Play on the Plains is returning to Deniliquin for its third year on Saturday, 11 March 2023.
For the third time, the iconic Deni Ute Muster site in NSW will turn into a dancefloor / party house when Play on the Plains returns on Saturday, 11 March 2023 with Jessica Mauboy, King Stingray, Northeast Party House, Alex Lahey and The Carp Factory confirmed to set the stage alight.
While taking place in NSW, the festival aligns with the weekend of the Victorian Labour Day public holiday, making it the perfect adventure if you’re keen to get away.
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Headlining the 2023 Play on the Plains is our Queen of stage and screen, Jessica Mauboy.
The multiple ARIA-Award winning, R&B-pop artist, songwriter and actress is one of the country’s most celebrated and loved entertainers, boasting an impressive body of work including 6 x Top 10 Albums and 16 x Top 20 Singles, over 200 million+ streams globally, 2 x ARIA Awards, 21 Platinum and 9 Gold accreditations. She is the first indigenous Australian artist to debut at No. 1 on the ARIA Album Chart, multi-award winner including AACTA Award, APRA Award, Australian of the Year Award, MTV Europe Music Award, MTV Australia Music Award, not to mention her many TV roles including starring in ‘The Sapphires’, ‘Bran Nue Dae’ and The Voice Australia Coach (2021-2023).
Jessica continues to inspire and is determined more than ever to extract the most positive and motivating elements of all that she has learned and infuse them into her new music and share it with the world.
Also on the stellar lineup are King Stingray, the tight-knit crew of Yolŋu (Aboriginal people of northeast Arnhem Land) and balanda (non-Indigenous) musicians who’s recently released self-titled debut album was triple j’s Album of the Week and is a revelation; Melbourne six-piece Northeast Party House known for their unapologetically hedonistic lyrics and raucous live shows; celebrated talent with a sardonic streak and a flair for crafting melodically charged and relatable pop-punk anti-anthems in Alex Lahey; and rounding out the main stage are local heroes, The Carp Factory – a five-piece, garage-rock hive mind with members hailing from Deniliquin to Alice Springs.
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Also on the menu this year, the festival is giving local Primary and Secondary student musicians a chance to enter the Battle of the Bands competition.
Split into three categories – Senior Band (High School), Junior Band (Primary School) and Solo Artist (Primary or High School) – these young musicians will each get to play a set, including production and sound mixing, on our “B” stage between the Main Stage artists’ sets. Winners in each Band category will win cash prizes. The Solo Artist winner will receive a $750 musical equipment voucher courtesy of Deniliquin Nextra. The winner of the Senior Band competition will also get the chance to open the main stage at the 2024 Play on the Plains Festival!
“We are thrilled to be back for our third year, adding to and growing the event with camping on site and a Battle of the Bands,” says Play on the Plains’ General Manager, Vicky Lowry.
“Play on the Plains was created for a younger audience through to families, bringing them all together to experience the best of our young Australian talent. Come and Play and Stay On The Plains!”
Local bus company, Dyson Group, will be operating charter buses to and from Echuca/Moama, Picnic Point, Mathoura, Hay, Booroorban, Wanganella, Pretty Pine, Strathmerton, Koondrook, Barham, Wakool, Yarrawonga, Mulwala, Cobram, Barooga, Tocumwal and Finley as well as a shuttle service to and from Deniliquin Town Centre.
This year the festival is also opening up on-site camping from 12 noon on Saturday, 11 March until 11.00am on Sunday, 12 March.
Tickets to Play on the Plains 2023 are $120 (plus booking fee) and are on sale NOW through Oztix, with tickets for children under 13 only $20 (plus booking fee). With gates opening at 12 noon, licensed bars, food vans, beach volleyball, silent disco, camping and free on-site parking, grab your mates for a topflight weekend on the plains!
Play on the Plains goes down at Conargo Road, Deniliquin, NSW on Saturday, 11 March 2023. Find out more here.
