Calling all music lovers in Wollongong! Get ready to groove at the Yours and Owls Festival on Saturday and Sunday, October 14 and 15, right on the University of Wollongong’s campus.
The annual Yours and Owls festival, which began almost 10 years ago, has faced major challenges in the past three years due to Covid and flooding. Despite this, co-promoter and UOW alumni Ben Tillman anticipates a resurgence of excitement with the move to campus.
“I think it's going to be a real step up for the event layout and how it's all going to work functionally,” Ben said.
“It's a beautiful space, there's so much existing infrastructure and I think it's going to be a more efficient and just user-friendly site."
Ben founded the festival with two mates, Adam Smith and Balunn Jones. What originally started as some beachfront house parties has become an annual staple on Wollongong's festival calendar.
The festival boasts an impressive lineup, featuring local favourites like Plastic Bath, Steve Bourk, Charbel, and Lizzie Jack and the Beanstalks.
Lizzie Jack, the lead guitarist and rhythm guitarist for Lizzie Jack and the Beanstalks, is excited to be representing Wollongong music to a national crowd.
“As a Wollongong band, it's really exciting because Yours and Owls is the biggest music festival,” Lizzie said.
“To be able to perform at something as big as that, that draws in such a massive crowd of people from all over New South Wales, and Australia, for that matter.”
For the first time, the Yours & Owls program features a significant international presence, with American rapper Lil Tjay, the UK's Bakar, and New Zealand's Broods joining the lineup.
“I think that that was always a part of the growth plan,” Ben said.
“I book all the talent and, you know, just as you progress, that's sort of where you get your fun from – by wanting to step it up into that next tier of artist.
“Expansion is always something we are thinking about and having some big acts coming to a city not really seen as a city where a lot of big acts come is really great.”
For the community, Yours and Owls represents an opportunity for everyone to enjoy a fantastic musical experience.
“Whether it's local bands or local creative kinds of outfits and what not, we try to bring everyone together and just create something that is bigger than any of us would be able to do on our own,” Ben said.
“It's a bit of a rite of passage for a lot of people, for most kids in the area.
“Plus, I think it's also important that probably 70 percent of our crowd are coming from out of the regions, so it's also a good chance to showcase Wollongong to the rest of the country.”
With less than two weeks until the festival, it's time to buy your tickets so you don't miss out.
“If you're in Wollongong the weekend of Yours and Owls, and you're not going, that's just like the biggest FOMO [Fear of Missing Out] generator of all time,” Lizzie said.
“You're never going to regret the festivals you went to, but you will always regret the festivals you didn’t go to."
To buy tickets, visit moshtix.
Here's a link to the set times for events on Saturday and Sunday.
Check out Lizzie Jack and the Beanstalks' new song, Dumb Decision, and review it on triple j unearthed. See the band live on Sunday 15th from 12:05-12:25pm at the Rad Bar stage at the Yours and Owls Festival.
