GROOVIN THE MOO 2015
- Brooke Tunbridge
- May 10, 2015
- 3 min read
Maitland Showground 9/05/2015
Groovin the Moo returned for its eleventh year at Maitland Showground yesterday, attracting a sell-out crowd treating themselves to a day filled with good music and sunshine.
Despite the warm weather, there were plenty of gumboots in sight as ticketholders worried about the conditions of the showground after recent floods.
With the grass covering more ground than most expected, the festival was underway as Central Coast artist East shared her electronic indie sounds on the Channel [V] stage, drawing the attention of those arriving to the festival. If you weren’t lucky enough to catch her, she’s supporting Art vs Science on their In This Together tour in June. East is a Triple J unearthed artist that is definitely worth seeing.
Over at the Moolin Rouge tent, The Delta Riggs “Les Riggs” rocked out with the energetic crowd, playing favourites “Supersonic Casualties” and “The Record’s Flawed”. Their set had punters running to the tent, not wanting to miss a second of their performance.
Nineteen-year-old rising star Tkay Maidza had the crowd jumping as she took control with her energizing set. I’m sure that many people in the moshpit had their feet crushed during “Brontosaurus” as everyone sang along and stomped. Tkay further impressed the crowd with favourites “M.O.B.” and “U-Huh”.
A much loved Meg Mac graced the Channel [V] stage, appearing very humble as she takes a moment to thank the crowd and those singing the lyrics with her. Exchanging glances with her back up vocalist Danielle O'Sullivan (stepping in for Meg's sister, Hannah), they smile and continue to provide the growing crowd with killer vocals on songs including “Every Lie”, “Grandma’s Hands” and “Roll up Your Sleeves”. Meg Mac’s set included the debut of a new song, which we can’t wait to hear again once it’s released.
Melbourne band Saskwatch had the whole of the Moolin Rouge tent shaking their hips with their sweet soul sound. Punters ran between stages as Sticky Fingers began, with girls on shoulders and screaming for the band to glimpse at them. One Day were brought on stage and things only got crazier.
A highlight of the day was witnessing The Preatures lose themselves in the music as an energetic lead singer, Isabella Manfredi cart wheeled across the stage. Their set proved that they have an incredible stage presence and engagement with the audience, and know how to put on a good show.
With a matured sound and larger following, San Cisco filled the Moolin Rouge tent as they played tracks from their recently released album “Gracetown”, including “Super Slow” where drummer Scarlett Stevens swapped her drumsticks for a microphone as she sang the duet with frontman Jordi Davieson. Another duet played was “Jealousy” with Isabella Manfredi from The Preatures, in the mix with a track from their first album.
As the sun set over Maitland Showground, Ball Park Music came out to play. With a colourful backdrop of accurate My Idol heads of themselves and other famous figures, the indie-pop band pleased the crowd with an array of their much loved songs as well as a quick cover of The Rembrandts’ Friends theme song “I’ll Be There for You”, which triggered the crowd to participate in a loud and nostalgic sing along.
Hot Dub Time Machine took punters back in time, visiting the best music from over the decades. Cue more nostalgic feelings and arms around shoulders of strangers. Those who weren’t travelling back through time caught Charli XCX who didn’t pull as big of a crowd as I’d expected. Despite the lack in numbers, fans sang along to the aggressively sung lyrics. Highlight of the set was Tkay Maidza jumping out on stage to cover Iggy Azalea’s part in “Fancy”.
Brother and sister duo from New Zealand, Broods, perhaps would have been better suited to playing during the day, as the crowd had just been amped up by Hot Dub Time Machine. Although the crowd found it difficult to transition into the soothing melodies, Broods gave their all in their performance, and punters became more engaged once “Bridges” began to play.
Nostalgia seemed to be a continuing theme for the night as Wolfmother powered through their set of old tracks. Devoted fans of all ages filled the Hilltop Hoods crowd, and even those sitting down at the back were singing along.
Flight Facilities finished the night with their hypnotic tracks; a favourite being “Crave You”, where all girls in the tent were asked (repeatedly) to get up on someone’s shoulders. During their set they turned all the lights out and the crowd raised their lighters and phone screens high.
Now it's time for our news feeds to be flooded with the "take me back" and "I don't remember this" photos.
Until next time Groovin the Moo!
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