mens festival collection now.