Remote Music Festivals Prepare for Sell-Out Crowds

Two of Australia’s most remote music festivals have generated strong ticket sales with their red dust experiences.

Birdsville Big Red Bash will take place July 5—7, while Broken Hill Mundi Mundi Bash August 18—20.

Both festivals have a capacity of 10,000, both always reaching full capacity.

Spruiking the Big Red Bash experience of playing the Simpson Desert, Jimmy Barnes said there’s nothing on Earth like the middle of Australia.

Tex Perkins, who’s in the Rolling Stones Review with Adalita and Tim Rogers, ‘fessed up: “I have for many years had a recurring dream of playing in the middle of the desert.

“I cannot believe it is going to finally come true.”

Adam Thompson of Chocolate Starfish said: “My greatest joy is to invite 10,000 plus people all jumping as one in unison in the red dirt of the outback.

“Celebrating this musically profound experience with this audience, is unparalleled in all my years of touring.”

The Big Red Bash helps raise funds for the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS).

As part of its 94th year celebrations, it’s holding a competition for two people to fly on the Beechcraft King Air RFDS aircraft without being near-fatally ill or terribly injured, and be accorded VIP status at the bash.

In the last financial year, RFDS Queensland flew 8.3 million kilometres, with 12,319 patients, conducted 12,156 mental health consultation and administered 10,000 COVID vaccines.

Mundi Munci Bash, meanwhile is giving fans of Midnight Oil the chance to be at the spectacular Mundi Mundi Plains where the “Beds Are Burning” video was shot.

It was also chosen by movie director George Miller for “Mad Max II” scenes in 1981. 40 years on, the franchise returns to the plains for the “Furiosa Mad Max” instalment with Chris Hemsworth.

Midnight Oil join Barnes and Missy Higgins as headliners at Mundi Mundi Bash.

Their Friday night set follows their final North American and European tour in June/July, and one of their last in Australia.

Guitarist/keyboardist Jim Moginie, said: “Very much looking forward to revisiting the Mundi Mundi plains, where the ‘Beds are Burning‘ clip was shot, for this 12-volt Woodstock on the edge of Mad Max’s wasteland, and playing for a special gathering of pilgrims listening to new music, and the soundtracks of their youth under an endless Australian night sky”.

“Beds Are Burning” called for giving land back to the Pintupi, who in the 1930s were among the last people to come in from the Gibson Desert.

Rob Hirst wrote the bulk of the lyrics while travelling with Charlie McMahon from the band Gondwanaland.

“We were still city slickers but were wide-eyed and learning, picking up as much as we could,” he said.

“I travelled around a lot with Charlie in his Toyota Troopcarrier, listening to him explain bits and pieces about the bush.

“I was jotting all the time in my black Moleskine book, writing things down in case melodies come into your head later on.”

Activities at the festival include an attempt to break the world record for dancing the Nutbush dance to Tina Turner’s song (the event’s previous record was 2,878 people) and a Mad Max dress-up theme world record attempt.

Both are fundraisers for the RFDS.

There are also scenic helicopter flights, camel rides, morning yoga sessions, dunny door painting, doggie ‘fashions on the plains’ and the ‘Mundi Undi’ charity fun run.

Stuart Ayres, the minister for tourism in New South Wales, said: “The NSW Government is committed to investing in regional events like the Mundi Mundi Bash to reignite the visitor economy of regional NSW, which has been hard hit by successive years of natural disasters and the pandemic.

“If travellers ever needed incentive to get on the road and support our regional economy, then surely watching the legendary Midnight Oil perform “The Dead Heart” in the heart of outback NSW has got to be it.”

This article originally appeared on The Industry Observer, which is now part of The Music Network.