Cairns Winter Solstice Festival @ Woodleigh Station, Cairns (20/06/08)

Wow…. What an epic four days of frolicking in the great outdoors. I’m still trying to ease myself back into the real world. My experience at the festival was amazing from beginning to end. Massive props go out to organisers and everyone involved, as everything was done superbly.

I was completely breathtaken with the site. An abundance of trees provided shady camping spots with a fresh water river running close by to cool off in, and the three stages were all within reach of the camping areas and access to the toilets was easy and close. None of the stages clashed in sound, and from where I was camping, only one stage dominated in volume so you could comfortably listen to beats back at your temporary home. Adding to the concept of the festival was the variety of activities. Music workshops, healing spaces, night time cinema with documentaries and fun flicks for the kids, pony rides, bush walks, face painting, ice art and much much more.

The ‘freeform’ stage was the heartbeat of the party, running 24hrs over the whole four days, only stopping for a brief period while the main stage got underway. Nestled in amongst trees, a river backdrop and funky decor made this space look and feel great. Situated at the end of the markets and only a short walking distance to food, toilets and camping, this was a primo little spot. The sound quality in this space was wicked and it was a cosy place with plenty of people to warm it up. The vibe here was always happy and fun and it was a great spot for chatting, bustin’ a move or running a muck with friends.

The ‘chill dome’ was a very inviting space that used geometrical shaping to form its dome-like structure. It was a great place for families, kids and max chillers alike. A laid back area were people could play and fire twirl or eat and relax. Groovy dub, down beat, reggae and funk tunes playing all day and night set the scene. Decorated brightly and beautifully, it was the perfect place to kick back.

The ‘Solstice’ stage was a huge setup with trees and wide open skies as a backdrop. Heaps of space to allow for the crowds the headliners were guaranteed to pull. Plenty of shading and space for everyone to stretch out and really carve up the dust. This stage was the location of the opening ceremony that was beautifully worded and crafted; a story of earth and elements choreographed with innocence and elegance. Everyone gathered around at this time, and the excitement grew for the music that was to come. Mystic beats opened up and were followed by a wicked line up of talent from all styles including Spoonbill, Digitalis, Ace Ventura, Tetrameth, Sun Control Species, Urban Monkeys and more.

The decor throughout the whole festival was really colourful and creative. Great use of lighting through the night, and decorations in the trees always make for nice spots to take some time out. Visuals by local VJ Phosphorus were also great stimuli. This talented guy is coming from a positive place and that really shines through in his art. Also deserving of a mention was VJ VDMO KStati, whose “Drop visuals not bombs” clip really stood out for me. And to top it off, being surrounded by the beauty of nature is enough to please any groover.

The local talent in far north Queensland has really been reaching a new level of quality in these last couple of years. There was a long list of local Producers and DJs performing at this festival all with a variety of tunes. I cant go into details about every local that played, as there was just sooo much awesome music at this party, but my favourites were the Urban Monkeys, Lazarus, Anatamous Audio, Backwards Man, Woodsman and Drewan. A personal highlight for me was when the Urban Monkeys took to the main stage on Sunday afternoon and the crowd went electric! It was easy to see that these boys were definitely one of the favourite acts at the festival and when they played, it was easy to understand why. The vibe in the crowd was positive and uplifting and the dancefloor was solid and deep. Everyone was smiling, laughing and grinding away without a care in the world. The boys truly had the crowd feeding out of their hands. They played a chunkY live set of dirty electro/minimal/techno sounds with basslines to wobble anyone’s pelvis.

Backwards Man is definitely one of my new favourites. He is producing his own style of trip hop/glitch/ dubstep that is really rockin. I just love that phat dirty sound of a hip hop beat so anything like this just wins me over straight up. This guy has only recently started writing and the tracks he is producing are top notch dancefloor arsenal. His set was PHAT as…. funky, fresh, happy, dirty grooves. Someone to definitely keep an eye on. And Lazarus played a DJ set on Friday night that really blew me away. It was so fresh and crisp, yet so dirty. Solid grooves happening all the way through with nice bassy drops. I was up the front dancing, and there were girls everywhere just losing their fragile minds. Others worth mentioning were Ghettafunkt, The Cook and The Chef, Gavin Martin, No MSG, Suspekt and Kho FX.

Another big stand out set for me was definitely Spoonbill. This guy is pioneering his own sound of tripped out glitchy funk down beat grooves that can’t be pigeon holed. Another huge crowd pleaser, everyone was loving the carefree fun vibe that Spoonbill creates. What really makes his sets is his unique use of samples, Aussie vocals and weird sound break downs. Partnering Spoonbill on stage is VJ King Aphid, who brings his own fresh original style of visual creations to the table. They are well known to break up their sets with hilarious interludes such as ‘Good Bloke Weekly’. The two of them make an awesome combination and it really doesn’t get much fresher than this.

The best thing about this festival is definitely the vibe it puts out and the meaning behind it all. Bringing people together to appreciate mother earth and be happy in her ever beautiful presence. Rejoicing in the days and nights of our delightful existence here on earth. Sharing smiles and boogies with your fellow humans, together on the one level. If you have not yet experienced the Cairns Winter Solstice festival, I highly recommend you treat yourself to this magnificent sensory overload.

You need to be logged in to add comments... Login Now

Suspekt says...

on June 30th, 2008

What an awesome review... definitely did one of the best ever events in Far North Queensland justice! Massive weekend, big respect/thanks goes out to everyone involved... really was tops this year! Great to see Cairns back at its best again!

babzatronic says...

on June 30th, 2008

hey to anyone who is being kind enough to read my article :) firstly, thank you and secondly i just wanted to clarify something... in the section where i am talking about backwards man, i finish off by saying "others worth a mention were.... etc etc" i realised after reading the article on this page, that just saying they were worth a mention, doesnt really give them enough justice... Out of everyone i got the chance to see, the artists listed had reallly tight sets. If i could go into more detail i would, but i think i have done enough bablling for now! just wanted to clear that up :) peace yo

monkey-j says...

on July 1st, 2008

yes yes and yes! Nice review Babzatronic, for such a massive event with over 100 artists i think the review catches the vibe nicely. I am still sitting here a week later wondering if that just happened to be one of the best festivals i have ever been to in Australia! Big thanks to everyone involved in putting it all together. Cant wait for next year.......... Cairns Rocks!!

nnofxx says...

on July 7th, 2008

rockin review.... epic party... oh yeah!!

There are 4 user comments