Groovin The Moo Maitland: review and photos

May 21, 2018

Melissa Barrass and Adam Davis-Powell headed to GTM for Something You Said. Here’s her review and his photos:

I would never have thought that I would be on one of the earliest trains from town into Maitland for Groovin The Moo, but I sure was this time round. Accompanied by a friend whom insisted that being “one of the first” into a festival was on his bucket list, I am disappointed to inform you that we certainly were not even close to being one of the first into the highly anticipated festival. No worries, we will catch the ever so electric all-girl rock group RACKETT opening up the festival. Oh what’s that? A 300m entry line? Hmm… maybe next time.

But safe to say the day only got better at this year’s Groovin The Moo with the weather holding out, bringing us a spectacular sunny Saturday we would remember for years to come. The line-up this year was heavy on greatly loved Australian acts from Grinspoon to Paul Kelly (pictured, below), pulling at the nostalgia strings with considerate weight. The crowds were large and both the young and old came together to sing in unison to both artists’ classics such as ‘From Little Things Big Things Grow’ and ‘Chemical Heart’.

Earlier in the day I caught up with standout acts such as Alex Lahey, grooved to Winston Surfshirt and successfully avoided a round two mosh-pit disaster at Skeggs (yewww). Later on, I managed to finally catch a snippet of Sampa The Great, for which I have only been trying to do for a year. It is astounding to see how fast she has risen in popularity – and understandably so.

I am not an expert on Rap and Hip-hop, but I know for a fact she has something special about her, and I feel it won’t be long til she’s collaborating with some of the finest in the Hip-Hop world. She has already toured with Kendrick Lamar and Thundercat, so I guess it’s only a matter of time. Her track ‘Bye-River’ is this perfect blend of Hip-hop, Soul and Jazz. I cannot get enough of it, and I certainly couldn’t get enough of it live also.

Having previously caught Royal Blood (pictured, above) earlier in the week at The Hordern Pavilion in Sydney, I couldn’t pass up another shot to see the duo smash it out a second time with their heavy hitting songs.

To be frank, their energetic performance was the icing on the cake of what was a brilliant (and long) day, and a clear signal to jump on a bus home to make the long journey back into town.

I cannot wait to see the bill for Groovin The Moo 2019.