09 Oct 2016

So, on top of getting to go away for the long weekend, the glorious weather, the first day of daylight savings (yaaas) and spending time in the beautiful coastal town of Wollongong, the Year13 team got to hang out at Yours & Owls Festival. As far as long weekends go – it doesn’t get much better.

If you didn’t manage to get yourself out to the festival, not to worry – we can fill you in on everything you missed, and remind you why you absolutely have to buy a ticket next year!

The amazing lineup and performances

From the dulcet tones of Vera Blue, to the upbeat pop vibes of Ball Park Music, to the more hardcore sounds of COG, Yours & Owls had every style of music you could ever want or need. We danced up a storm listening to Hermitude, headbanged hard to The Living End, and (unsuccessfully) avoided the death circles that formed during Hockey Dad and Skegss.

One of my favourite moments had to be when a power outage caused Ladyhawke’s set to shut down for a couple minutes, but the crowd kept the good feels going by continuing to sing as loud as they could while the band got things up and running again. Client Liaison was a dream to watch, with the lead singer giving off some real Freddie Mercury vibes, and DMAs brought the house down.

All the girl power

As Hermitude pointed out during their set, over half of the artists playing at Yours & Owls were female, so it was girl power all 'round. It was fantastic to see the likes of Tkay Maidza, Thelma Plum, Chasity Belt, Nicole Miller, Ladyhawke, KLP and a bunch more doing one for the ladies, and fantastic that the entire audience was rocking out to these brilliant birds.

The good vibes

Wollongong is a university town, which means it’s just teeming with young people. It was pretty clear from the get-go that the crowd at Yours & Owls was full of people ready to get down and party, and they certainly didn’t disappoint. From midday to midnight the dancing didn’t stop – I don’t think I’ve ever seen more people get into the festival spirit.

On top of the people, the staff were amazing and the market stalls and food all added to the experience. We’ve been craving those Chips on A Stick ever since!

Livin’ the Wollongong life

Wollongong is a beautiful coastal town south of Sydney, with friendly people, damn good food, and amazing beaches to boot. The weather Gods were shining upon us over the long weekend, allowing us a beach trip or two in between the festival days. Then, there was arts and boutique shopping and nice walks and pretty drives to fill the rest of our time. By the end of the trip, we were making plans about how we could move down to Wollongong and keep working in Sydney.

In short, if you weren’t at Yours & Owls – you missed out big time. Not to worry though, there’s always next year.