On Saturday 15th May, over 15000 music lovers herded themselves through the gates and into Hay Park for the inaugural Groovin the Moo Festival, Bunbury. The weather held off for most of the day and the overcast day and slight chill in the air gave the GTM a unique Northern Hemisphere vibe not previously experienced by WA festival goers.
The festival sold out over a week prior to show day, a solid achievement for a new event. The overwhelming response to the festival was aided both by the impressive line up and an absence of events of this calibre in Bunbury’s annual calendar.
City of Bunbury Mayor, David Smith said “The City was proud to host the first regional WA Groovin the Moo on Saturday. We received excellent feedback from concert-goers who praised the efficient organisation of the sellout event. The crowds were well-behaved and thoroughly enjoyed the music. We will be liaising with the organizers to improve a couple of minor issues for the future but overall we were happy with the success of the inaugural event.”
Sunset Events Managing Director and Promoter, Dave Chitty said “GTM Bunbury delivered from all angles – the artists, the crowd and the location were all excellent. The festival is a welcome addition to Sunset Events calendar and was a perfect way to end our summer season.”
International bands such as Vampire Weekend, Spoon and Tegan and Sara thrilled the crowd, whilst stalwarts Grinspoon, Kisschasy and British India provided the Australian rock element. Empire of the Sun put on a theatrical spectacle and Silverchair commanded the attention of the audience with some very old and very new material.
Event organisers were especially impressed with the behaviour of the 15000 strong crowd. Incident reports were very low and overall feedback from other punters and stakeholders has been very positive.
The national GTM tour is now finished for 2010, however, the organisers are already looking towards 2011 with anticipation.