Power 50 - #31: Stephen Halpin & Rodney Little

BACKGROUND CHECK

Cattleyard Promotions was founded in 2004 with the first incarnation of Groovin The Moo taking place in April 2005 at Gloucester Showgrounds in NSW. GTM has since flourished to become a firm favourite on Australia's annual festival calendar, now touring to six regional areas throughout Australia. In 2013, Cattleyard Promotions launched GTM's 'sister festival', The Plot, which focuses more on emerging Australian talent, is now held in Parramatta and takes place intermittently. After branching into Cattleyard Brewing, the duo have now launched B-Cubed - Burgers Beers Beats - as well: a series of pop-up events in regional locations.

THE YEAR THAT WAS 

With a line-up that included Royal Blood, Portugal. The Man (fresh from a Grammy win), Paul Kelly and Sampa The Great, it came as no surprise when all Groovin The Moo's locations sold out in 2018. In a brave and progressive move, the 2018 Canberra edition of Groovin The Moo hosted Australia's first ever pill testing trial with 128 punters utilising the service. Post-trial, it was reported that a couple of lethal drugs had even been identified. In the wake of five deaths at Australian festivals in recent months, hundreds have taken to social media using the hashtag #timetotest in an effort to call upon the government to change its strategy, enforcing pill testing rather than just banning festivals. It has been confirmed that a second trial, to be run by Pill Testing Australia, will take place at Groovin The Moo Canberra in 2019. By conducting another pill testing trial at their festival, Halpin and Little continue to open up the conversation surrounding drug safety and education in this country and, as such, should be regarded as music industry game changers.