Secret Garden Festival 2014

Overview

Secret Garden Festival might be the most secretive festival to grace the summer scene, and tickets for the next instalment are on sale on Thursday, November 14. As per every previous year, the lineup and location are still a complete secret, so the cash dropped for one of these tickets is a lucky dip that commits you to a whole weekend of booze, bands, friends and fun.

Once again, the first day is a theme day. The 2013 festival celebrated the theme of Secret Garcon, where Friday festival goers dressed up in their favourite Cosplay attire. 2014, however, is a whole new ballgame.

The Friday celebrations will be Farmers vs Zombies: a band of 'zombies' will be let loose on gardeners, who will be armed only with Nerf weapons (BYO Nerf weapons) and are expected to clear the yard in two hours, when the festival proper kicks off. Badass.

The rest of the festival is given over to all manner of entertainment, including bands, artists and various other performers doing various other things. As vague as that sounds, it's mysteriously exciting.

The best dang thing about the whole deal is that the entire festival is not for profit. All proceeds from tickets, food and drinks bought at the festival go towards the Sarah Hilt Foundation, which supports victims of meningococcal. So the more you drink, dance and stuff yourself, the more you're helping the community.

Tickets start at $120 for one day, or $185 for both. Additional costs are involved for hiring tents, the Friday morning banquet and a bus to and from and the Farmers vs Zombies.

Update 18 February: Here's the full lineup for 2014.

Ariane - Awesome Tapes from Africa (CAN) - Blank Realm - Cosmo's Midnight Day Ravies - Del - Dusty Fingers - DZ Deathrays - Ernest Ellis – Joyride - Ken Davis Ambassador For The Future - King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - Levins - Love Bombs - Mighty Mouse (UK) - Mike Who - Roland Tings - Roof – Shag Shantan Wantan Ichiban - Slowblow & Softwar - Steve Smyth – Sweetie True Vibenation - Tyson Koh & Smokey LaBeef - Wordlife (DJ Set) - Yo Grito's Dance-Off!

They join the first announcement acts:

Bloods - Client Liaison - D.D Dumbo - Donny Benet & The Donny Benet Show Band Elizabeth Rose - Goldroom (USA - DJ Set) - Lancelot (Live) - Little May – Nantes Olympia – Palms - Papa Vs. Pretty - Richard In Your Mind - The Rubens - Ryan Hemsworth (CAN) - Shining Bird - Straight Arrows – Sures - The Trouble with Templeton - World’s End Press