UPDATE Thursday, July 29: Good Times Festival has been postponed to Friday, September 24 and Saturday July 25 due to the recent COVID-19 outbreaks in NSW and Victoria. Sam Teskey has also been added in the lineup in the place of Josh Teskey and Ash Grunwald who will now appear at next year's edition of the festival. The below article has been updated to reflect this.

This year's Strawberry Fields sold out in minutes, but if you missed out on tickets, the team behind the beloved regional festival is returning to its home on the border of NSW and Victoria for a more tunes and good times this July. Good Times Festival will pop up in the inland town of Tocumwal by the Murray River later this year, and is set to feature a soulful and folk-heavy lineup of Australian musicians — plus live art, workshops and a pop-up bar.

An array of events and activities will pop up throughout Tocumwal on Friday, September 24 and Saturday July 25, including a lineup of acclaimed musicians taking to the Tocumwal Memorial Hall stage. At the Memorial Hall, you can catch golden-voiced blues singer Sam Teskey of The Teskey Brothers performing songs from his upcoming solo album Cycles, as well as Emma Donovan and The Putbacks, Benny Walker, Cash Savage and The Last Drinks, and Surprise Chef.

To kick off the festival on the Friday, Good Times will also be taking over the Terminus Hotel with artists Izy, Anna Scionti and Southbank Snake Charmers. Outside the Memorial Hall, Deniliquin Street will close down on the Saturday and be transformed into thriving festival site featuring a prohibition-era speakeasy bar, fortune telling and backgammon competitions — as well as live performances from singer-songwriters including Danika Smith and Pete Denahy.

Lana Scoville, a sustainability-focused artist who has worked with Strawberry Fields and Rainbow Serpent in the past, will also be facilitating a series of workshops with local school students that will culminate in the Riverina Lantern Parade through the main street of Tocumwal and down to the riverbank.

As with Strawberry Fields, Good Times is committed to sustainability and designed to enhance tourism to this pocket of regional NSW. The festival has been made possible with help from the Restart Investment to Sustain and Expand (RISE) Fund which has previously helped fund events such as Fresh Produce and Summer Sounds.

If you're keen, tickets are on sale now.

Surprise Chef

GOOD TIMES LINEUP

Sam Tesky
Cash Savage & the Last Drinks
Emma Donovan
Surprise Chef
Benny Walker
Danika Smith
Bumpy
Izy
Matt Katsis
Anna Scionti
George Kamikawa
Heidi Moncrieff
Mohamed Camara
Pete Denahy
Sagamore
Shane & Ellie
Southbank Snake Charmers

Top image: Terminus Hotel by Matt / Emma Donovan and The Putbacks by WILKal.