The first ever UTribe festival proved to be three days of exceptionally positive atmosphere, endless rhythms and more intimacy than the swath of Australian festivals.

Held in a large park past Melany, it was a – œreturn to roots’ for the organisers who had seen their Maleny Folk Festival turn into the growing monster that is the Woodford Folk Festival since 1994. While much of the crowd were the same as Woodford punters, and many items even had Woodford Folk Festival written on them (including the wristbands!) the atmosphere was much more laid back, far less crowded and more like a very large collection of friends.

Pulling in to the first day of the festival amidst crowds of awkward volunteers doing last-minute set-ups, one could see rows of lanterns above tie-dyed rainbow shirts, vegan food stalls and passers by smiling and meeting each other. As the first sound systems began to blast, the smatterings of hipped-up combi vans and custom tent palaces began to empty into the festival for the opening ceremony, a corroboree of Indigenous dancers painted in white dancing to a psytrance-like didgeridoo to an awestruck crowd. The ceremony, the sunset and the atmosphere of the festival was particularly special.

Circles dotted the grounds where people who hadn’t even swapped names passed around fresh food. People smiled and hugged strangers; every stranger was a new friend. Long haired girls hula-hooped to the reggae sounds at the edge of the crowd as the festival-goers, completely lacking inhibition, flailed to the rhythms and the psychedelic lights from the stage.

UTribe featured few, if any, big name acts. Local artists dominated the lineup, and while artists such as Ash Grunwald and Tijuana Cartel may have greater recognition and some of the most intense crowds, it was surprise acts like euro-folk-pirate band Rapskallion pulling hidden melodies out of their oversized hats and supremely catchy reggae stylin’ of Fyah Walk that provided the greatest stimulation. Almost all of the acts played more than once over the festival, too, so no one was ever missed for scheduling.

The few hours of dust on Saturday night was a serious dent in the unbelievably positive atmosphere of the festival. While many were completely unfazed and danced even stronger, hundreds headed back to shelter and some even left the festival.

While ostensibly a music festival, in reality UTribe was much more. It was a festival of sharing cultural awareness, ecological conscience, good vibes and lots of excellent and affordable food. Free workshops in yoga, unlocking creativity, Falun Gong lessons, speeches on alternative practices and social activism covered the entire three days. These included talks on how Aboriginal families pass down their fading culture, talks on sovereignty of the individual person and a very addictive African Drum workshop.

As night fell, and the temperature dropped the music took control and the coloured, flashing lights spread across the beautiful countryside surroundings.