Setting up in one of Australia’s most picturesque national parks next February, the Grampians Music Festival (GMF) is bringing the Valley Stage back to the stunning paddock location in Halls Gap in 2020 on February 28 & 29 in what will be a display of outstanding Australian up and coming musical talent, boutique beer, wine and spirits, global cuisine and dancing in the dirt.
With the first lineup announcement now revealed, featuring the likes of Julia Jacklin, Ecca Vandal, These New South Whales, DRMNGNOW, Maddy Jane, Pinch Points, The Buoys, Sledgehammer and more!
To celebrate the return of this absolute showcase of the best new bands making music all over the country, we passed the baton and got Maddy Jane and The Buoys to interview each other!
The Buoys – interviewed by Maddy Jane
You guys have had a big year on the road with DZ’s and our friend’s Polish Club! What has been your favourite venue to play?
The Forum in Melbourne felt like a dream. The interior of that venue is out of this world! That and the Astor theatre in Perth had the most amazing feeling to them.
Your debut EP is called Soft Boy and I’m currently selling future sad boi merch. Do we need to collab here? Is a soft boy and a sad boy basically the same thing??
Oh my gosh, and it’s by Aluna!? I think we may have some mutuals! I’m definitely feeling a collab. So a sad boy isn’t necessarily a soft boy, BUT a soft boy is almost always a sad boy. We could make facial tissues?
You’re playing my hometown Tassie for the first time next year, where else is on your radar for 2020?
We are ridiculously excited to play in Tasmania for Party in the Paddock, we may need to ask for climate advice, is it super cold at night? I digress… Stoked to say that we are releasing our sophomore EP in 2020 so we will have a tour for that one! We’re playing at the amazing Grampians Festival and we’re also doing our first Twilight at Taronga with Wolfmother in Feb which is wild. 2020 looks so fun already.
As a band do you have a favourite festival that you’ve always wanted to play?
It would be pretty amazing to play Splendour in the Grass, it’s just so UUUGE.
Do you have anything unusual on your festival rider?
Not so much unusual, but maybe the ridiculousness comes from its length and detail. We’ve requested like every cheese and alcoholic beverage under the sun and are very specific about brands just for the lols. But also who wants hommus that isn’t Pilpel?
Maddy Jane – interviewed by The Buoys
The lyrical journey in your new single ‘Something Old and Something New’ gives me mad goosebumps. What was it like having a story that evolved and how did you write this one? Did you write in reflection or put it down and come back to it?
So glad you like it! Now that I think of it, I kinda wrote it in reflection and a little bit in the prediction of what was to come. But it all kinda came out at once and I remember thinking that will need some mad editing that never really happened. It was kinda like the melody grew more around the words. I didn’t realise it was an evolved story! Haha yay!
Who are you most looking forward to seeing at the Grampians and why?
Julia Jacklin is the obvious one I know, but I haven’t seen her live since the release of her last album and I’m so ready. She is the artist I play on nearly every plane ride. Quivers are old friends too and I’m keen to boogie to them.
Do you still have that first acoustic guitar covered in seashells and what guitars do you have now?
Look, I think I do still have it sitting in my bedroom on Bruny island that is stuck in 2008. The shells aren’t on there anymore but the imprints in the colour on the guitar are still very clearly shell-shaped
What drew you to Wollongong from Tassie rather than the big smoke and how do you find life there? We bloody looooove Wollongong.
It’s a good spot hey! I made some friends through touring that lived there and it was a good compromise from tassie and is close to Sydney! I didn’t want to move to Melbourne either like everyone kinda does from tassie haha. And I realised I need hills and water close to me to feel sane.
What’s something both as a punter and performer that you can’t do a festival without?
Sweating.
Tickets are available now, including camping and shuttle options for punters who want to enjoy the full Grampians experience. Packages include 2 Day and Single Day Festival passes, included in the variety of options on offer for those who want to kick on and camp out under the stars.