Mitchell Creek Rock'n'Blues Fest
Author: Brian Date Posted:26 October 2024
This, the 13th year of the Mitchell Creek Rock'n'Blues Fest was our first. Situated on a 100 acre private farm a few Km past Kandanga in the Mary Valley it runs from Friday afternoon through to Sunday evening in mid September, when the days in this part of the world are at their most glorious. With the site spread over many acres, camping spaces are plentiful and uncluttered with flat areas close to amenities and several decent hills providing challenging walks and great views. The organisers allow you to rope off areas ahead of the festival to reserve spots for groups, but otherwise it's a case of drive around and pick a spot that suits. We had paid an extra $20 to stay on the Thursday night and arriving with our hired camper trailer late that afternoon we were spoilt for choice. A couple of loops about, we settled on a spot high on the hill overlooking the performance area and the comings and goings "down town". As novices to the camping trailer experience there were some challenges in setting up on the slope, but as often happens some more experienced campers stepped in to help and we learnt lessons and shared some laughs. Although there were a few mm of rain on that first night the weather was typical south east Queensland spring, warm sunny days and cold nights with heavy dew.
The first pleasant surprise was that having shown your registration on entering the property you are free to move about throughout the site - no checking gate at the entrance to the music area. With dual stages under the one huge marquee the music ran continuously from midday Friday to 10pm, then 10am to 10pm Saturday, and 10am to 8pm Sunday, with 29 different acts and a total of 120 artists. Each group played for an hour while the next set up on the other stage. Comprising local, interstate and overseas artists, we only recall one band playing twice over the entire weekend. Most we'd never heard of, which was part of the attraction, all were good and a few were outstanding. The genres ranged from country rock to heavy metal to genuine blues. The variety of music on offer was excellent. General information and the line up are available on the festival website.
The attendance is capped so there was never a feeling of overcrowding as we've experienced at larger music festivals previously. The temporary shower and toilet facilities were good - clean and sufficient in number- most of the time there were no queues. There were 15 food trucks, a bar tent, and numerous merchandise stands from Thursday afternoon through to Monday morning. The overall atmosphere was relaxed, friendly, and uncrowded.
The second surprising and much appreciated feature was that the camp ground and performance area were BYO, so you could take an esky with your packed lunch, snacks and drinks, set up your chairs under the marquee or on the grassed area outside and stay put for the day. No rules about leaving unattended chairs as there was plenty of space for everyone. You could even slip back to the campsite for a mid afternoon nap or duck off for a bit of shopping and know your set up would be where you left it on your return. This made for a very relaxed, community atmosphere unlike any music festival we'd experienced in the past. The only rule was no glass. The piles of empty cans each day was impressive!
Yes there was plenty of drinking but no more than we'd experienced before and although sometimes a little unsteady on their feet no one was aggressive or rude that we saw. In fact there was very little security or police presence. Overall the atmosphere was very relaxed.
Most people we spoke to were in groups and had been coming for many years. Dress ups was a big thing - many a brightly coloured net tutu, various head-dresses and capes, large groups with matching printed t-shirts, even a priest arm in arm with a very pregnant nun! And although it was family friendly, there weren't a lot of children or teens. Age range was mostly 40 plus
It was by far the most relaxed music festival we've been to and although there are still plenty on our bucket list we've yet to try, we'd certainly be up for a return visit.