THIS THAT is proof that coastal festivals are the new heavyweights

This morning, THIS THAT unveiled its line up for 2017 – the festival’s third edition. It’s a strong one for the east coast event to pull out of the bag, with a strong charge of Australian and international music being led by the likes of The PresetsAlison Wonderland and Thundamentals. It seems like a safe line up in line with previous Groovin’ The Moos, some will undoubtedly say, but when the chief demographic of the mainstream Australian festival is the teen-to-late-20 something triple j listener, this is a bill that has ticked every box.

It is an interesting time for Australian festivals at present and it’s going to continue to be with the initially ’boutique’ or one-off festival concept gradually growing into a main player on a festival circuit where the traditional models have long had the nails hammered into the coffin. In lieu of the Big Day Out, Soundwave, Harvest and Parklife, we’ve seen a new league of Australian festival crews coming through and keeping your Splendours, Falls’ and Laneways on their toes.

THIS THAT now falls in line with events like the Maroochydore Music & Visual Arts Festival, Here’s to Now in McLaren Vale, the Blurst of Times Festival, Secret Garden, and Castaway in that what started as a bud of an event has now flourished into one that strengthens each year but knows its market and the anticipated development of it too. There are no bells and whistles when it comes to the creation of this event – THIS THAT declare that a damn good time is the main priority. Bringing the party to Newcastle’s Wickham Park, the festival is offering a class time out at a music festival, set against a mint backdrop.

Which, to be fair, is always going to pique interest.

Along with the live music aspect of the festival, THIS THAT delves into the world of visual arts and performance, all the while offering their festival goers some kind of luxury a la most of the major festivals currently on the map. What would the event be without a sprucing tent or a covered area where one can sip on a cocktail and take a break? Not a 2017 festival, I tells ya.

With tickets for THIS THAT expected to fly once they go on sale to the general public on August 7th, more announcement reveals are in the pipeline to stoke that hype fire. In the meantime, take a squiz at the festival line up below – it’s a fun one.

THIS THAT FESTIVAL LINE UP

ALISON WONDERLAND
CARMADA
COLOUR CASTLE
CROOKED COLOURS
ELK ROAD
GODLANDS
GOLDEN VESSEL
HUCCI
KINDER
KUREN
LUUDE
MOTEZ
MUTO
PACES
POOLCLVB
TASH SULTANA
THE PRESETS
THE PREATURES
THUNDAMENTALS
TIGERILLA
WINSTON SURFSHIRT
ZEDS DEAD
 

For more information about THIS THAT, visit their official website here. Member pre-sales commence from 9am AEST, August 3rd. 

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