An emerging demographic of festivalgoers has seen the Mundi Mundi Plains outside Broken Hill filled with approximately 10,000 people for the second time since April.
The Broken Hill Mundi Mundi Bash has compelled people to put their caravans on the road and head for a red-dirt holiday, sitting back with some of Australia’s most renowned musicians including Midnight Oil, Missy Higgins, Kasey Chambers and Daryl Braithwaite.
Ash Grunwald, an artist performing at the show, says festivals – particularly in Australia – have typically been youth focused and have not captured the many different demographics of people interested in seeing live music.
“People don’t think of the older demographic as an emerging market, people are always thinking about teenagers,” Grunwald says.
“There are a lot of music festivals around the place that are angled at young people, but actually the expanding demographic is older people and families who want to see music in a different context, which is exciting, it’s a refreshing way of looking at it.”
Greg Donovan, the festival founder and organiser, wanted to add an offering “more accessible” in his line of red-dirt festivals that includes the Birdsville Big Red Bash, heralded to be the “most remote music festival in the world”.
“It really suits people who like travelling across the country, people who have got caravans, motorhomes and camper trailers, people who like getting out and travelling and having a good time”,” he says.
“It’s an all-ages festival, but generally we are getting people from their 30s up through to their 60s and 70s.”
Sarah McLeod, a performing artist, has played at the last two Birdsville festivals and will be performing at the Broken Hill festival this weekend. She says she is eternally grateful for the ability to sustain a 25-year career as a musician while earning a living.
“Every time I walk on stage I look at it as a gift. It’s an honour to be able to do that, I don’t take any of it lightly. Every time I grab that microphone or pick up a guitar, I say; ‘you lucky bastard, look at you, you are still going’.
“The fact that this festival is not in people’s back yard and they have to work to get here shows that people love a good experience, as well as music.”
The festival is part of a number of new additions to the Broken Hill calendar that have seen many locals feeling optimistic about the growing appeal of the outback town and a chance to showcase the region’s diverse offerings.
“It’s really exciting living in Broken Hill now, it seems like it’s just going in one direction: a positive one,” Jason King, a local film-maker, says.
“I have always seen heaps of potential for the area and the town to regain the heights that it had in its heyday, and it just feels like something has tipped the scales in the right direction.
“Things like Mundi Mundi Bash are a big part of that.”
The festival has given local artists an opportunity to perform alongside some of Australia’s most experienced musicians. Wilcannia Central School students also showcased their choir on stage, joining Missy Higgins to perform her song Big Kids.
Leroy Johnson, a Mutawintji-based Malyangapa/Barkandji park ranger,launched his debut single No Baaka, No Barkandji with his band Leroy Johnson and the Waterbag Band, as well as joining Midnight Oil on stage to perform the Warumpi Band’s song Blackfella/Whitefella.
“To give local people the opportunity to get involved and perform at a setup like this is unreal,” Johnson says.
“I just like sharing my stories and being able to share them on such a big stage is something else, I want to do it again for sure.”
Otis Filley is a freelance photojournalist based in Broken Hill
