By Will Brussen
REVIEW, MUSIC
February 4, 2026
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In November, my editor asked me to attend the Meredith Music Festival and write a Gonzo style article about it. As someone who has attended the festival in many different states of mind I understood the brief, but as someone attending sober this time, here is my attempt at it. I wasn’t sure if I could capture the essence of the festival the way many experience it, but this is Meredith through my eyes.
Meredith is a very special place for many reasons – it is a reason to come together to share together. It is a place that my friends and I keep coming back to. No matter how hard the year has been, I always look forward to that weekend together, letting loose. At its heart, Meredith really is about friendship and music. At times one is more important than the other but the concept of both exists together in perfect harmony hand-in-hand.
The festival kicked off with a full amphitheatre to take in the smoking and Welcome to Country from Uncle Barry, Aunty Tammy Gilson and family of the Wadawurrung people – the traditional owners of the land where Meredith takes place. As smoke made its way through the amphitheatre and we made our way towards it, there was a sense of excitement for what was to come mixed in with gratitude for the blessing from the Wadawrrung people who have been caring for this Country for thousands of years. The sentiment 'if you care for Country then it will care for you' is one that rings true. Tammy shared the wisdom of an Elder by talking about the three L's: look, listen, love; and the importance of these as we go through the festival together.
The Welcome felt deeply personal yet resonated for many, as it hasn’t been an easy year for a lot of people. So when Aunty Tammy made mention of the sorry business that they had been going through and asked for a minute's silence, there was a deep respect shown. When one of the mob’s babies was then welcomed to the Country, it was a special moment.
This reminded me of the strength that comes from being together even in the hardest times — there is hope that comes from being together.
Uncle Barry who has become a much-loved character of the festival leant into an amphibian theme this year, making an analogy about multiculturalism based on the frogs he used to see when he was younger, which were unclassified and all with different colours. Beyond the idea of multiculturalism is the idea that we are all different, so when we come together to spend the weekend together we bring these differences together. In the spirit of Uncle Barry’s sentiments we accept each other for who we are. To me this feels core to the essence of what Meredith is about.
I found myself wandering around the amphitheatre, not quite sure where I was going after the Welcome, then when Dr Sure’s Unusual Practice burst onto the stage with the call of “I’m going uuuuppp” from their song Escalator Man, I knew where I was going: to the front to witness a dream come true for this band of mates. Dr Sure himself (Dougal Shaw) came out on stage wearing a massive golden papier-mâché headress – impressively this stayed on for three songs, til it got way too hot. A local favourite, there were many people stoked to see them on the stage –including most evidently themselves – as Dougal spoke of dreaming together and manifestation. As he tells the crowd towards the end: if we dream together anything is achievable, playing Meredith or abolishing the police. There’s an anti-colonial agenda that runs throughout the banter from Dougal and he takes a moment before playing recent single No Pigs to raise the voice of the voiceless for Palestine, West Papua, Sudan, Congo and all other places around the world impacted by colonial regimes.
Making the journey from Bunhungura, a 20 minute drive from Gapuwiyak in Arnhem Land was Drifting Clouds, the self-proclaimed “chillest band in Arnhem Land”. The one song they've released, Bawuypawuy, was my favourite song of 2025. There was a lot of personal excitement for this set. What ensued was a dreamy 40-minutes of infectious grooves with lots of dancing throughout. What Terry Guyala is able to do so well is bring thousands-year-old songlines and wisdom into infectious grooves. When he made mention of his totem and old stories throughout it was in equal measure poignant and fun. At the end of the set many boots were raised for Buwuypawuy. At this time, he asked for everyone to put their sunglasses on. So far, Drifting Clouds had shown how cool they are, but now they made everyone feel cool with them. As he breezed through his set of mostly unreleased songs, it built the anticipation for another official release. I know because this is what was overheard after the set.
Folk Bitch Trio have had a big year, mostly based overseas touring, so coming back to packed ampitheatre was clearly a thrill for the band and the audience. Sounding like the soundtrack to a coming-of-age movie, it was the type of set that could entrance or wash over you. You could feel the friendship of Grace Sinclair, Jeanie Pikington and Heide Peverelle stitched through their harmonies.
As the afternoon started to shift into early evening it was time to head back to the campsite for a pit-stop. Hearing Saya Gray from the campsite, there were multiple words to the effect of “really should get back to to see this”. Even though there's only one stage, it isn’t quite possible to see everything. I did make it back for Brown Spirits, another local band who were clearly stoked to be there. The prog-meets-motorik rhythms of this krautrock band really hypnotises you as your face melts to the ground. The band jammed through their set with the sun dipping behind the stage — it was a magical moment.
As darkness descended, it was time for Perfume Genius to make his way onto the stage – an idiosyncratic artist who has taken many different guises across different albums. It was a spectacle as he contorted himself into different shapes, the performance as much about visual intensity as the emotion conveyed through the music. The front-end of his set consisted of songs mainly from recent album ‘Glory’, then the second-half spanned his discography. Whilst I had a curious listen to Perfume Genius previously, I had never had the chance to see him live, and in that moment I was completely captivated by his craft and the way he expresses himself through his performance.
As we bounced between the campsite and the amphitheatre, I was reminded of the power of late-night conversations. The type of yarns that are both nonsense yet solving the world's problems at the same time.
After the near-perfect weather of the Friday, a storm threatened Saturday. As per Saturday morning tradition, the Ballarat Municipal Brass Band played the Rocky theme as we were running to put a tarp on our couch before rain fell like my Philadelphia steps. With the unpredictability of the weather, I listened to Mouseatouille from afar – the expansive folk-rock collective's expansive sound was the ideal way to begin the day.
