Reviews

Grace G, Roving reporter

Music on the Mount

17 March 2012, Wycheproof.

After making the hour drive to Wycheproof the night before I wasn’t sure what I should be expecting from their annual Music on the Mount festival. All I knew going in was that my best friend was performing at the smallest mountain in the world, Mount Wycheproof. Honestly, all I thought I’d get out of it was getting to see a friend perform and a way to waste a Saturday night. But boy was I wrong, because what I got was so much more.

On Saturday morning my friends and I had an early start. We were completely energised and ready for what the day had to give us. We had woken up tired and wanting to go back to our beds, but our tired attitudes didn’t stop us. We started our day with the Wycheproof Great Grain Festival. I’ve been to a few town festivals in my time, but this one beat them all. There were stalls lining the main streets filled with toys, food, clothes, handmade hats and plenty of other things.

During the day there was a rock climbing wall set up for the kids as well as jumping castles. The Wycheproof Youth Group had a craft tent set up for the kids, full of colouring competitions and face painting. There was a Bollywood style dance workshops for everyone, as well as the Million Bushel Silo tour, a tour that I personally didn’t go on, but which gave everyone else that did the chance to discover the history of grain transporting and to see the Million Bushel Silos right up close. Another big event for the day was the Sheep Sale & Shear Tour.

We got back to my friend's house at about 4:00 and we all sat around drinking some chai tea from a mini tea set. At about 4:30 we started to make our way to Mt. Wycheproof, because the Music was to begin at about 5:00. There were a few stalls full of snacks, soda, glow sticks, coffee and Indian food. After getting comfy on a picnic blanket we were ready for the entertainment. My friend Kendall Phyland was first to play, performing a mix of Pink Floyd and Taylor Swift covers and her own original songs. Though the crowd was small, we were all able to appreciate her original sound. You can listen to Kendall yourself at her website on Reverb Nation (new window).

There were many other performances that night, including Todd Cook, the legendary Kevin Borich and Loaded Dice. The biggest performance that stood out to me was from a small band from Marseille, France, called Harmonic Generator. I thought it was cool that they had booked a French band, but I didn’t expect their music to amaze me as much as it did. Their style of music is hardcore/rock and they’re currently back in Australia to finish recording their latest album while bringing their Nasty Frogs tour to Australia during April and May 2012. If you can I would definitely recommend going to one of their gigs, if you want to learn more about them go to their website on Reverb Nation (new window).

Music on the Mount was an amazing experience and a really fun night. I got to spend time with my friends and discover some new music. One of the biggest highlights for me was when I got to go into the VIP area and meet Harmonic Generator, who were really cool down-to-earth guys. It didn’t hurt that they had great accents and were pretty good looking!

I’ll definitely be making sure I go back to Music on the Mount next year. If you want to check out some amazing photos from the night just visit Anna Chalmers Photography on Facebook (new window).

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