Overview
The term ‘boutique’ has accrued a lot of synonyms since coming into common parlance in recent years. When attached to a festival, it usually means ‘overpriced’, ‘obscure’ and ‘painfully hip’. But in a depressing festival landscape of hot, sticky summer sameness, one Brisbane crew is restoring the glory to the boutique festival name. The second Jungle Love is coming in November and they’ve carried on the integrity that defined their debut 2014 festival.
So how does a festival do ‘boutique’ justice? Oh let us count the ways. Despite a relatively limited budget, the two-day lineup is impressive and mostly locally-sourced (all power to homegrown produce). It currently includes The Cairos, The Belligerents, Baskervillain, The Bombay Royale, The Cactus Channel, Bullhorn, The Durries, Resin Dogs, The Tommyhawks plus a fair few more and there’s still another artist announcement coming.
Jungle Love's lineup was chosen not necessarily for their ability to court triple j airtime but their stage presence, crowd-wooing tricks and the quality of the music they make. It’s a refreshing change from the standard festival shuffle of the top-played radio darlings and a return to what the summer festival should be: just a small group of people, hanging out in nature and enjoying some quality tunes. And don't forget the nosh — local culinary crews Lost Boys and Kettle and Tin will be there serving up organic chow to the happy masses.
Location-wise, Jungle Love also solves the whole deadly-summer-heat thing (something most festivals overlook) by picking a spot with an onsite swimming creek. So bring your cutest togs and inflatable ring for dips between sets. It's just two hours' drive north of Brisbane, at Borumba Deer Park.
But the best thing about Jungle Love, the thing that will melt hearts and draw crowds? It’s BYO, as nature intended. No more $10+ cans of Smirnoff Festival Edition™ that taste like sugary nuclear runoff. No more waiting in bar lines and missing important sets and feeling obliged to give your dog mates front cutsies. No more!
All good things happen from the ground up, and you can have a hand in making Jungle Love a reality. The festival's Pozible campaign is running for another 22 hours and they’re close to their funding target. You can buy your tickets through the Pozible page or just donate some love to a worthy cause.
Jungle Love Festival runs November 27-28 at Borumba Deer Park, 1133 Yabba Creek Road, Imbil (Sunshine Coast Hinterland). For more info, visit Jungle Love's website.
Images: Chelsea Heaney, Freya Lamont and Irie Langlois.