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Tony Kingston's Festival Favourites (2008 - 2014)

2 April 2014 | 6:25 pm | Tony Kingston

Festival addict and Purple Sneakers subeditor Tony Kingston shares some of his favourite festival experiences.

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Festival Favourites focuses on particular experiences people have had at a music festival. In this feature, one of our subeditors (and festival junkies) Tony Kingston decided he'd invite you into his mind, as he reminisces on some of his most enjoyable moments from over the past six years.

Here is a collection of his Festival Favourites (from 2008-2014):

Playground Weekend 2011

Line up: KOOL & THE GANG, CARIBOU, FOUR TET, CUT COPY, TRICKY, LAMB, KATE NASH, DE LA SOUL, TRICKY, ARCHITECTURE IN HELSINKI, YOU AM I, DERRICK CARTER, TORO Y MOI, DIXON, EWAN PEARSON, NORMAN JAY MBE, LTJ BUKEM, DJ HEIDI + many more.

Location: Wiseman's Ferry, New South Wales.

What I remember: This was a really special festival for me. Not only was it my first time, I also made some really good friends. I can also still picture the setting, when CARIBOU played on the main stage in the late afternoon. The atmosphere was unreal. Straight afterwards I also remember people rushing over to see FOUR TET in the dance tent as the sun was about to set. Every time I hear 'Love Cry' I can picture the scene so well in terms of who I was with, the mood of the crowd and how people were acting. That's when you know you got the opportunity to experience something truly amazing.

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Subsonic Music Festival 2012

Line up: DJ KENTARO, AFRICA HITECH, BLUE KING BROWN, CATZ N DOGZ, WORTHY, CHRISTIAN MARTIN, ADULTNAPPER, TRUE VIBENATION, SECRET CINEMA, RYAN DAVIS, EPROM, NICO STOJAN, OPIUO, ACID PAULI + many more.

Location: Barrington Tops, New South Wales.

What I remember: Before we even got to the festival, it was almost a disaster. It was our first time traveling to Subsonic and we were almost out of petrol, lost in the middle of nowhere late at night. It almost felt like we were about to reenact a real life version of Wolf Creek. We all had this weird feeling inside us which involved being scared and excited at the same time, as we didn't know how the situation was going to end up. No matter which way we drove it turned out to be the wrong way and we were running out of time.

Finally, after making a correct turn we made it to the festival. When we got into the camp site we were so happy to have found it and it completely hyped up the experience for me when I entered the main festival area. A particular highlight for me was dancing in the rain to CATZ N DOGZ, who played an excellent set on the final day. I revisited the event last year and will attend again later this year and I highly recommend you all do too.

Sonar Festival 2012

Line up: NEW ORDER, FATBOY SLIM, DIE ANTWOORD, THE ROOTS, DEADMAU5, HOT CHIP, FRIENDLY FIRES, FLYING LOTUS, RICHIE HAWTIN, AMON TOBIN, NICOLAS JAAR, MODESELEKTOR, SIMIAN MOBILE DISCO, METRONOMY, JAMES MURPHY, JOHN TALABOT, LAURENT GARNIER + many more.

Location: Barcelona, Spain.

What I remember: Imagine this, you're walking down the street in Barcelona during the day and observe DIE ANTWOORD casually drinking sangria at the local cafe. This is exactly what happened to me before Sonar Festival had even begun. I had no idea how I'd approach them but knew we had to do it so I begged my more confident friend to do the honours and Ninja and Yolandi ended up being as awesome as I had hoped.

That weekend I also got to see my favourite artist in the world, MODESELEKTOR! To all the music enthusiasts out there, If you haven't been to an overseas festival before, save up and make it happen! It'll be one of the best things you'll ever do.

Harvest Festival 2011

Line up: PORTISHEAD, THE NATIONAL, THE FLAMING LIPS, TV ON THE RADIO, BRIGHT EYES, CLAP YOUR HANDS SAY YEAH, MERCURY REV, DEATH IN VEGAS, HOLY FUCK, PVT, SEEKAE, THE WALKMEN, MOGWAI, DAPPLED CITIES + many more.

