Dashville, Hunter Valley
Saturday July 20, 2013 :
The inaugural PigSty In July festival took place on Saturday at the Gumball Festival site (renamed Dashville for the event) in the Hunter Valley. It was forecast to be a wet and cold day, but the weather gods smiled on us with full sunshine and clear skies. The dress code to this event was dapper second hand formal and the punters perched on hay-bales, with micro-brewed beer in hand looked fabulous and ready to party.
Kicking proceedings off were reggae-funk outfit V-Tribe. The infectious mix of dub, reggae and ska had the crowd swaying to island beats under the gum trees. Next on the open air stage were Mildura rockers Jackson Firebird who brought the tempo up to full on rock and roll, with tight beats, dirty riffs and growling guitars.
The festivities continued, the beer was flowing and fires were alight as eight piece Eagle and The Worm hit the stage complete with their horn section late afternoon to bring the good times, more dancing and a good, old fashioned sing along to their hit ‘Give Me Time’. Simon Meli and his band, the Widowbirds, gave us another dose of rock and roll as the sun set on Dashville.
Fire pits and fairy lights lit up the venue, and the night was clear and still as James Brown tribute band Pow Wow had the audience boogying in all their retro glory to some old favourites. Dirty Sydney rockers The Snowdroppers capped off proceedings showcasing material from their new album, Moving Out of Eden, as well as some old favourites including the foot-stomp, mosh pit inducing ‘Do The Stomp’. By this time late in the evening, the grass dance floor had turned into a sly mud pit, but revellers were not deterred and packed in to catch the final act.
We stumbled back to the buses, muddy and ruined shoes in hand, to make the trip back home. Next year the dress code should be updated to stylish second hand formal off set with gum-boots. All and all good, old fashioned, country shin-dig showcasing some of the finest live acts in the country, the tastiest Hunter Valley produce, dapper outfits and fancy beers to boot.
Reviewer and Photographer: Stephanie de Vries
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