Meredith Music Festival 2010

Overview

For 20 years in the festival business, Aunty Meredith is looking pretty damn spritely for her age. With ballots already overwhelmed, this year marks the 20th anniversary of the wonderfully maintained three-day Meredith Music Festival. Started in 1991 "as a party for about 200 friends to celebrate the end of the year, with live music, minimal hassles and the great Australian countryside", this good-natured and much-loved whirligig has built a fervent cult following over two decades of mud, sounds and a refreshing No Dickheads Policy. Tradition turns inevitably cheeky, with punters already gearing up (or gearing down) for the Annual Meredith Gift nude sprint race and determining how much goon they'll be needing to brave the dash.

Like a regularly eclectic pass-the-parcel of birthday delight, this year's line-up features an impressive host of local and international acts with more assortment than a laden present table. With a nice focus on 90s iconography from whence the festival flourished, fronting the bill is the iconic return of Melbourne sonic instrumentalists the Dirty Three, as Mick Turner, Warren Ellis and Jim White swing back to the Supernatural Amphitheatre for the fourth time. Variety being the name of the game, the illustrious trio are joined by the multifarious yet cohesive likes of 'Pharrelll-approved' Virginian hip-hop duo Clipse, wonderfully youthful Californian duo Girls, iconic post-punk outfit The Fall, chillwave US synth saviour Washed Out and the swaggering Aussie drawl of Brisvegas alt-kings Custard.

But with Meredith organisers toting a nice notoriety for well-informed selection, the beauty of this offbeat gathering is the propensity to discover new musical loves, as a large cache of acts claiming to be 'Australian-first-timers' mosey their magic selves out bush. Timetables to the wind, stumble upon a gem. Nestled between the hills of Geelong and Ballarat, as the sun splashes against the ghostly gums and scented cypress, this year Aunty Meredith is getting some birthday lovin'.

While ticket ballot is now closed, remaining tickets go on sale September 7 at select stores, then September 9 online at www.mmf.com.au