From pop favourites to hard rock and plenty in between, festival season comes to Wollongong's MacCabe Park this weekend.
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The venue will host Missy Higgins, Kate Miller-Heidke and Something for Kate for a new family-friendly festival.
The team at Yours and Owls' new event, A Sunny Afternoon, is on Sunday.
Melbourne-based pop songstress Miller-Heidke said the set would feature her full band.
"We've never played there before with this line-up," she told the Mercury.
"There's something kind of magical about the whole sunset, outdoors, picnic blanket, laid-back festival vibe that I love.
"Outdoor festivals can be fun, because there can be a lot of people in the audience who maybe don't know all of my songs, or don't know any of them. That keeps things feeling really fresh and exciting for me."
The award-winning singer/songwriter has performed at the New York Metropolitan Opera, the Eurovision Song Contest and Coachella.
Her other projects have included an award-winning debut opera as a composer, The Rabbits, and also co-writing the music and lyrics to Muriel's Wedding: The Musical.
Miller-Heidke said her new studio album was currently being mixed, and is due for release mid-year.
She said Wollongong fans will get a "sneak preview" of some of the new material.
"I hope it sounds like fresh, interesting, modern pop music that's perhaps more minimalist than anything I've done before," she said.
Meanwhile, the more alternative-flavoured Farmer and The Owl returns on Saturday.
English metal/stoner rock outfit Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats will play their first show in Wollongong.
Vocalist/guitarist Kevin Starrs, aka 'Uncle Acid', said they enjoyed bringing their psychedelic, bluesy fare to eclectic bills such as this one.
"I think it's great - there's always a chance to discover new music; bands that you would never get a chance to see otherwise," he said.
"There's always going to be a little bit of resistance (from punters who don't like heavier music). It's good to push people's buttons... And hopefully get them on our side."
Although the previous long-time conventions of the music industry have drastically changed in recent years with the advent of streaming, Starrs said hard rock fans were fiercely loyal to the bands they enjoy.
"Even when we tour, fans always want to buy music - they want to buy CDs and vinyl, and obviously vinyl has made a big comeback in the past couple of years," he said.
"That's great that people want to have the physical thing to listen to."
Brendan Crabb
I'm a member of ACM's national property team, covering the Illawarra and South Coast. Based in Albion Park, NSW, I write about exciting, interesting or just downright quirky properties that have been listed for sale, major sales, market trends, auctions and more. One of my favourite aspects of being a journalist is I believe everyone has a story to tell. What's yours?
I'm a member of ACM's national property team, covering the Illawarra and South Coast. Based in Albion Park, NSW, I write about exciting, interesting or just downright quirky properties that have been listed for sale, major sales, market trends, auctions and more. One of my favourite aspects of being a journalist is I believe everyone has a story to tell. What's yours?
