Easter Long Weekend at Sounds on Sunday is always a popular and sold out event, and this year was no exception. With over 20 different artists performing over the day, there was bound to be something for everyone’s taste.

The weather was doing silly things all afternoon: with cloud, then sun, then cloud, and then sun… Followed by rain later on in the evening. Still, at $40 a ticket it seemed that no one was going to be deterred from making their way to North Sydney for one of the biggest Sounds events of the year.

With the Chapel filled to the rafters during the day, it was definitely a change from Sounds the week before when the only people to be seen in the room were the bar staff and the DJs. But with the multitude of acts that were playing, I couldn’t possibly get around to seeing them all… so here are a few highlights from the ones I did manage to catch.

Stafford Brothers were certainly heating things up when I arrived, but I’m not sure whether the warmth of the crowd was coming from the guys dancing, or the girls blushing! The two boys from QLD are certainly a hit with the ladies, and the girls don’t seem to mind letting them know it. At the same time, Graham Cordery was funkin’ things up in true house style as he began his set in the Chapel. I had the pleasure of recently hearing him play at another event, and it was good to get the chance to see him one more time before he heads off to play in Ibiza in July.

Following Cordery was the house master himself John Devecchis, sneaking in some minimal sounds while still giving the crowd what they loved: but he had this clubber waving his hands in appreciation when he dropped Dousk-Caribou. It was hard to leave the Chapel after that, but Mo Funk was playing in the Hijack room at the same time so I took a wander over.

I walked in to hear the Serato Scratch king playing a bit of old school Bootsy Collins, followed up with A Roller Skating Jam Named Saturday and even some Skeelo thrown in the mix. How this man manages to find these remixes is beyond my comprehension, not to mention what he can do with them live!

While all this was all going on inside, Goodwill was playing in the Courtyard. Whilst his set started off strong, he knew he was in for trouble when the rain started… So he reached in the refrigerated section of his record bag and pulled out just a hint of cheese, which succeeded in keeping most of the crowd firmly in place. But as soon as it stopped raining, it was shoved back in the fridge alongside the olives and guacamole.

Other than that it was an excellent set from Goodwill, leading nicely into the much-touted live performance from Aussie heroes Infusion. The trio is comprised of Frank Xavier, Manuel Sharrad and Jamie Stevens and together, they had the Courtyard rocking out for the entire set, leaving the rain-drenched crowd dry and ready for more by the time things were wrapping up. Sadly this was not to be as a police raid closed down Sounds earlier than scheduled at 10pm, half way through the sets of James Taylor, MC Losty, Ben Morris, Laminex and Elroy. While the night was originally slotted to kick on until 11pm, unfortunately the music was turned off and the dogs bought in. By the time the police left, most people had gone and Sounds closed its doors for another Easter Long Weekend.

Another smashing installment of Sounds on Easter Sunday. Possibly next year the ticket sales could be pulled back slightly to allow the punters room to dance, rather than being shoulder-to-shoulder and two stepping in the courtyard and halls. All in all, the DJs were spinning some amazing tracks and everyone seemed to be having a good time…. And even the Easter bunny popped in for a visit!