Christmas is all about coming together and celebrating with the ones you love. But once you’ve had your fill of turkey, stuffing, presents and family, there’s one thing most of us want to do… get out and really celebrate Christmas on Boxing Day.
While Boxing Day is often reserved for heading to the shops to battle thousands of shoppers for the best deals, or for slapping on the sunscreen and heading to the Boxing Day Test, if you’re from around here, you’d know that Boxing Day at the Barwon Heads Hotel has been a mainstay destination for the post-chrissy celebrations for many years.
Knowing this and the fact the you might want to compensate for the whole obligatory family Christmas thing by getting turnt up with your squad, the legends at Uno Presents (Coastal Jam, UNO DanceClub, Bloom) took the bull by the horns this year and decided it was time to step it up and transform the carpark into the newest boutique music festival site!
Enter, Dancing Heads Music Festival (aka your new plans for Boxing Day).
“I’d been looking to do something of this scale in Geelong and the Surf Coast for ages now but hadn’t really had any opportunities arise that were suitable,” says festival director Adam Metwally. “From working with the guys in Torquay (who also own Barwon Heads), this opportunity popped up and we just floated the idea of doing an event in the carpark. It’s a nice setting, it’s right by the water, so we thought why not give it a crack.”
Using his previous experience running events like Coastal Jam (which has seen two sold-out shows in Lorne featuring the likes of Late Nite Tuff Guy, Maribou State, Touch Sensitive, CC:DISCO!, Benson and John Course, and a stint in Torquay featuring Paces), Adam’s goal what to create something even bigger and Dancing Heads at Barwon Heads Hotel was his chance.
“The main aim is to really put on an event that’s high calibre. Between myself and the Barwon Heads Hotel, we both have the aim of just doing this properly, doing this well and just creating a really good event that people can look forward to every year, while also creating a bit of a legacy and long-term value in the region. We want it to be something fun and accessible with good music – it’s not too full on, not too crazy, we’re just wanting to put on a really good day.
“The idea is for it to act similar to Coastal Jam this year. The event almost sold out in a week, it’s a limited capacity, people come, they know it’s a thing, they plan around it, and we make it super comfortable for everyone and then eventually we start putting bigger and bigger acts on – and that’s how we see Dancing Heads following suite. This is an opportunity to really put some reasonably big talent through once a year with a capacity that is just big enough to warrant it.”
Kicking off the inaugural festivities in the carpark, Adam has already set the bar high by booking Australian indie-pop duo Client Liaison (DJ set) who will be bringing their flavour to the Barwon Heads Hotel turntables for an epic Boxing Day DJ session this December.
From their very own fashion label, self-titled festival and a string of much-loved, radio friendly, dance pop via the 90’s anthems, Client Liaison have melded kitsch and substance to become one of Australia’s most powerful live electro outfits, generating a string of high rotation singles in the process to promise a multisensory experience which feeds any listener’s appetite.
“Client Liaison epitomise the vibe that we’re going for. They’ve got that cool, coastal vibe and these guys went to school in Geelong so it’s exciting to have them on the bill. They’ll play music that the crowd will love, and they have a lot of energy and positive vibes so we’re super stoked to have them as the first act headlining the festival,” Adam beams.
International in flavour, cosmopolitan in style, Client Liaison’s Harvey Miller and Monte Morgan will make sure Barwon Heads sees out Christmas with a bang.
They aren’t the only post-chrissy treat though according to Adam, who says Fleetmac Wood and Groove City will be the acts to look out for.
Boasting a party dedicated to one of the greatest bands of our time, Fleetmac Wood will be sharing their exclusive remixes and edits crafted for the dance floor. This DJ set and AV show is not a tribute act, but a rave that re-frames the music of Fleetwood Mac. Twirling through disco, techno and house, DJs Roxanne Roll and Smooth Sailing have taken this dance party from Berlin to Burning Man and shared their passion with like-minded hedonists around the world, and now they’re sharing it with Barwon Heads.
As for Groove City, these guys were born in the 90s; raised on the 70s; and are currently storming 2018. The Sydney duo are on a mission to bring disco back in a big way, and with slapping basslines, dramatic vocals and crisp drums, they’re doing a damn fine job. All about expensive taste, burning up dancefloors and overflowing champagne, Groove City are the smoothest duo around right now, and this Boxing Day they are going to prove it.
“These two acts will be the ones where everyone goes ‘wow, that was a lot of fun’; people won’t expect what they’ve got. With these guys, you give them a crowd and you give them a good day, and people will be blown away.”
They’ll also be joined by Dan (Cut Copy) DJ Set and Dean Turnley, along with supports from UNO DJs, House Cat, Dizzy Daryl Brad Mayes, Liam Howarth, alongside a range of arts and entertainment, food trucks, cocktails and craft beer to keep you satisfied and entertained in between these sets.
The party veterans at Uno Presents have also gone one step further than most festivals too by providing complimentary buses to the Geelong CBD from event completion onwards every half an hour until required.
“We’ve done bus transfers before, but this time we’re offering free bus transfers to ticket holders to help alleviate the local community and get people in and out,” Adam explains. “The only concern that people had about the festival was how to get home – and Ubers and Taxi’s can be expensive from those locations – so we’ve solved that. The buses will be running every half an hour until there’s no one else that needs to be picked up.”
Keen to kick on after all the fun? No sweat, these guys well and truly have you covered. While the event in the carpark wraps up, the fun will continue inside the Barwon Heads Hotel where punters can wind down to local DJs and continue the coastal vibes, or you can head into town (via the bus of course) and kick on at the After Party at Bloom. Consider this your late Christmas present…
Nestled between the beach and the iconic Barwon Heads Hotel is your sun-drenched escape, your Boxing Day festival destination for years to come. This will be the perfect way to kick off your post-Christmas celebrations, this year, and every year!
So before your Christmas blues start to kick in (and your hangover), and you’ve only got sticky, humid January days and a whopping credit card bill to look forward to, a day of festival fun on the coast seems like the perfect way to keep the spirits up.
Dancing Heads Music Festival goes down at The Barwon Heads Hotel Carpark on January 26. Pre-sale and first release tickets are now sold out and final second release tickets are now on sale via Eventbrite for a cheeky $45. Final release tickets will be on sale soon.
Check out the event on Facebook.