Happy Wanderer Camping Festival 2015 Lineup Is Here

You know summer's just around the corner when your social calendar and budget spreadsheet start filling up with must-attend festival lineups and your FOMO rages out of control. There are so many new and returning festivals coming up, we are truly spoilt for choice. But how do you decide which horse to bet on?

Happy Wanderer is an off-the-beaten-track festival option, running October 31 to November 2 on an organic farm in Benalla, Victoria. They announced their headliners today and it’s a cornucopia of delight for fans of more laidback tunes and old-school Americana, with Jess Ribeiro, The Eastern, Sal Kimber and the Rollin’ Wheel, Archer, The Eighty 88s, James Kenyon, That Gold Street Sound, Nigel Wearne, Harry Jakamarra, Emilee South and Jane Sea.

But the Happy Wanderer crew earn extra brownie points for letting you try before you buy, with an ongoing residency at The Gasometer Hotel that showcases what the festival will offer. The final instalment of the preview is on this Thursday, September 27, and features Melbourne reggae band El Moth, supported by The Electric I and Emi.

Like many festival these days, the Happy Wanderer is a lifestyle choice as well as a sweet lineup. The HW ethos revolves around volunteerism — in fact, the festival began as a working bee on an organic farm. In its third year now, the festival has grown in scope to include three stages, a Discovery Dome for workshops, bars, food tents and trucks, coffee stations, camping and most importantly a rubber duck race on Broken River. Though it continues to expand, HW still holds onto their original purpose: a gathering of kin on a beautiful farm (and rubber duck racing, always).

Happy Wanderer is happening at Yin Barun, Benalla, from October 31 to November 2. Tickets $160pp (camping and three-day admission included), available here.