The Goulburn Valley’s title as the food bowl of the nation might need an update.
With a whole range of live music events scheduled for the coming weeks, the region has become a centre of live entertainment.
Following two years of cancellations due to COVID-19 restrictions, the 2022 event is looking to come back better than ever.
Festival director Aidan McLaren said with dancefloors re-introduced and restrictions easing, the team was well and truly looking forward to the event.
“We're expecting thousands of people from across the local area and from all over Victoria to attend the festival this year,” Mr McLaren said.
“Local accommodation is already starting to book out, and there’s a large number of local business who are involved — from food, to security, to backstage, to volunteers, we want this event to be made for Shepparton, by Shepparton.”
Hometown names Vince the Kid, Luna, Falla vs Hooka and the festival’s local showcase Pick of the Crop winner, Go Dog Go, will be performing alongside some of the biggest names in Australian music.
Making up for lost time, the festival is welcoming G Flip, Drapht, Bodyjar and Ball Park Music to the stage.
Lead vocalist and guitarist of Ball Park Music Sam Cromack said the band was keen to see more of regional Victoria, starting with the Goulburn Valley.
“I can't wait, you know, we always love going to a new Australian city or town and we've seen a lot of Australia now so we’ve become genuinely quite curious to see each new place,” he said.
“We're super keen, we’ve done this long enough now that we've learned to not have any expectations around anything, you never know when one of the greatest kind of shows or nights of your life is about to sneak up on you.”
The five-piece indie rock band from Brisbane is gearing up to release its seventh album, Weirder & Weirder, on June 3, titled to reflect the years that have been.
“Life just feels so strange and unpredictable at this point, you just kind of stop fretting about it and just sort of laugh in its face, like what are we going to do?” Mr Cromack said.
“It just felt like a joy to get together to make music, like the most logical thing to do.”
He said the band felt “pretty ambitious” in the creative process of the album, leading to quite a grand record with the addition of musicians layering horns and strings.
“I feel like I've spent 10 years or more just trying to create the perfect album and each time you’re like, ‘nah, I want to have another crack’,” he said with a laugh.
Ball Park Music recently dropped its second single, Stars in My Eyes, off the album, a track Mr Cromack said he was particularly looking forward to performing at the festival.
“As soon as we finished recording it, I think everyone instantly knew. ‘Oh, this has clearly got to be the next song we put out, this feels incredible,’ and that feeling hasn't worn off,” he said.
“When we get on stage or get to any event, it’s the fact that it's going ahead full stop and we can be there to play the music, it feels kind of like a miracle.”
The festival will take place at the Shepparton Showgrounds on April 9; tickets are available via www.landofplentyfestival.com