EXCLUSIVE: How The New Phillip Island Festival Plans To Tame The Weather

Phillip Island's Beyond The Valley festival is preparing for the worst as the New Year's event readies itself for it inaugural year.

The new festival, which officially announced earlier today, is being run by the team behind some of Melbourne's largest club nights – including the Palace Theatre's Anyway nights – and has been eight months in the planning.

Co-promoter Nick Grecco told theMusic.com.au that alongside business partner Michael Christidis, associates Christian Serrao, Filippo Palermo, Tom Caw and industry veteran Andrew McManus all have stakes in the festival.

“There's quite a few of us… We all host this nightclub event and live music events together and also Andrew McManus [has a stake], who has a whole heap of his own events in Asia and New Zealand.”

McManus, a veteran of the Ragamuffin festival and tours by KISS, ZZ Top and Blondie, has been a key influencer in guiding their expansion into the festival scene.

“One of my partners Andrew McManus is quite a large industry figure and he has been an integral part in guiding us through this and helping us through the back end,” Grecco said.

Beyond The Valley will have a capacity of 12,000 in its first year and while the promoters have a “long term” vision, they plan to break even on the first year.

Up until 2012 the Pyramid Rock festival had been held at Phillip Island and had regularly battled the weather on the exposed Victorian island.

“The weather came into consideration,” Grecco told theMusic, “but we've taken extensive measures into place to make sure that any of the weather that has plagued Phillip Island in the past will not have the same effect on us… [We have] back-up plans in terms of generators failing, big wind-breakers to ensure that those winds that have hurt the site in the past don't hurt the site.”

The local Bass Coast Shire Council has been supportive of the event and its plans, he added.

“The site already has a lot of the infrastructure… we've got a really strong focus is VIP camping, which is an extra offering – fully furnished deluxe tents, fully powered, security, mini bars, private toilets, showers. Kind of like a pop-up up hotel, it's even got a concierge. It's even going to have a world first – that we know of – it's going to have a hangover spa… so after a night of hitting it too hard you can hang out in the spa and get ready to do it all again.”

With first official details released this morning, the line-up is believed to be 80 percent complete. They're aiming for an “even” mix of international and local acts with what they feel is a “forward thinking” line-up.

“More of a blend of alternative dance, rock, acoustic, hip hop, rap and electronic dance,” he said, “so the music offering won't be the same we want to appeal to a much wider audience than we can on a regular club night.”