Beyond the Valley
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Beyond the Valley

Q&A with Nicholas Greco
It’s quite a moment when you say goodbye to one festival as you welcome another one which takes its place. With Pyramid Rock now reserved to the memory bank, this year Phillip Island welcomes Beyond the Valley. With a new vision, this could well become the new “It” festival for the New Year period.
Thanks for taking the time to chat with Forte. How are you?
Ah, it’s been a pretty intense couple of weeks but I’m hanging in there!
For those who aren’t aware of who you are and what you do, can you give us a brief description about yourself and what Beyond the Valley is all about?
Sure, I’m one of the partners in Beyond the Valley which is a new, boutique music and glamping [that would be glamorous camping] festival taking place on Phillip Island from December 30th to January 1st this year. BTV is hoping to push the boundaries on what defines a music and camping festival in Australia not only with our line-up but with all the added extras that we are tweaking, whether it’s our camping packages, our food vendors or our toilets.
Outside of BTV though, I’ve been in the music industry for about five years now, since I was 19, whether it has been through running events or managing artists.
What’s your background in the music/event industry?
I’ve done a little bit of everything. I started out when I was 19, getting involved in the indie/hip hop scene by managing and touring artists which then led into me running my own shows and eventually having my own regular club nights. Each progressive club night was kind of bigger than the last one. Then myself and my current partners started Anyway, which was initially at the legendary Palace Theatre, and that was a monster and is currently running at The Bottom End. During our time at The Palace we met all the right people to help us get BTV off the ground.
How long did it take to get Beyond the Valley up and running?
I think we’ve been planning this since about August 2013, checking out different sites and having all kinds of meetings.
It’s been pretty tough for music festivals these days, yet you guys have decided to start a new one. What prompted this decision?
We’re probably just a little bit crazy, and I think that’s a quality that’s needed to get into the festival game. But we also believe very strongly in the product that we are offering and that it is the absolute best offering out there.
We felt a lot of options out there are out of touch with who they are offering to, and we aren’t. It helps that myself and all my partners are all quite young and we are the age of who we are targeting for BTV. And we also just want everyone to enjoy themselves at our festival, and I think that is the message that has been coming across quite well.
Are you nervous at all for how ticket sales will go?
Yes and no … Yes because we have literally invested our lives into Beyond the Valley, and no because we have had such an amazing response to our line-up and all our extras and we have received a lot of support.
Have you got any secrets for success?
Ummm, enjoy what you do and work with people you enjoy … and get used to having very little sleep.
What do your friends and family think of what you’re doing?
Everyone is pretty excited! Basically everyone I know is going to be down at BTV for NYE.
How will this festival be different from long-running festivals around the same time?
I think our line-up has more of a dance music focus, and the feedback we received from punters was that was what other NYE options have been lacking. We have a dance music focus but we also have a strong contingent of live acts across our festival bill.
I think our powered camping sites, glamping and food options will also set us apart from other options around NYE. Our line-up also resonates pretty strongly with most people.
What kind of experience can punters expect?
We’ve tried to create a separate world within our festival site – it’s going to be a camping festival experience that is unlike any other.
Phillip Island is a pretty beautiful location for a festival. Was this one of the reasons behind holding the festival there?
Yeah definitely, the Bass Coast Shire is the perfect backdrop to bring in New Year’s Eve!
You’ve got some pretty amazing bands playing for your first festival. Was it difficult getting them to be involved?
Being a first year festival there was a lot of convincing and calling in some major favours … There have been some super tense and stressful moments in our office across the booking process.
What was the decision process behind who you selected?
One of the perks about booking your own festival is that you can book acts that you love! And then you also have to book acts that will appeal to everyone as well.
We wanted to have a forward-thinking and current line-up so a big part of it was who has new releases slated before the end of 2014. We also looked at who we wanted to bring in the countdown, who will be best to play whilst the sun is setting, who would be great to close the festival … so much goes into consideration.
There’s a team of us booking as well, so everyone has very strong and passionate opinions about who they think is best.
Who are you most looking forward to seeing perform live?
Ah, there’s so many! The Peking Duk boys are bringing a full new live show and I can’t wait to see that; RÜFÜS were amazing at the Palace Theatre, so that will be great to see on NYE. AlunaGeorge on the main stage overlooking the coast is going to be pretty special … Pretty much every single act that we’ve announced I’m looking forward to!
Given that it’s over New Year’s, can punters expect some big celebrations when it hits midnight?
Yes definitely, we’re going to put on a pretty unreal show. We’ve already put a heap of time into planning all of that!
If all goes well, will we be seeing Beyond the Valley return for another year?
We want to be around for a long time – there has been a lot of interest in making this a big player on the festival circuit.
Thanks for taking the time to have a chat with Forte. Is there anything you’d like to add before we finish up?
Just thanks for supporting us this far, and hope to see you NYE!
When&Where: Beyond the Valley Festival, Phillip Island – December 30-January 1