The Prize were not on stage to ease anyone’s hangover, but rather to blast the cobwebs out and get the blood pumping. A distinctly Melbourne-sounding take on 70s power-pop with shared vocals and very tight rhythm section.
The showers of rain came and went from morning into the afternoon. My favourite interstitial set was provided by DJ Fee B2 – a rain-inspired set of songs which included Rain – Dragon, raingurl – yaeji and Africa – Toto. It was very fun and felt right on point. The rain started to clear after this, as Radio Free Alice took to the stage. With a sound that is as indebted to that of The Smiths or perhaps more so to the bands from the 2000’s who revived that sound. Are we in the indie rock revival revival? Well I could very easily say music trends are cyclical, nothing is original etc. etc. but the might of both Radio Free Alice’s set and Bar Italia’s later in the day makes me think that regardless of originality, it is a very exciting time for rock music once again.
The belated announcement of The Peep Tempel at Meredith was serendipitousfor my Meredith crew of faithfuls, who were excited as our dear friend Trevor visited from overseas to experience the Supernatural Amphitheatre with us once again. The opening riff of crowd favourite Carol ’seared out as the rain started to pour. The hook “I don’t think Trevor is good for you” roared as the heavens opened up. Not sure about fictional Trevor in the song but we know our Trevor was good for us – what we were witnessing was a cherished moment unfolding in motion which for many years I know we will look back on. Everyone who goes to this festival has a story like this, and this one is etched in our group's Meredith lore forevermore.
As the rain set in, Dames Brown shifted the mood in a completely different direction. Their soul vocals with disco-inflected beats signaled it was party time, and backing it up with Omar Souleyman from Syria was an inspired choice. The dabke-techno king had the crowd in the palm of his hand. This timeslot in the afternoon is usually reserved for a DJ but these two acts certainly got the crowd dancing. Meredith has a way of taking bits and pieces from all over the world with a local focus and making it all work together. This afternoon's arrangement is a perfect example of this.
The crowd had started to dwindle after a big afternoon but for those that stuck around, Oddisee & Good Compny was a treat. Good Compny is a tight band leaning into the jazzy side of hip hop, laying a foundation for Oddisee’s lyrics and his unique flow to take centre stage. He has an uncanny ability to switch up cadence at ease. From this point onwards, Oddisee & Good Compny into Chet Faker saw different spectrums of soulful tunes being brought to the fore.
Chet Faker wound the clock back 10 years with a set that lifted largely from his much cherished ‘Built On Glass’ album, starting the set with getting the crowd to sing the tune to ‘Gold’. It showed that although he has been away from the spotlight for some time with a new album on the way many of the songs from this album still endure. The multi instrumentalist spent most of the set on piano joined by a drummer and guitarist on most of the songs, stripping back to just him and the warmth of the piano on ‘I’m Into You’ really showcased his musicianship which was displayed across the set.
As the night fell over Meredith once again, TV On The Radio proved to be the big drawcard, taking the audience on an exhilarating ride through the full experience of their art-rock sound. Backing up atmospheric slower songs with driving high energy, it showed a band unafraid to play with dynamics to great effect. Playing Happy Idiot and Wolf Like Me early in the set showed they play to their own rules and it is not so much about back-ending with the biggest tracks.
The evening took a complete detour as ATARASHI GAKKO! took to the stage. It was high energy and deranged J-Pop with incredible choreography and bizarre stories which included multiple staged deaths of band members. Tt was unpredictable. At this time of day it felt like night terrors but everyone enjoyed the wild ride.
Kaytetye DJ and producer, RONA. was a set that I did not want to miss. I could feel bed beckoning but the rhythmic euphoria of a RONA. set overpowered the weariness of the body despite the one-and-a-half slot at 1:20am. It is full body music as she wraps the sounds of her Country through the EDM prism. Sovereignty was a theme that ran throughout. She planned the set as an extension of her recent It’s All Here EP. There was some well-selected spoken word pieces from SOLCHLD and a protest speech from Uncle Gary Foley. It was powerful seeing a Blakfulla take to the stage doing their thing their way, and bringing their culture to the front. A special moment was finding a friend who had gotten engaged the night before as RONA. finished her set with a rework of ‘Sunshine On A Rainy Day’. Whilst it was cold and I was tired, none of that mattered in that moment. Again, it’s all about the special moments with friends.
Even doing it all sober, on Sunday morning I wondered to myself with a weary head, "have I overdone it?" as I headed down to the ampitheatre one more time for Guy Blackman’s jangle-folk about queerness and the mundanity of life. The extended band which included horns, violins and harmonising vocals felt like a very wholesome way to spend the morning, alongside a coffee and bacon and egg sandwich from the legendary Community Tucker Tent.
The Central Australian Aboriginal Women’s Choir was the last performance I was able to take in before packing up camp, although a flat car battery was perhaps some way of saying we had to stay longer. The blending of German Luther songs and the continuation of Ptjinarara and Western Arrente language through song made for a really special performance. The choir lead spoke of the need for common use of First languages in Australia.
Some words that stuck with me throughout the festival came from Uncle Barry’s Welcome: that he sometimes finds himself “...living in the past, present and the future. This weekend I just want to live in the present". At the time, this really resonated as I was preparing myself for the weekend, feeling grounded during these proceedings. As I look back I’m grateful to have been able to spend this time with friends, immersing myself in a wide variety of sonic delights. It’s one of those rare weekends where the outside worries of the world don’t seem to matter so much, and the time spent with those I love is what really matters.
By Will Brussen
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