Live Review: Regrowth Festival

Regrowth was much more than just an arts and lifestyle festival. It was a community, a family and an event aimed at connecting youth culture to the environment.

Held in the rolling hills and majestic landscapes of Majors Creek, the 10th anniversary Regrowth Festival became home to 3000 partygoers and yoga enthusiasts alike. The festival is also responsible for the vegetation of 63,000 native plants over the past nine years. Hosted by a community of individuals who weave together positive projects with their musical celebration, the Regrowth Festival boasts three elaborately themed stages, quality sound and the highest sustainable practices in the world earning it a coveted Greener Festival Award.

With environmental replenishment and re-vegetation at the heart of the festivities, officials provide free and accessible tree planting of indigenous species such as Eucalyptus, Acacia, Tea Tree, Paperbark, Bottlebrush and many more, in order to restore a degraded part of the festival property and in the long term re-introduce koalas to the area. Over 3,500 saplings were planted in 2015 reaching 67,000 trees in total.

Flooding issues did delay entry on the first night, however it failed to dampen the spirits and smiles of attendees, more than happy to wait for the musical, artistic and kaleidoscopic wonderland of light and sound that lay ahead. At the Roots Stage, a melting pot of musical magic offering the best bands and solo artists around, Edema Ruh kicked off the evening with their fresh take on ska music by putting tenacity and heart into their performance. Tracks Sea Of Lies and The Gypsy & The Jew had everybody in the crowd bouncing and bumping along to their energetic pace and honest lyrics.

Following the environmental mishaps of the first night the festival was in full swing with interactive art galleries, musical jams and philosophical discussions taking place in the Evolver Lounge. The Myths, Beliefs & Reality talk provided special insight for many young minds as it explored the transience and beauty of time and its passing.

A little ways further down the market-filled street was the aptly named Square Tent boasting an array of child-friendly and thought-provoking films from various young Australian film makers.

The Saturday evening Welcome Ceremony marked a milestone of the event by paying homage to the land and its owners and attempting to bring everyone together at the Treetops Stage. This is where the serious foot-stomping and hand-clapping took place in a spectacle of world-class progressive trance artists, and incredible bamboo and lighting structures. Located at the back of the arena was a magnificent wooden complex resembling the wings of a butterfly that connected to leveraged ropes and latex patterns stretching across the dancefloor. When pulled the ropes made the wings flap and the whole construction would wobble and ebb creating an impressive visual effect.

Loose Cannon made an impressive impact on the night opening with a cover of Clubbed To Death by Rob Dougan, during which two ten-foot tall stilt entertainers danced at the front of the area lit from head to toe in iridescent neon lights.

As the set rolled on through Loose Cannons catchy a cappellas and confident bass lines punters and reserved dancers alike had no problem getting their feet off the ground, especially to singles like Frequency by Coming Soon.

An outstanding and unexpected performance came from upcoming Sydney artist Brek, who was shaking the earth with his melodic electro harmonies and experimental psy-trance bass lines. Having been on the bush festival scene for less than six months local youth Brad Riddington has already acquired a dedicated fanbase who were absolutely elated to groove to every song on his setlist. New releases such as The Orb and Alone Until reached new heights when aided by well timed input from his microphone getting even the distant tree planters moving their hips.

Melbourne artist griff closed the festival with a bang as the sun set on Monday afternoon. The last two years has seen griff play his catchy electronic music at some of the biggest festivals in the world such as Burning Man and Rainbow Serpent. With an emphasis on broken beats, melody and soul, tracks Like The Sixties Never Happened and Dead Heroes made it seem like he had secretly slid a trampoline beneath the crowds’ unwary feet. Throwing down those fantastic groovy tunes meant the festival ended with a snap, crackle and pop.