Held on Gumbaynggirr country, Storyland is a brand spanking new, one-day music and arts festival at Park Beach Reserve in Coffs Harbour.
Melbourne-based, worldwide-beloved, twice-Grammy-nominated Hiatus Kaiyote are headlining, and though on the tail end of a US tour, SEVEN caught up with them for a moment last week to answer a few questions about the festival.
What do you find your audiences appreciate most about your music?
I think people can kinda get lost in it. We try to build ecosystems that people can explore in our recordings… live we do our best to recreate that, but really we feed off the audience energy and vice versa.
Do you have a favourite song that you play, and why?
It’s always changing, usually the newest stuff, or when we flip an older song… ‘Dreamboat’ is a newbie that we have been opening shows with, which feels a bit grand and dreamy. ‘New Nakamarra Flip’ is heaps of fun too.
When you get the chance – what types of entertainment, events and live music do you like to see?
We all love checking out music from other countries and being exposed to new things. Pez loves getting to an NBA game when we are in the states, Nai recently went to see mexican Wrestling when she was down there.
Storyland is an exciting multi-arts event – what’s been your favourite international festival, arts shows or visual installations?
We did this tiny festival on an island in the Philippines once where we each stayed with a local family and experienced that, which was really beautiful.
What has been the most challenging aspects of your musical journey so far?
Being away from loved ones for long periods can be hard at times.
What can the audience at Storyland Music Festival expect from your live show?
I think we’re gonna do a slightly trimmed down version of our Coachella set, but our friend Rhys is gonna be on visuals and mashing up some cool stuff.
Storyland gates open on Saturday at 12.30pm. There will be tunes on two stages all day, ending 10.30pm.
Find out more at: storylandmusicfestival.com.au.
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