Turning 21 is not always a joyous affair. Often, celebrations involve embarrassingly drunk speeches, unwanted costume themes and a curfew which arrives just as things are heating up. Fortunately, Aunty Meredith’s celebration of the 21st year of Meredith Music Festival refused to run through these stale motions. Instead, it allowed each of the 15,000 or so in attendance to sink their teeth into three days of unhindered festivities as they saw fit.

Meredith began in 1991 as a party for about 200 close friends on the Nolan family farm. Its philosophy, from day one, was not based on profit or to posture itself as having the ‘biggest and best’ summer line up. This is ultimately the charm of the entire festival – its simplicity. For 21 years, it has maintained these non-commercial, self-sustaining values, making Meredith a rare species in the festival landscape.

This year, the Friday began with the sun beaming down upon the freshly constructed campsites and plenty of pre-noon laughter. It becomes apparent during this time that the festival is not just about being at the stage. Often, the best times are had at your own (or even strangers) campsites, having circular conversations and falling backwards off camping chairs.

With only one stage, there is no pulling set times out of pockets, rushing back and forward concerning oneself with clashes. Meredith seems purposefully designed to do away with any hastiness for fear of ‘missing out’.

Early Friday evening, the music was well underway. The much lauded Unknown Mortal Orchestra complimented the weather with their sugary grooves, played to a fresh-faced crowd. Tracks like Ffunny Friends and How Can U Luv Me echoed up the very green amphitheatre to the already very ripe Meredith party vibe. Although their delivery sounded a lot less clean live than off their self-titled debut album, the energy nonetheless translated.

Later, Explosions in the Sky punched out a gripping performance. Their epic crescendos and big cymbal crashes poured over the awe-filled onlookers. Whilst their sound was enormous, it gave the full amphitheatre a contented stillness as the sun went down and the heat subsided.

Following this, the Friday night line-up didn’t seem to blow any minds. Ladyhawke’s performance was sadly underwhelming, Future of the Left only catered for distinct tastes, and Juiceboxxx’s egotistical and very unballsy hip-hop seemed like some form of practical joke (and an unfunny one at that).

Gang Gang Dance provided some relief on Friday night with their eccentric, outer worldly sounds. They were definitely an act that had their moments. With a few technical issues, and maybe too much room to experiment with, there was only a few times when they got into their simpler sounds. Tracks like Mindkilla provided one of these spot-on moments where people did anything but stay still.

Following that mind-bending performance, the instruments left the stage to the pleasure of those more partial to the electronic. Harmonic 313, aka Mark Pritchard played until the (probably much-needed) curfew. He played more drum and bass sounding set than expected, leaving all subtleties behind.