Peats Ridge Festival 2011 – Review

Nestled just 2 hours north of Sydney in the picturesque Glenworth Valley is the site that for 3 days was the wondrous and the marvellous Peats Ridge Festival. With 8 years festival experience and 8 stages hosting a plethora of musicians from around the world, it was set to be a festival to remember; and that it most certainly turned out to be.

The Festival was located at the bottom of a huge valley with rolling hills surrounding it, trees towering above it, and a river circling the entire site. The rural campsites filled up with a good mix of young and old and families came along in their droves. With tipis, flags, mud, totem poles and dreadlocks galore, it was visually what I wanted. I scoured the map and saw some of the intriguingly named areas; The Pirate’s Lair, Babushka Bar, Chai Temple, Rainbow Garden, The Swamp, The Eco Living Village and Wonderland. I was raring to go…

Day one, Thursday 29th December saw the music kick off in style with the Brisbane-based, Triple J discovery Founds, ska-punk rockers Pigeon, surf-roots multi-instrumentalist Xavier Rudd and UK big beat dance DJ A Skills; to name but a few! This was A Skills first return to Australia in 3 years after a sell out tour in 2008. The man from my very own hometown in England made me proud: whoop, whoop! to the West Sussex people!

Though, big name acts was not all Peats Ridge had to offer. With market stalls filled with curiosities, food stalls to suit all tastes, circus workshops, theatrical performances, dancers, movies, choirs, yoga, hula hooping and healing tents, boredom just didn’t come into it.

The next day, the sun was shining once more and there was a whole new jam-packed schedule of events from 10am to 3am. From Folk to Dub Step and Pop to Punk, no genre was left out of this master plan. The Crooked Fiddle Band packed out the big top and Salmonella Dub showed us that they still have it after 30 years. But for me, two performances stood out on the day, one from the electronic world music musicians Tijuana Cartel and the other from Japanese funk-band Mountain Mocha Kilimanjaro. If the party wasn’t already in full swing for some, it definitely was by the time these guys came on.

The crowds were friendly and people partied together with music pumping through their veins. I have a confession, I admit it, I missed LTJ Bukem, but I was just too tired! I had an early night in preparation for the next day, the big day. But what I heard from various people was that he was amazing so I felt he needed a mention anyway. Maybe next time Mr Bukem.

Peats Ridge went all out on New Year’s Eve, securing a line-up that other festivals would be jealous of. During the day the stages saw Australian rockers Busby Marou, Brighton-based singer/songwriter Passenger, the evermore popular Husky and newby Minnie Marks. But the act that stole the show during the day was the wild card, Hanggai. Matt Grant, Festival Director, booked them stating “Hanggai might seem out there to some, but I just know they’re going to blow minds.” Hanggai are a 6-piece folk band from Mongolia who dressed in native wear and spoke little English but wowed the crowd with their intensely diverse performance. The crowd grew quickly with people in the campsites hearing them come on stage and heading straight over to join in the good old knees up.

As the sun started to set, masquerade outfits were put on, parades marched through and King Cannons, originally from New Zealand, hit the stage with their raw infusion of rock, reggae and punk. King Cannons now reside in Melbourne and were a welcome choice that upped the tempo and brought everyone together.

One hour before the New Year set in, none other than the man of 2011, Gotye, put on a blinding set on the main stage to a sea of thousands. He pulled out the classics, the obscure and some new material to make an hour set worth seeing and the man himself did the final countdown to an excitable crowd. After party poppers, shots of Jägermeister and lots of hugging strangers, I headed onwards as the night was still young – no early night tonight!

Next on the list were one of the UK’s hottest production team; breakbeat masters Stanton Warriors. The tent was literally shaking with the jumping crowds while they mixed in tune after tune, flowing like a well told story. Stanton Warriors seemed to be enjoying the party as much as the crowd and although they may have said it elsewhere, they did mention that it was the craziest party they’d ever performed at. Not the shy types, they hung around after their set meeting and chatting with their fans, a rare treat that many other artists would not do. The night came to an unwelcome close after a succession of DJ’s ended their sets at 3am. People didn’t want to leave, they could have partied forever, but what goes up must come down.

I caught up with Gordon Wallace, guitarist from The Crooked Fiddle Band who described Peats Ridge as, “that type of camping, family, hippy festival which is my favourite. It’s got such a nice relaxed feel.” He went on to say that, “there are lots of other nice festivals in Australia but Peats Ridge and Woodford stand out as having that really awesome quality.”

I’ve been to many festivals in the UK and Australia and I have to agree with Gordon, Peats Ridge is fucking awesome!

By Sarah Wilk