The Entertainment Grounds, Gosford
Sunday 23 April 2021
Reviewer : Stephanie Jenkins
Photographer : Kevin Bull
Next Exit had their work cut out for them when they set their sights on a post-Covid, regional NSW. An attempt to bring live music to the towns often overlooked by organisers, presenter MJR’s goals had to change in the face of the Covid-19 crisis and the hit to economic and cultural revenue that Australia took. Instead, Next Exit became the first gig for many after an eighteen-month dry musical period.
Sunday afternoon saw hundreds of Doc Marten clad festival goers streaming in through the gates of the Gosford Entertainment Grounds and towards the flickering neon lights of the stage. A feeling of disbelief seemed to emanate from the clusters of people, none too eager to leave their bubbles and swim through the sea of the biggest crowd many of them had seen since 2019.
Just like the first time, it’s always easier with the lights off. As the sun set over the surreal pseudo-cityscape of Gosford, and the guitar feedback of soundcheck filtered across the entertainment grounds, people finally began to press in towards the barrier. Dear Seattle’s classic rock tunes were exactly the grungy, garage sound to get the crowd jumping and believe that maybe, yes, this was actually happening, right in Gosford, right at home.
Spacey Jane’s huge stage presence meant the food and merchandise stalls were quiet for a moment, as everybody pressed in to watch the eighties-inspired surf rock band from Perth do their thing. Headliners Ocean Alley, making waves again with their ambitious Pink Floyd medley on Triple J’s Like a Version back in March, sent us off with their smooth, psych-rock but oh-so-sing-able tunes, and we were all at home in bed by 10pm.
There was a nostalgic feeling in the crowd that I couldn’t shake – a sort of bittersweet surrealness at being there amongst it all again. But also, an anxiety. I walked into that festival with a bag that no one checked, a drink bottle in hand that could have had anything but water inside it, and tickets at the door that nobody checked my ID for. We’re at the brink of something culturally and musically significant with Next Exit, if only they, and we, can hold it together.
