Maitland Showgrounds
Saturday April 28, 2018 :
The heavens stayed closed in Maitland on Saturday 28th May for yet another Groovin the Moo at Maitland Showground.
Entry was swift and there were no issues on my end with security or the shuttle bus from Newcastle so the day started well. On arrival I caught the tail end of Vera Blue’s set at the Moolin Rouge tented stage. The former contestant on The Voice smashed through her Triple J mainstays of ‘Settle’, ‘Regular Touch’ and ‘Mended’ before finishing with her latest track ‘Lady Powers’. And with that, the music side of the day was off to a great start.
I then meandered over to the main stage and managed to catch all of Alex Lahey’s short 35 minute set. A crowd favourite, ‘Every Day’s The Weekend’ had latecomers to the festival running from the entrance gates.
Finding a comfortable spot on the hill behind the stage, I sat and watched Dean Lewis, Portugal. The Man, Tkay Maidza and Winston Surfshirt entertain with their amazing sets. Special mention to Winston Surfshirt for their cover of Outcast’s ‘Roses’ which got the crowd pumping.
The Amity Affliction then took to the stage with pyrotechnics to match their hard hitting sound. This was the band’s first gig back in Australia after a colossal European tour earlier in the year and their first exclusively only playing their two most recent releases. It’s disappointing to know that crowds won’t get to enjoy their excellent back catalogue at gigs in the future (or at least for now) but it’s great to see that they can still draw a crowd off the back of their recent releases alone. Grinspoon followed, much to the delight of the 50 something’s gathered around on the hill, as well as a new generation of fans.
A brief venture to the smallest stage, The Plot to see Central Coast local Ninajirachi hit the decks was well worth it. After having the most played track on Triple J last year with ‘Pure Luck’ she sure knows how to pull a crowd and the tiny stage was packed. Nina is working on a bunch of new tracks for 2018 and I can’t wait to see what the future holds for her.
Shortly after, the soft guitar and harmonica of Paul Kelly filled the air and I sat down with a few mates to enjoy his unfortunately short set. Playing all his greatest hits including ‘To Her Door’ and ‘Before Too Long’ before finishing with ‘How to Make Gravy’, Paul’s set was fantastic, but short lived.
I then dragged my weary backside over to the Moolin Rouge stage to catch Duke Dumont and to finish with the eccentric Ball Park Music.
Groovin the Moo Maitland is a fantastically organised festival. Staff are always helpful and there are rarely (if any) hiccups with acts and sound. I would encourage anyone who hasn’t experienced this regional festival to do so!
Reviewer : Andrew Scott
Photographer : Ben Hunt
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