The region's newest summer music festival is heading to Blackbutt Forest on Saturday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Beautiful Girls will be headlining Hidden Forest with their roots and folk-inflected pop.
Part of the Surf and Skate Festival Shellharbour, the music festival will also feature The Grates, Moaning Lisa, Erthlings and Benny Walker, as well as Illawara/South Coast acts Pacific Avenue and Lemon Row.
The Beautiful Girls' singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Mat McHugh said when the offer came through to perform among the backdrop of a forest setting, the decision was a no-brainer.
"It was an easy one to say 'yes' to and a really good fit, because we're all kind of based in Sydney and I'm in Cronulla, so it's nice and close," he said.
"I'm a big fan of marrying music to culture, and my culture is I grew up skating and surfing. My only goal making the music that I've made is just to be representative of what my culture sounded like growing up.
"(So) it's a mish-mash of a bunch of different sounds and styles."
The Beautiful Girls will be touring in support of their Seaside Highlife: Greatest Hits, Volume 1 compilation.
Their festival appearance will be a precursor to a national tour early in 2020.
For the new release, McHugh has pulled together his favourite tracks from across all five albums, as well as the debut EP, and thrown in an acoustic version of the 2018 single, Beautiful World.
McHugh said releasing a compilation such as this one inevitably led to taking stock of what the group had achieved so far.
"I wasn't really prepared for the reflective aspect of it," he said.
"I was able to see the body of work from a distance. Whereas when you're making it, you're just thinking one foot in front of the other, you're just trying to hang on and write the next song. You don't have a perspective on the entire thing.
"To be able to see the scope of where it began and where it's got to now, and view it now a bit more, if possible, as a third party was a great thing. There were some emotional moments putting it all together, with some of the memories tied up in it."
The main-man said it was the first time they'd officially released an album on vinyl, which was an exciting prospect given the format's revival in recent years.
"People have been asking us to do that for a while, so we've finally decided to put this package out and test that water," he said.
"If it does well, then we might try to put all of it out on vinyl.
"For the lovers of an act or just music in general, it's probably a pretty amazing physical way to connect with music. You sit there, you put the record on, you listen to the whole thing and get to see the artwork.
"It's the opposite end of the digital convenience, where you press one button and there you go. Vinyl's a bit of a commitment."
Meanwhile, vocalist/guitarist Dallas Cowley for Wollongong's Lemon Row said the band formed about a year ago and performed at this year's Yours And Owls Festival.
"We're a two-piece, and it's just drums, guitar and vocals, but it'll be quite a surprising sound for the fullness of just two people on-stage," he said.
"It's a surf-rock, indie-rock sound that'll keep you moving and grooving."
Cowley was particularly keen to perform at the same festival as The Beautiful Girls.
"It's very exciting to share the stage with these kinds of acts," he said.
"The Beautiful Girls, I grew up with my Dad playing their CDs, so it's quite a surreal experience."
The festival will also feature locally crafted beer from Five Barrel Brewing and wines by Simall Wines, a range of food plus select market stalls to add to the chilled out atmosphere.
Travel to Hidden Forest sustainably and in style with a free valet bike parking service to avoid any parking troubles.
Tickets are available from Moshtix.
You can also click here for more details.