Thanks to local punk act Sly Withers and friends, Perth has scored a new three day music festival. SIDEFEST boasts a massive list of acts from across Australia, playing alongside handpicked local talent, at Rosemount Hotel from Friday, May 6 until Sunday, May 8.
The whole-venue take-over will feature Sly Withers, RUBY FIELDS, Hope D, Beddy Rays, Teenage Joans, Old Mervs, Adam Newling, Moaning Lisa, TOWNS, Noah Dillon (acoustic), Ursula, Paint, Girl From Mars, mia june and Darcie Haven – with more to be announced.
Programs for Four5Nine and the Backyard are set to be released later this month, so expect to see heaps of local artists, acoustic performances and guest DJs added to the bill.
Some of the acts playing at SIDEFEST haven’t been to WA since the pandemic landed, and some will be gracing our stages for the first time. With Perth starved of opportunities to see interstate acts, SIDEFEST is a long-awaited opportunity to see a lot of the country’s best talent in one place.
“We are so bloody excited to be able to bring them over,” said Sam Blitvich, co-lead vocalist and guitarist for Sly Withers. “Playing in Perth is an expensive exercise for east coast bands so it’s so cool to be able to help provide a pathway for the artists to come here, along with an opportunity for West Aussies to see these dope acts that have had such a tricky time making it over here during this very tricky period for our industry.”
The idea for a second incarnation of SIDEFEST had been in the works since the inaugural event, a launch party for local label Sidequest, sold out last year. Sly Withers are signed to Sidequest alongside local acts Old Mervs and Ursula.
“Our manager Skinny ran the first SIDEFEST at Freo.Social last March as the big launch party for his label/management company Sidequest and I think the idea has always been to make it an annual thing, so we’ve been chatting about it a fair bit over the past year since the first event,” Blitvich said.
“It’s been so fun to help plan and even more exciting to announce, we can’t believe the calibre of line-up that Skinny and Casey, our agent at Select Music, have helped us put together!”
The group have also said they would like to see more events like this happen in the future, with even bigger ideas on the horizon.
“Making it a big lovely annual party is very much the plan! So excited to see what it evolves into in the future, one day we’ll book AC/DC and run it at Optus Stadium or something,” they said.
The announcement comes after a big 12 months for Sly Withers, who sold out a national tour for their ARIA #10 debuting, triple j feature album, Gardens, and opened for The Wiggles (!) at RAC Arena.
Sidefest hits Rosemount Hotel from Friday, May 6 until Sunday, May 8, 2022. For more info and to buy tickets head to rosemounthotel.oztix.com.au