Location: Sydney, New South Wales.

What I remember: I don't think anyone who attended Harvest Festival in 2011 can deny PORTISHEAD played a flawlessly stunning set to close the evening. Putting them aside, I also saw consistently fantastic performances throughout the whole day. One in particular for me was HOLY FUCK, who I'm really excited to check out (for my fourth time) at this year's Groovin The Moo!

Falls Festival 2013/2014

Line up: THE ROOTS, VAMPIRE WEEKEND, MGMT, THE WOMBATS, VIOLENT FEMMES, GRIZZLY BEAR, THE CAT EMPIRE, SOLANGE, LONDON GRAMMAR, HERMITUDE, CRYSTAL FIGHTERS, !!! (CHK, CHK CHK), RUFUS, FLIGHT FACILITIES, CHET FAKER, TOUCH SENSITIVE + many more.

Location: Byron Bay, New South Wales.

What I remember: I volunteered at Falls Festival in the media team and as a bit of an experiment I decided to write about all my experiences. You can read about them here!

OutsideIn Festival 2013

Line up: FREDDIE GIBBS, BADBADNOTGOOD, ASTRAL PEOPLE PRESENTS ‘SINCE I LEFT YOU’, OBJEKT, LAUREL HALO, ANDRAS FOX & OSCAR KEY SUNG, JAM CITY, COSMO'S MIDNIGHT, WAVE RACER, ELIZABETH ROSE, SNAKEHIPS, WILLOW BEATS, MOVEMENT + many more.

Location: Sydney, New South Wales.

What I remember: I love the line ups Astral People have put on so far for OutsideIn. They're incredibly original and the performances are always interesting. The idea of their touring roster playing 'Since I Left You' by THE AVALANCHES was absolute genius. The band, made up of JONTI, POLOGRAPHIA, RAINBOW CHAN and many more, put on a performance I'll never forget. You know that shiver you get down your spine when you witness something special? That's exactly how it felt almost the whole way through and I can't wait to do it all again at Vivid LIVE next month!

Field Day 2008

Line up: FELIX DA HOUSECAT, ANGELLO & INGROSSO, CHROMEO, GIRL TALK, STANTON WARRIORS, THE GO! TEAM, MIDNIGHT JUGGERNAUTS, GREEN VELVET, BONDE DO ROLE, JESSE ROSE, CLAUDE VONSTROKE, MASON + many more.

Location: Sydney, New South Wales.

What I remember: One of the acts I was really excited about seeing on the day was GIRL TALK. Prior to the festival, I had done my research on his shows and was almost certain that the people in the front row would be invited on stage to dance throughout his entire set, so we made our way to the perfect spot (front right) where we could easily be selected. It was possibly one of the most exhausting experiences I’ve ever had at a music festival but it was well worth it. Good times!

Vivid Live 2011

Line up: THE CURE, SPIRITUALIZED, 2MANYDJs, CHRIS CUNNINGHAM, BAT FOR LASHES, TAME IMPALA, CUT COPY, THE AVALANCHES (DJ Set), AZARI & III, WU LYF, ARCHITECTURE IN HELSINKI, VAN SHE, BAG RAIDERS, SOFTWAR + many more.

Location: Sydney, New South Wales.

What I remember: At Vivid LIVE in 2011 (curated by Modular), I guess you could say I had a few too many drinks and politely (and bravely) decided to introduce myself to 2MANYDJs in the least fan boy way possible, while they were hanging out at the bar before THE AVALANCHES studio party at Sydney Opera House. After that, I asked if they could walk over to say a quick hello to my three friends, who I mentioned were massive fans and that if they did, it would definitely make their night.

They agreed so we wandered over to them while they were sitting on the couch and as expected, they were simultaneously shocked and excited. At this point I began introducing the Dewaele brothers to my buddies one by one. David and Stephen then invited them along to their sold out show the following night - true gents!

Words by Tony Kingston

Photo via Voena

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