Foreshore Summer MusicFestival all set for Saturday!

Thu 26th Nov, 2009 in Local News

Cast your mind back to the heady days of 2007, when Sneaky Sound System was still a solid club act, when the Presets and over-saturation didn’t fit that well together in a sentence, when Kyle Sandilands face wasn’t hilariously being printed on rolls of cheap toilet paper. Lexington,now under the new banner of Kicks along with Friction, announced a new festival in an already busy summer calendar: Foreshore Summer Music Festival. The original lineup boasted Sneaky Sound System as headliners, and along with Midnight Juggernauts the show was a success, despite inclement weather. The victory was duly noted and the following year the Presets played to the thunderous approval of 12,000 washed out lunatics. This year sees our little festival truly come into its own, supporting three stages full of huge artists and ticking all the boxes major that festivals should.

This year’s lineup easily rivals some of the more established summer shows from other major centres. Luke Steele will be prancing around with his neon ensemble of oddballs when Empire of the Sun unleashes its spectacular theatrics. Canadian dance music Renaissance man Deadmau5, aka Joel Zimmerman will investigate the limits of his giant air-cooled head in the mid afternoon sun while the mighty Stanton Warriors will take us over their knee and spank us.

Expect some cracking new material from Mark Yardley and Dominic B, fresh from massive shows in the Northern Hemisphere. Anyone that can remember their mammoth set at Goodvibes this year will be trembling at the knees at the prospect of another…

Fans of Italian electro wunderkinds the Bloody Beetroots shouldn’t miss the opportunity to see them, as next year they plan on retooling their sound, focusing on their live presence. After a lightning-in-a-bottle show earlier this year in Kingston their return is marked with huge anticipation.

Axwell, a member of the so-called “Swedish House Mafia”, brings piano powered house that just screams summer, while Milan remix kings Crookers launch a fidget house attack. Munich artist Zombie Nation will bring a great mix of tech-hop, funky house and what i’ve heard is a unique live show, definitely worth checking out. A hungry pack of local DJs will have their own stage to play with, and it’s a solid list of artists so get behind them. Club vet Tim Galvin will be spinning, and DJ Briksta and DJ Just 1 are names to remember.

Apart from the lineup, which speaks for itself, the obvious drawcard is the location. There’s something about the young masses heaving and writhing in the summer sun by the lake (while under the stern gaze of parliament house) which gives this festival its unique personality. It’s a cheeky apposition that bubbles just under the surface of Canberra, rarely getting a chance to break out from under the grey weight of the boring Public Service cliché that both locals and visitors seem so ready to swallow. Foreshore is clear evidence that not only does the ACT know how to put on a party, they WANT to put on a party.

After taking a look at how it’s organised this year my advice is this: get there early, plan your day, plan for rain, plan for sun, just PLAN. More money is being spent on everything this year, so expect a more organised event, able to accommodate more people and offering more facilities and amenities. Be warned though: no cash machines means take money on the day. No bludging tinnies off strangers, you skint bastards!

Mark these words: this will be a weekend to remember, so get involved. See you there!