Sad but predictable news for music festival fans and regional Australians came through on Thursday, February 4 when Groovin the Moo promoter Cattleyard Promotions confirmed the regional festival would not go ahead in 2021, citing current gathering and travel restrictions and uncertainty around the future.
It's not all bad news though, with the announcement of a smaller regional touring festival in Groovin's place. Fresh Produce is the new concert series designed to exist within the ever-changing government regulations surrounding events and running in regional towns across eight weekends through August, September and October.
In VIC, Fresh Produce will be taking over the Prince of Wales Showgrounds in Bendigo on Friday, September 24 and Saturday, September 25.
The lineup differs city-to-city, but across all eight cities, patrons will be treated to Triple J favourites Lime Cordiale, Mallrat, Cosmo's Midnight and G Flip, Hottest 100 runner-ups Spacey Jane, as well as Western Sydney rap sensation Hooligan Hefs. Joining them will be an exciting collection of young local acts..
Fresh Produce is partially funded by the Restart Investment to Sustain and Expand (RISE) Government initiative that also assisted Splendour in the Grass organisers Secret Sounds to run their new socially-distanced events Summer Sounds.
Fresh Produce tickets go on sale at 9am on Thursday, February 18. You can find all the info and the lineup for each city at the Fresh Produce website.
Image: Groovin The Moo Bunbury 2017, Jack Toohey