'Jam-packed' Thirroul Music Festival spread around town

After a year’s hiatus, Thirroul Music Festival returned with its usual mix of Australia’s (and the world’s) best Americana, indie, blues and surf artists scattered throughout venues around town. But did it return better than ever?

Back for its fifth year – four of which I’ve attended – I’ve got to say, it’s hard to have a bad time at this fantastic festival. I’ve discovered so many amazing artists and this year was no exception. 

I caught local legends Earth Wind and Choir on the King Street stage of the newly incorporated free and all ages Open Street Festival, an initiative of Wollongong Council. When choir leader Elana Stone introduced the Veruca Salt song Seether as being about ‘angry vaginas’, I knew I was in for a good time.

Melbourne’s Romy Vager proved to be incredibly charismatic and vulnerable, sweat running down her face as she performed songs from RVG’s decades-long discography and a song from her new, but as yet unreleased album. Definitely a festival highlight for me.

By the time we made it to Anita’s Theatre to see Grace Cummings, she was already seated onstage, just her and her guitar, and that powerful, raw voice I’d heard so much about. She went back and forth about playing a song she wrote the day before, eventually deciding to give it a crack and I’m so glad she did. It was hauntingly beautiful and powerful, and I can’t wait to get my hands on it.

Another absolute highlight was later in the night with Melbourne five-piece indie rockers Floodlights playing to a jam-packed Anita's. I showed my age, seemingly as the only person not knowing the lyrics, but what I lacked in youth, I made up for in enthusiasm, bouncing along with the crowd.

An incredible return, with a few missteps

But there were some missteps along the way. The decision to no longer use the Thirroul Railway Institute Hall is, in my opinion, a massive loss to the festival.

There’s just something unique about watching a band perform in the creaky, history-filled hall as the express to Kiama hurtles past the window. Toilets, a pop-up bar, a place to dance and a place to sit, something which was sorely lacking at this year’s fest.

One of the new venues, Finbox, is tiny in comparison and, if you could get inside, it was boiling hot. People sat wherever they could, on the floor, on shelves as bikinis hung around their shoulders, it was kind of quirky, very intimate and the sound was awesome but I’ve got to say, it wasn’t really accessible. 

Franks Wild Years is a fabulous spot but when a venue the size of Railway Hall is pulled from the line up and not replaced with something of equal size, the smaller locations fill quickly and we missed seeing Watty Thompson and Babitha as we couldn’t get in.

The decision to no longer allow kids under 12 was a strange one for me as well. The Illawarra Folk Festival has such an amazing vibe with kids running around discovering music for the first time and, let’s face it, no one gets a dance floor jumping quicker than an uninhibited five-year-old. 

Here’s hoping the Thirroul Railway Hall will be back in the mix next year, so we can dance down the aisles but sit straight back down again when our backs get too sore.

And if not, I’ll still be back, ready to be spoiled with some of the world's best artists. I might just need to bring my own chair.