Overview
It's been a long time between drinks for music festivals in NSW. Across the ditch, New Zealand has been hosting major music events for months and even up north in Brisbane smaller-scale music festivals have been back on the cards. But, if you're a Sydneysider, footage from NZ's Rhythm and Vines festival may seem like a parallel universe at this point.
These scenes may not be so alien to NSW for much longer, however, with Wollongong's annual two-day music festival Yours and Owls becoming the state's second major festival to be granted the go-ahead from the NSW Government. Yours and Owls announced on Thursday, March 4 that its COVID-19 safety plan had been approved by the NSW Government and Health Minister, which would allow the event to take place across Saturday, April 17 and Sunday, April 18.
The news comes three weeks after Byron Bay's Bluesfest was given a provisional green light to go ahead over the Easter long weekend. While the Bluesfest announcement came with an outline of the COVID-safe plan, Yours and Owls is keeping things more vague, announcing: "to ensure we have every angle covered and our eggs spread across multiple baskets, we have developed plans for a number of different format options, to ensure we are in the best possible position to run the event within whatever parameters are in place come our event date."
The event is currently scheduled for its usual home at Stuart Park, located just behind the North Wollongong foreshore; however, this is subject to change depending on what format the festival takes.
The festival will be headlined by a collection of beloved locals including PNAU, DMA's, Tones and I and What So Not, as well as TikTok sensation Benee who will be making the trip over from New Zealand. Benee, DMA's and Tones and I's performances will serve as somewhat of bookends to the state's festival drought, after all three performed at one of NSW's last pre-pandemic festivals, Laneway 2020. A range of rising stars, industry mainstays and local Wollongong talent fill out the 50-plus artists performing across the two days.
Alongside the announcement, Yours and Owls has released a handful of tickets to the previously sold out event. You can find them via Moshtix, but be fast as they're unlikely to last long.
Benee
Yours and Owls has been given a provisional green light to host its 2021 festival on Saturday, April 17 and Sunday, April 18.