Queenscliff Music Festival lived up to its reputation with its annual three-day musical and cultural event in 2024, bringing fresh and established talent to a picturesque coastal town.
Coming straight off a Europe tour, Jack Botts played a tight set on the festival’s Main Stage. His debut single ‘Home to You’ was a clear crowd-pleaser, and the dynamic between Botts, guitarist Ben Camden and Jordy Maxwell on harmonica was a treat. With both musicians having joined Botts on tour, their performances were playful and engaging.
While the sound quality was not quite as good for the smaller Hippos Stage, it couldn’t detract from Emily Wurramara’s powerful and moving set, especially for her blues-rock album standout ‘Midnight Blues’.
Getting close to the end of his Australian tour and ahead of his final stop at NYE on the Hill, Melbourne-based Ishan delighted the crowd at the Pavilion Stage. With the cheeky track ‘Her Boyfriend’s House’, Ishan charmed the audience by sharing the story behind the song, remembering crowd members who’d made it to previous shows and proving himself to be a wildly talented heartbreaker in the making.Â
While rare to find a truly family-friendly DJ booth at a festival, Queenscliff Music Festival pulled it off. Radio presenter and DJ Vince Peach was a joy across the last two days of the festival. Drawing inspiration from his long-running show Soul Time for his festival sets, he had children and adults alike dancing it up in the carnivalesque Ozone Lounge.Â
Xavier Rudd closed the festival with a powerful and moving set, encapsulating all that Queenscliff Music Festival stands for – a true reflection on land, culture and community. While Rudd has previously worked with a full band, he opted for his more recent, internationally recognised one-man band set up. Shifting between multiple instruments (frequently within the one song), and incorporating live looping and soundscapes, Rudd’s set was beautifully layered, intricate and wildly impressive.
Despite some initial audio issues, sound balance throughout was solid – particularly when contending with the sheer number of instruments Rudd picked up. While lighting design at the main festival stage was effective throughout the day, it was especially well-executed for Rudd’s set, with strobe lights perfectly timed to tracks and projections of illustrations on the roof and back of the stage.
For ‘We Deserve to Dream’, soft red and yellow lights reached out across the crowd. With the track’s gentle beats and focus on giving thanks to the natural world, Rudd’s lyrics rang clear for a receptive audience.
Event organisation highlighted nature and the area’s conservation efforts. Stalls teaching festival-goers about weed identification, plastic recycling and seed bomb creation highlighted the festival’s support for zero emissions and encouraged ongoing engagement with the environment.
Read: Book review: mark the dawn, Jazz Money
Festival-goers have continued to flock to Queenscliff since its inception in 1997 and it’s clear why. With improvements year on year, the Festival transforms the town to a hub for musical talent, enrichment and culture.
Queenscliff Music Festival ran from 22-24 November 2024.
