Live Review: Secret Garden Festival

Day One

The festival that started as a party for "friends in the know" and quickly became one of the most beloved Sydney festivals has come to an end after 11 years. Secret Garden, held on the Downes Family Farm in Cobbitty, about an hour out of the Sydney CBD, is loved not just for its clever curation, a maze of stages, pop-ups and eclectic performances in a forest setting. It's also for the fact that the attending crowd usually adhere to the 'No Dickhead' policy and always make a huge effort to get dressed up and enjoy the festival in great spirits.

The presence of dozens of police, sniffer dogs and security is, unfortunately, becoming the norm at music festivals, but a quick search later and we were inside. The threat of rain lurked over the whole festival, so setting up the tent was a priority. 

It's always an experience, wandering the sprawling property to mark the lay of the land while discovering new stages and teasing your senses. There was the kissing booth, a trivia set, talent stage, a catwalk to live out your modelling dreams and a theatre that showed a strange little film about ants. In the main stage area, you had the opportunity to walk through a giant bum, relax on a massive deck chair or chill on one of the many grassy and shady parts.

ILUKA was the first artist to grace the main stage and, sounding fresh and upbeat, she and her band were a great way to start. The sun was out and people looked fresh as costumes based on the ‘Disco on a Spaceship’ theme started to appear. Throughout the night, myriad aliens, silver tights, glitter, lights and more than one David Bowie would fill the site. Almost everyone, it seems, got involved which really contributed to the atmosphere of openness, friendliness and willingness to accept everyone for who they are or want to be.

Fresh off a massive 2018, Mojo Juju performed a great set, taking cuts from her latest album and picking a few more upbeat numbers. Following a Welcome to Country, Tia Gostelow let her sweet vocals dance through the forest as things started to liven up in the various pockets of the site. 

One location that was constantly vibrant was the Final Disco Nation stage, which pumped out tunes from an array of DJs throughout the weekend. But if you preferred to choose your own set, Charlotte’s Trailer Park Party provided an aux cable ready for your phone. Next door, The Partynon stage was a lot more professional with a mix of singers and DJs providing the usually pumping entertainment.

On the other side of the main area, the (In A) State Theatre offered a range of theatrical and immersive delights. Have you ever really lived unless you've sung the eight-minute musical theatre version of Aladdin's Friend Like Me in Disney Karaoke at the top of your lungs? The annual occurrence brought out all the budding Simbas, Ariels, Scars and Moanas in the crowd and was a definite highlight for the people that managed to squeeze into the hot tent.

The festival truly offers something for everyone, as back in the main area, Canberra's Genesis Owusu and his "goons" brought hip hop, soul and energy to the party. His joyous set was greeted with enthusiastic bouncing from the crowd. This led to the "it's a surprise" part of the night. As we were kept enthused by a great selection of tracks from seasoned party-starters, Dom Alessio and Adam Lewis, the stage was being prepared for the upcoming set.

The appearance of two helmeted individuals on the decks had our imaginations running wild and as the sounds of Robot Rock started, there were certainly more than a few people who entertained the idea that French duo Daft Punk might have actually made the trip. After all, they did (absently) premiere their last album in Wee Waa. When it’s a festival like Secret Garden, you never know what’s going to happen and for those 48 hours, it was worth suspending belief and just rolling with it, in every sense of the word.

At the Camp Queen Baths stage, Brendan Maclean wrapped up his high-octane and completely fabulous performance with House Of Air before Ayebatonye encouraged the Queens (and Kings) to party out the night.

Day Two

The warm sun was beating down early on the campsite, encouraging people to rise before they may have wanted to, which ultimately led to huge coffee lines. The breakfast offerings were tasty, including some cheap and excellent options, which also helped out the local Cobbitty Public School.

With another full day to go, people seemed to be pacing themselves and relaxing on the site until the music was due to start in the afternoon. Trivia on the SG Airlines stage was keeping many busy and if you chose to venture into the forest, you would have seen some makeshift talent and game shows along with people making their own fun, applauding random attendees at the ‘Applause’ corner.

It’s those small touches of warmth, community and love that make the festival such an enjoyable event. Annie Hamilton kicked the day off on the main stage, playing a range of new, unreleased, tracks to a chilled-out early audience. Her rock hair and ‘flame’ guitar were a nice touch as was her cover of All Saints’ favourite, Pure Shores. 

Joseph Liddy & The Skeleton Horse were truly magical on the main stage. With a mix of psychedelia, technicolour funk and a groove that couldn’t be beat, the group were the perfect antidote to backing up from a big night and encouraged pockets of renewed dancing. The backing vocals from Andy Golledge, who would later perform excellently with his own band, combined to deliver delicious harmonies along with some hot sax.

Looking for a change of pace, the (In A) State Theatre, hosted an excellent hour of improv from Post-ITS, a troupe that took suggestions from the audience and translated them into mini-skits that had the tent in raptures. Even as the heat of the afternoon started to slowly bake the inhabitants of the theatre tent, the unknown factor of the show kept the crowd engaged.

Over at the cooler SG Airlines stage, Moody Beach rocked out to a solid group of people. In four-piece-sunglass-bespectacled mode, Melissah Marie’s band played a great slice of shoegaze rock/pop encouraging the crowd to “get nude”. Some had already obliged. On the same stage a little later, Laura Jean’s opportunity to play at the final iteration of the festival raised her excitement levels, although with her ultra-dry humour and ‘earth signs’, she said that "'ok' is about as good" as she gets. Her music is better than "ok" though. Playing tracks from her awesome Devotion album of last year, she alternated between sax and vocals, delighting the enthralled crowd. She finished with a “robot version” of Girls On The TV in solo mode. Beautifully haunting.

At The Partynon stage, Sydney-based South African artist Temgazi started slow but built up her pace through a dance-party set that pulled the crowd in from the path outside with her impressive voice. This was a juxtaposition to the raucous punk of Pist Idiots on the main stage (almost within hearing distance). Their punk rock sounds were easily the heaviest of the weekend and it had plenty of people up and bouncing. They also led nicely into a set from Ali Barter who previewed a new song and possible next single, You’re A Piece Of Shit, a thrashy rock number devoted to a "friend". Even though she declared herself as “not a very glittery person”, Barter’s set was a shining light on the evening.

Later, local legends The Preatures drew a massive crowd and their set of well-known favourites had everyone singing, as did a cover of The Angels’ Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again? with the crowd responding to the question in the only way to be expected, but it also felt a little too poignant on the last night of the festival. Dance Party Pyrotechnics Association took over the main stage for a huge party for the next hour, complete with an energetic horn section. Over at the SG Airlines stage, Handsome was superb, sharing the love with a crowd that grew and grew throughout the set, a love that projected a ‘safe space’ and encouraged a sense of community and connection. 

There was the choice of Baby Beef or Harvey Sutherland to complete the live music of the festival and each entertained, one with humorous, retro-styled electro-pop, the other with layered, technical electronica. Both encouraging the crowd to dance in their ‘Last Night in Paradise’ costumes.

As the forest disco continued into the early hours, the over-riding sense of sadness at losing a festival that has not only established itself as a safe, peaceful sanctuary but also thrived in an environment of fear and negativity, was palpable. For something that has grown so organically, but retained its communal vibe, it felt too soon to lose it. The quote, “It’s good to always leave a party when you’re having fun,” may be a good one, but it feels a bit hollow after such a great weekend.

Rumours of future collaborations are already swirling though, so maybe - just maybe - Secret Garden will return in a different form one day.