An essential part of a memorable festival is rain and mud. Throw in a violent electrical storm, and you have Bingo. Thus, Adelaide’s 2025 Harvest Rock Festival is memorable for this and many more reasons. A severe thunderstorm on midday Saturday meant that a shelter in place warning was issued. Rundle Street pubs were filled to the brim whilst festival-goers waited out the storm. Once the worst had passed, the gates re-opened and Genesis Owusu blew away the remaining clouds with a blistering set.
Rumours abound that Wolfmother missed out on playing their set, but crashed a local pub for a packed guerrilla popup performance.
The crowds swelled back for Lime Cordiale, The Jungle Giants and Vance Joy, who brought some semblance of order to the early evening. “I Was Made for Loving You” was an instant crowd pleaser before a “Riptide” sing-along. It was The Presets who really got the party started. Familiar dance tunes that have won audiences over. Songs such as “I Go Hard, I Go Home, “Youth In Trouble” and “My People” were just some of the hits that had the crowd dancing.
The War on Drugs took to the Harvest Stage just after sunset and delivered a solid American heartland-rock set, interspersed with some neo-psychedelia for good measure. For the faithful it was manna from heaven, but the Vine Stage was where the party was at.
British singer, rapper, songwriter and activist M.I.A. took to the stage brandishing a bright orange flare. Dressed in a commando outfit, she demanded attention. Opening with “Bamboo Banga” from her 2007 album Kala, M.I.A. and her two backing dancers danced, tempted and taunted the audience. After a Missy Elliot cover of “Bad Man” she launched into “Bad Girls”. She invited audience members to fill the stage and dance with her. The finale of “Paper Planes” was sublime.
In a Harvest Rock exclusive, The Strokes were everything you could imagine they could be. It’s estimated that a third of the some 38,000 audience came from interstate, with the exclusive lineup being the drawcard. Even on the big stage, it felt as though we were in a dark, moody, smoky nightclub in New York City. Opening with “Bad Decisions” from the 2020 album The New Abnormal, they covered a wide range of their extensive career. “Reptilia” and “The Modern Age” was followed by “You Only Live Once” and “Hard to Explain”. The crowd were dancing and singing along. The three-song encore included “Last Night”, which had the crowd in raptures.
Meanwhile, Skream & Benga were mixing up a storm of drum and bass classics as the party came to a close for the day.
Sunday’s forecast was for showers, which luckily were few and far between, with even some sunny skies. Over at the Quentin Keenihan memorial playground, kids could be entertained with face painting, storytelling, crafts, and friendship bracelets. The Amuse-Bouche stage hosted Comedy and cooking, with Nats What’s I Reckon drawing culinary skills from local bands. Wax vs Wok had Groove Terminator spinning the decks with Benjamin Cooper cooking.
Local acts including Colter, TOWNS and Velvet Trip made the Sunday session feel more chilled and relaxed than Saturday. Sneaky Sound System were another drop of sunshine over at the Vine Stage. Ruel crooned his way across the Harvest Stage with his natural charm, making the afternoon feel bright and special. The dance vibes continued on the Vine Stage with a DJ set from the Groove Armada duo.
A surprise act on the Harvest Stage was Lauren Spencer Smith, a British-born Canadian singer-songwriter. At just 22 years old, she shows a maturity of song that belies her age. With two albums and an EP already under her belt, her country pop music is sure to have won over many in the audience.
Aussie dance favourites, PNAU, never fail to deliver and played a banging set of tunes that had the muddy Vine Stage grooving and shaking. Sunday finished with Royel Otis and Jelly Roll, with just a few more showers to keep everyone on their toes.
John Goodridge was there with his camera to capture a few highlights below:
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For more information on Harvest Rock follow their website here
