Golden Plains Festival
The Golden Plains Festival is held over three days during the Victorian Labour Day long-weekend on private farmland in Victoria, Australia. The nearest rural town is Meredith, which is between the regional cities of Geelong and Ballarat. The closest metropolitan city is Melbourne, 90 kilometres away.
Golden Plains Festival | |
---|---|
Genre | various |
Dates | Victorian Labour Day Weekend |
Location(s) | Victoria, Australia |
Years active | 2007–2020, 2023– |
Website | Official Website |
About the festival
Golden Plains is an outdoor camping festival in Australian bushland. The farmland is nicknamed the Meredith Supernatural Amphitheatre for the event; the natural amphitheatre itself is where the bands play. The surrounding areas – with names such as Spring Valley, North Pines, Mulwaverley, Tasmania, Kevin and West Kevin host bush camping. Most festival attendees sleep in tents or vans.
The band-viewing area, the amphitheatre, has views over typical Western District farm land which looks quite pretty at Sunset. There is only one stage at Meredith, which serves to concentrate attention on the music. Views from around the amphitheatre are unimpeded. The stage is nestled in a grove of native Australian eucalyptus trees.
Golden Plains has a non-commercial ethos, which is a major point of difference between it and other outdoor music festivals. It has no commercial sponsors and there is no commercial signage on the site. Attendees must bring their own alcohol only (in plastic or cans, not glass) – except for the Pink Flamingo Bar, open to those over 18 for cocktails. All fires are prohibited, so attendees usually buy food on-site. There are food and coffee outlets to the left and right of the stage area.
Artists to have played at the festival include Bon Iver, Nile Rodgers, Pavement, Cat Power, Moodymann, Mulatu Astake, Tallest Man On Earth, George Clinton, Yo La Tengo, Comets on Fire, Ween, Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, Beirut, The Dirtbombs, The Slits, Fat Freddy's Drop, The Presets, The Drones, The Vines, Iron and Wine, Gotye, Jay Reatard, Mad Professor, Gary Numan, Sebastian & Kavinsky, Quintron And Miss Pussycat, Royal Headache, Muscles and many more.
Golden Plains 2010 featured cult American act Pavement, playing their second show on a worldwide reunion tour of 2010. The event also featured the likes of Calexico, Dinosaur Jr, The Dirty Projectors, The Big Pink, Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra and Tame Impala.
The land on which the festival takes place is owned by the Nolan family. The first festival was held in 2007, and was sold out and attended by 7,500 people. The 2009 Golden Plains Festival was held on the second weekend in March.
Golden Plains has twice won 'Australia's Favorite Festival' in Faster Louder's Festival Awards.[1] voted by the festival-going public. The event was named best overall event and Best Management & Facilities in 2008 & 2009.[2]
The 2020 festival missed the national lockdown imposed soon after it ran, but the 2021 festival was cancelled in December 2020.[3]
Awards and nominations
Music Victoria Awards
The Music Victoria Awards, are an annual awards night celebrating Victorian music. They commenced in 2005.[4][5]
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
---|---|---|---|
2015[6] | Golden Plains Festival | Best Festival | Won |
2017 | Golden Plains Festival | Best Festival | Nominated |
2018[7] | Golden Plains Festival | Best Festival | Won |
2019[8] | Golden Plains Festival | Best Festival | Won |
2020[9][10] | Golden Plains Festival | Best Festival | Won |
National Live Music Awards
The National Live Music Awards (NLMAs) are a broad recognition of Australia's diverse live industry, celebrating the success of the Australian live scene. The awards commenced in 2016.
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
---|---|---|---|
National Live Music Awards of 2017[11][12] | Golden Plains Festival | Live Event of the Year | Nominated |
Victorian Live Event of the Yeart | Won |
Golden Plains Lineups
This is a list of Golden Plains lineups by year:
See also
References
- "FasterLouder Festival Awards : 2009". www.fasterlouder.com.au. Archived from the original on 6 November 2010. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
- FasterLouder Festival Awards Archived 2010-10-23 at the Wayback Machine, Winner - Australia's Favourite Festival.
- "Golden Plains 2021 Cancelled: 'One More Spin Around The Sun Should Do The Trick'". The Music. Handshake Media Pty Ltd. 9 December 2020. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
- "Previous Nominess". Music Victoria. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
- "Previous Winners". Music Victoria. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
- "Previous Winners". Music Victoria. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
- "Previous Winners". Music Victoria. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
- "Previous Winners". Music Victoria. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
- "Industry Awards Winners And Hall Of Fame Inductees Revealed + 2020 Music Victoria Awards Nominees Announced With Public Voting Now Open!". Music Victoria. 9 October 2020. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
- "Sampa The Great Walks Off With a Stack of Music Victoria Awards". noise11. 10 December 2020. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
- "NLMA reveal 2017 Nominees". NLMA. 9 October 2017. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
- "Winners 2017". NLMA. December 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
- "._ Golden Plains _". 2007.goldenplains.com.au. Retrieved 2018-05-25.
- "GOLDEN PLAINS". 2008.goldenplains.com.au. Retrieved 2018-05-25.
- "Golden Plains · The Third One · 7-9 March 2009 · Complete LineUp and Playing Times". 2009.goldenplains.com.au. Retrieved 2018-05-25.
- "Golden Plains Number 4 • 6-8 March 2010 • Meredith Supernatural Amphitheatre · Who's Playing". 2010.goldenplains.com.au. Retrieved 2018-05-25.
- "Golden Plains No.5 · 12-14 March 2011 · Who's Playing". 2011.goldenplains.com.au. Retrieved 2018-05-25.
- "Who's Playing · Golden Plains Sixxx · 10-12 March 2012". 2012.goldenplains.com.au. Retrieved 2018-05-25.
- "Who's Playing – Golden Plains Lucky Seven - March 9–11 2013". 2013.goldenplains.com.au. Retrieved 2018-05-25.
- "Who's Playing · Golden Plains Music Festival 8". 2014.goldenplains.com.au. Retrieved 2018-05-25.
- "Who's Playing — Golden Plains Number Nine". 2015.goldenplains.com.au. Retrieved 2018-05-25.
- "Golden Plains 2016". 2016.goldenplains.com.au. Retrieved 2018-05-25.
- "Golden Plains 2017". 2017.goldenplains.com.au. Retrieved 2018-05-25.
- "Golden Plains 2018". Golden Plains 2018. Retrieved 2018-05-25.
- "Golden Plains 2019". Golden Plains 2019. Retrieved 2019-03-19.
- "Golden Plains 2020". Golden Plains 2020. Retrieved 2020-05-02.
- "Golden Plains 2023". Golden Plains 2023. Retrieved 2023-05-05.