How Groovin The Moo Survived the Festival Slump

How Groovin The Moo Survived The Festival Slump

Written by the one and only Jess Gleeson.

 

Groovin’ The Moo begun in 2005 and have endured till 2016 comfortably and I guess it’s a valid question as to how they’ve managed it with all the recent deaths of festivals in the past few years (Big Day Out, Soundwave, Future). I feel like there’s obvious reasons but let’s go into this point by point in the survival of the fittest.

 

• Creativity

Groovin’, unlike most festivals, isn’t based in capital cities which leaves people from capital cities squirming to travel the distance but also it becomes (in some ways) more welcoming than other strictly-capital-cities festivals as a result of this. It also gives people in regional areas the opportunity to see artists they normally wouldn’t have the opportunity to unless they decided to hitch plane rides constantly.

• All Ages
  Unlike some (not all!) festivals that follow the over-18-only policy (with fair reason, in their defence), Groovin is an all ages event. Their only hitch is that they recommend anyone under the age of 16 being accompanied by a parent or guardian but there’s no particulars with it. It means that those 14-year-old kids that are desperate to go to a cool festival finally have the opportunity to. Honestly it doesn’t really seem to matter who is playing for younger people, it’s more based on the fact the opportunity is finally there for them. But FOR OTHERS –
• Lineup
  They usually sell out every year and people legitimately catch flights to places like Townsville and take the 2.5-hour train from Sydney to Maitland just for this thing. GTM has a habit of being able to have a diverse lineup that also somehow maintains to pick upcoming artists a lot earlier in their careers (Urthboy in 2007, Tame Impala in 2009, Art vs Science in 2009, Illy in 2010, Gang of Youths in 2014, Alison Wonderland was on an earlier time-slot in 2013). Their lineups have also been inclusive of some huge international acts (Vampire Weekend, City & Colour, Public Enemy, Kaiser Chiefs, The Kooks, A$AP Ferg, You Me At Six) which gives the best imagery when you think of this festival – for eg. A$AP Ferg in the middle of a field near a couple of farms with some cows in Maitland, NSW, Australia.

  This year’s lineup is inclusive of a few artists they’ve already had in the past which is neat to see where they’re billed comparatively to how they were when they first played. There seems to be a consistency in the fact that they don’t mind re-booking artists they’ve had in the past. The main drawcards though seem to be Twenty One Pilots, Alison Wonderland, DZ Deathrays, Vic Mensa and Danny Brown. And I’ll be honest, my drawcard is Twenty One Pilots cause they’re cute. Oh and Client Liaison. What a band.

Plus, Jesus Christ, it’s always so versatile. The lineup isn’t directly based around one genre of music or impressing one particular kind of person. You can go from watching Broods croon their hearts out to watching Wolfmother being Wolfmother (this can be taken as a compliment or an insult depending on how you feel about ‘em). You can see The Rubens play ‘Hoops’ and mark it off your to-do list and waltz over and see DZ Deathrays annihilate a stage.

 

• Ticket Price
  Personally I don’t think that $110 (including booking fees!) for a regional festival with seven American artists and 17 Australian (unless I’m bad at counting?) not inclusive of the Triple J Unearthed artists is that bad. If it’s a bit too out of your price range, do what I usually do and start a Kickstarter.

 

I think if you have the accessibility to the festival and you haven’t been at least once, you should give it a go. You’ll probably end up finding one of your new favourite musicians on the lineup by following your friends around from stage to stage. Or maybe you’ll just end up seeing ‘Hoops’ by The Rubens. Either way, I think it’s a win-win situation.

 

To grab tickets to your closest Groovin The Moo, jump on here before its too late!

Groovin The Moo 2016

Line-up:
Alison Wonderland
Boo Seeka
Boy & Bear
British India
Client Liaison
Danny Brown (USA)
Drapht
DZ Deathrays
Emma Louise
Golden Features
Harts
Illy
In Hearts Wake
MS MR (USA)
Mutemath (USA)
Ngaiire
Odesza (USA)
Ratatat (USA)
Remi
The Rubens
SAFIA
Twenty One Pilots (USA)
Vallis Alps
Vic Mensa (USA)

Dates and venues:
Saturday 23 April – Maitland Showgrounds, Maitland NSW

Sunday 24 April – University of Canberra, Canberra ACT

Monday 25 April – Oakbank Racecourse, Oakbank SA (ANZAC Day)

Saturday 30 April – Prince of Wales Showground, Bendigo VIC

Sunday 1 May – Murray Sports Complex, Townsville QLD (QLD Long Weekend Monday Public Holiday)

Saturday 7 May – Hay Park, Bunbury WA