AAA Backstage Archive

10 Things We Learnt At Southbound And Falls Festival

So we’re currently in a state of post-festival depression here at AAA after the spectacle that was Falls Festival in Byron Bay and Southbound in Busselton, WA. Of course the only way to get out of this deep depressive state is to reminisce on our time there right? We sent two brave reporters to tackle the New Years festivals this year so for your enjoyment, here is what we learnt at both Falls Festival and Southbound.

Things We Learnt At Southbound

Vegemite is multipurpose

It turns out vegemite serves more than one purpose. It is also used as a gateway to smuggling drugs into festivals. They may be failing subjects at university but A+ for creativity there, guys. Note: both AAA and the writers of this article do not condone drug use. 

Sunscreen and hat or die trying

Having endured severe dandruff for the last two weeks as a result of a very sunburnt scalp, this one comes with a sun safety warning. Sun screen and hats will be your best friend. With temperatures reaching 39 degrees at Southbound, staying hydrated and protected from the sun makes or breaks your time at the festival. 

Camping in a van is the way to go

Protected from the weather and other intoxicated campers stumbling in to the wrong campsite, a Wicked Camper type van is highly recommended for transport and accommodation purposes. All your stuff in the one place, no setup required and plenty of sneaky storage areas they’re definitely worth looking at next time you consider camping at a festival.

Wearing your pyjamas around at night time is totally acceptable

When the mercury plunges from 36 during the day to 11 at night, outfit changes are inevitable. And if you’re slightly intoxicated and cold, pyjama pants are often a solution to the shivering cold and that’s totally fine. The number of people walking around in onesies or pyjamas of some description far outweighed the number of people dressed to impress. Plus it’s way comfier.

The Presets aren’t just for pill poppers

Favourite act of the weekend goes to Aussie music veterans The Presets. Hands down, they absolutely rocked Mainbreak stage on the Saturday night. It was a perfect combination of alcohol, dance music and killer moves all round that turned the atmosphere into this euphoric buzz of excited fans.

Things We Learnt At Falls

Red frogs are Gods

Ok so picture this you’re blissing out to Mosman Alder/Moses Gunn Collective/DMA’s, maybe having a bit of a nap, and you’re thinking “This live music is pretty good but do you know what would make it even better? Some sort of chewy sugar bite that resembles an animal.” Then out of the clouds comes the Red Frogs ready to deliver their gummi goodness. Thank you, Red Frogs, for making it so I didn’t have to get up and buy food. Amen.

You can water a crowd

After the insane Alison Wonderland mosh where people were overheating left, right and centre security had the bang up idea of getting a bunch of hoses and just letting lose in the crowd. It sounds silly but I swear during Cold War Kids sweltering set, I’ve never been so happy to be hit in the face with a jet of water.

Dudebros can be adorable

For these aren’t your typical roided up dude bros, these dudebros have a sensitive side. Take for instance the group of Dudebros at Mosman Alder’s set that entertained themselves by tiptoeing up to unsuspecting male nap takers and attempting to gently kiss them on the forehead before they realised what was happening. A victory resulted in a glory lap around the tent while the men they kissed laughed bashful. So unexpected but so, so adorable.

 If you do run into your fav artist play it cool

Music festivals are a hotbed of celebrity artist activity, you’d be hard pressed to go through an entire Falls without running into someone that’s in a band. If you do happen to run into someone that you are a fan of play it cool. Don’t do what I did when I spotted Bluejuice frontman Jake Stone in the VIP bar and confess your love, ask for a photo and then be shaking so hard that he offers to take the selfie. Don't ask me why I'm wearing a backwards cap, I don't even know.

Delay Your Hottest 100 vote until after its finished

If you take only one piece of advice from this article then let it be this, don’t do your Hottest 100 votes before you go! You will be missing out on all of the amazing acts that you just serendipitously happen upon while roaming around the festival. Let’s just say my top ten have a whole lot more SAFIA, Client Liaison and Mosman Alder if I had waited until January 3rd to vote.