NEWCASTLE'S diverse and rich array of musical talent was on full display on Sunday as West Best Bloc Fest returned for its second year.
Boasting a line-up of 100 Newcastle and Hunter acts on 12 stages across seven venues between Union and Steel Streets in Newcastle West, it was a virtual smorgasbord for music fans.
The biggest issues were scheduling clashes and getting a decent viewing spot for the more popular acts.
"It's been an amazing turn out," Bloc Fest organiser Dylan Oakes said.
"We had a high amount of pre-sale tickets and everyone's having a great time and the venues are packed."
Oakes said a host of music industry people from Sydney had travelled up for Bloc Fest.
"The festival was made to have as many genres and sub-genres [as possible] and house those on the same stage," he said.
"So there's not a specific genre to each stage. So the listener gets to hear what's going around and the artist will also get new ears."
In the concreted backyard of Jam's Karaoke a dozen or so punters were braving the harsh sun to enjoy the alt-country storytelling of The Tall Stories and Piper Butcher.
A 30-metre walk around the corner of King and Union Streets, the Rogue Scholar's new den room was packed with 50 sweaty punters dancing and hollering along to Goon Gremlins' infectious brand of indie-rock.
Frontwoman Ange Burke, who was carried on the shoulders of one punter through the adorning crowd, left Rogue Scholar with a host of new fans.
At the Papa's Bagels stage situated in front a graffiti art wall in Devonshire Street, the sweet vocals of folk songstress Georgie Winchester filled the laneway.
A short stroll up Hunter Street at the Happy Wombat, the lush indie-folk melodies of ChaiChester won over a respectful audience.
ChaiChester band leader Patrick Truscott said Bloc Fest had become an important date on the calendar for local musicians.
"I remember [Bloc Fest] happening last year and it was right before we started playing music, and I thought that it would really be a nice bench mark to get on it," Truscott said.
"Look at it, there's so many bands and so many people. The whole community is here. To get asked was really nice and to actually play, what you would call an earlier set in the day, and to have it packed out was really nice for us."
One of the most colourful sets of the day was garage-punk band Lover Lamp at Bernie's Bar.
Dressed in matching beige kaftans and led by the shamanic rock'n'roller Dolly Pardon II and the straight-laced Olivia Mutant-John, it was musical theatre at its most wild and chaotic.
With songs about rubber duckies, potatoes and country police - Lover Lamp took cues from the B-52s, Machine Gun Fellatio and Electric Six.
Dolly Pardon II said the show is "50 per cent gags and 50 per cent music."
"I'd been watching a lot of musical theatre, listening to a lot of '50s rock," he said. "We'd mostly played in a lot of hardcore bands before, so we brought a lot of that influence in too."
