Local acts sizzle at Southbound
Kahla Emonson, Stacey Brown and Eliza Smith ready to party. Picture: Nic Ellis
Hot home-grown talent starred at the second day of the seventh annual Southbound festival in Busselton yesterday, with Eskimo Joe and Birds of Tokyo braving heat that rose well above 40C on Sir Stewart Bovell Park.
Yesterday's feast also saw ARIA Award-winning acts Megan Washington and Dan Sultan, fancied Townsville band the Middle East and rockers Cold War Kids performing for an estimated crowd of 20,000 people.
PHOTO GALLERY: Southbound 2011
Veteran rock chick Joan Jett and hip-hoppers Public Enemy were due to headline on the main stages last night.
Kiwi pop
Kiwi pop
The hot conditions led to a subdued start to Southbound on Saturday night, when Kiwi pop act Ladyhawke and New York rockers Interpol performed under the big top.
Angus and Julia Stone drew the biggest crowd, the Sydneysiders another relatively new but very popular Australian outfit on the bill.
Southbound organiser David Chitty said that the wealth of antipodean talent on offer was reflective of a healthy national music scene.
"Last year was a great year for Australian music," he said.
Less popular was the zero-tolerance approach to alcohol in the campsite, with organisers threatening to turf out any punters caught with booze.
Mr Chitty said that the firmer approach was instituted to cut down on antisocial behaviour and to protect their bar licence.
"The majority of people understand why alcohol is not allowed in the campgrounds," he said.
'The majority of people understand
why alcohol is not allowed
in the campgrounds.'
However, the stance was not as tough as organisers made out, with security guards confiscating alcohol from concert-goers but then allowed them to stay.
There were amnesty bins at the entrance of the campsite.
Western Force star David Pocock and Hoodoo Gurus singer Dave Faulkner were spotted among the hot but not bothered crowd yesterday.
Southbound continues today with another full day of rock'n'roll, featuring iconic Aussie songwriter Paul Kelly, UK space-rockers Klaxons and Perth's own psychedelic stars Tame Impala. Another crowd of close to 20,000 is expected; the event doubling Busselton's population for the weekend.
The punters were a thirsty bunch, with a bar promoting Strongbow cider running dry on the first night; a semi-trailer was scrambled from Perth with more supplies yesterday morning. Besides that near crisis, Mr Chitty said the event had run smoothly so far.
