Fairgrounds Festival

Overview

There's a brand new festival coming to New South Wales, sporting a mini-Meredith lineup, an outdoor cinema and an independent record market. Plus, it's in one of Australia's prettiest coastal towns.

Fairgrounds is Australia's newest boutique music festival, coming to the NSW town of Berry this December. It's just two hours out of Sydney on the south coast, so one easy peasy road trip. Pioneered by Handsome Tours, the shiny new festival fuses local food, boutique beverages, markets, movies and music in one sweet-sounding event.

Taking cues from the recently-announced Meredith lineup, Fairgrounds' folk, pop and garage-focused lineup will see LA-based crooner Father John Misty headline, with Brooklyn glitchy duo RATATAT and dream pop legends Mercury Rev at the top. San Francisco's quirky characters Unknown Mortal Orchestra will be there, alongside folk-rocker Jessica Pratt, Sydney's immortal Royal Headache and the gospel dancehall blues of C.W. Stoneking.

While music is your main drawcard to most festivals, Fairgrounds has given more weight to the in-between elements than many festivals do. Foodies will find a gastronomical paradise at the event, the Fairgrounds Garden Bar, with wines and local nibbles sourced from neighbouring estates. Think gourmet cheese plates, Kangaroo Valley Olives and fresh rock oysters from An Australian Affair Oyster Bar, harvested less than half an hour from the festival site. There's more casual offerings onsite too, from woodfire pizza food truck Happy As Larry to Enmore American nosh-lovin' newcomers Bovine and Swine Barbecue Co and Mama Linh’s Vietnamese Street Food — all washed down with Young Henrys and Berry's own Silos Estate wine.

Fairgrounds’ Village Markets will also be right there for the best in South Coast snacking, including beef jerky, popcorn, homespun cakes, fresh donuts and much more. There'll be markets and field games — sounds like someone enjoyed Secret Garden Festival — and the best bit? There'll be an outdoor cinema: Fairgrounds' Cinema Under the Stars, presented by Madman Films.

FAIRGROUNDS 2015 LINE-UP (SO FAR):

Adam Gibson and the Ark Ark Birds
Ben Abraham
C. W. Stoneking
Father John Misty
Le Pie
Jessica Pratt
Le Pie
Meg Mac
Mercury Rev
Methyl Ethel
Ratatat
Royal Headache
Shining Bird
Unknown Mortal Orchestra

Fairgrounds Festival is happening on Saturday, December 5 in Berry, NSW. Earlybird 'Fairgrounds Founder' tickets are $110 and go on sale on Thursday 20 August at fairgrounds.com.au and moshtix.com.au. Kids under 12 enter the festival for free. You can choose to stay offsite in a B&B, or Fairgrounds offers onsite camping.

Image: Dollar Photo Club.