A sunny Sunday afternoon welcomed Sydney's first Lost Picnic, a super chilled mini-festival held in Centennial Park. The simple set-up featured one main stage, surrounded by a mixed crowd of hipsters, young folk, families and kids enjoying picnics and tunes on the grass.
The earthy sounds of a didgeridoo welcomed first act Sons Of The East to the stage with their perfect Sunday afternoon chilled-out, indie-folk vibe. Their Mumford & Sons-inspired tracks were well received including Hold On, California and a cover of Lana Del Rey's Summertime Sadness, which was perfectly timed.
More gentle, acoustic guitar-led music followed with Dustin Tebbutt bringing his beautifully ethereal, if slightly too quiet, vocals to the stage. New single, Bones, and hit The Breach brought tingles to the spine and reflected the festival's easygoing vibe.
As big, black storm clouds rolled in, the pixie-like Emma Louise took to the stage. Her impressive vocals and harmonies soared through tracks including ballad Stainache and Atlas Eyes. Hit Jungle finished the set with the lounging crowd now finally up on their feet, dancing and singing along.
A sizeable crowd surged to the front of the stage for The Rubens, who were looking cool and collected as always and ready to get everyone going. The driving drums of The Day You Went Away opened the set, with all of the hits from their first album following, including The Best We Got and hit My Gun, the band announcing that it would be their last gig for a while as they go off to record a much-anticipated second album.
Huge silver balloons filled the back of the stage for Megan Washington, arriving with a full band dressed in black with white painted faces, looking like what Washington herself described as a “sad clown's party”. From first track Clementine, the level of performance leaped forward and got the remaining people up on their feet. Her powerful voice pumped through new track My Heart Is A Wheel as the last rays of sunlight spilled across the stage. New single Who Are You got its first live outing before All Our Exes Live In Texas joined her on stage for a great rendition of Limitless. Rich Kids finished the set to everyone's delight.
A great little festival that offers something for every level of music lover.
