Groovin the Moo has always been one of my favourite festivals, I grew up going to GTM so it brings about a lot of nostalgia for me. It was the first festival I went to back in 2016, and I wore a  plethora of glitter and micro silver stars on my face paired with skinny jeans and an American Apparel crop top, very very cool.

One of my favourite things about Groovin the Moo is their commitment to using their platform to highlight local and emerging talent. I’ve discovered a lot of great artists over the years simply from making the effort to get there early. I’m talking the likes of Boo Seeka and Methyl Ethyl, who are both now massive players in the Australian music industry.

The Triple J Unearthed feature artist this year was Jem Pryse on the Cattleyard stage. Your quintessentially Aussie sounding band but paired with a 2001-Strokes-esc sound. A real point of difference was the addition of a saxophone in the band. Debuting a few news songs of their recently released album, Pryse’s vocals were passionate, engaging and fun. By the looks of the crowd the band already had a large local following, definitely one’s I’ll be looking to watch at another gig again in the future.

Hope D took to the Cattleyard stage next, someone who is quickly becoming an Aussie festival staple. This was the first time I’d seen her perform with a band which was great to see her perform at full capacity. Hope D’s vocals are powerful but can be so soft at the same time. That power is something you don’t necessarily pick up on in her pre-recorded tracks, but it blew me away during her set. Opening with an unreleased track, it was dark, heavy and fast; a new but very welcomed direction from the crowd. A highlight of the set was her rendition of Brittany Spear’s ‘Toxic’ which she covered for Like a Version. Hope ’s set swayed more towards that chaotic pub-rock genre than I was expecting, but it was very, very fun.

Easing into the early afternoon was RedHook, an alternative rock trio hailing from Sydney. It was absolute chaos. Their drummer was shirtless, the lead singer Emmy was running around on stage, at one point she literally cracked a beer open on her head and drank it. It was wild. Emmy’s vocals were phenomal, with her ability to go from deep, heavy-metal stylised screaming to higher octave vocal range in a sheer moment. They were the first heavy band to play and had the best audience engagement I saw all day. It was 1pm and the majority of the crowd clearly weren’t heavy metal fans. They talked them through their first death circle, (which admittedly wasn’t a death circle as people were literally skipping around the circle, but it’s the thought that counts). Their commitment to introducing the crowd to heavy metal and commitment to experiencing it safely at the same time was extremely impressive to see.

Moving on to Thomas Headon, the first act that I caught in the Moolin Rouge tent. Headon’s energy and fans reminded me of that infatuated, teenage-dream hysteria that comes with heartthrob pop stars; think Bieber, 1D-esc. To confirm this, all our photographer Lauren could smell when she was in the crowd was Hello Kitty Bubblegum body spray… For an act who’s it seems has only recently come onto the Triple J popularity radar, it surprised me to hear the crowd singing the songs back word for word. His set was filled with a great sound and dreamy visuals on the LED screen. He played his hit ‘Nobody Has To Know’ as well as a song called Victoria which quote “there’s not along of songs in the set that you’d cry to, but if you’re going to cry to any song it’ll be this one.”

Middle Kids described themselves as themselves as your “afternoon pick me up” which perfectly encapsulates the energy of their set. Their afternoon set meant that Hannah, the band’s lead singer’s two year old son was able to catch their performance, which was very wholesome. The set list consisted of mostly older songs from their repertoire, starting with a slower place but the tempo increased towards the end of their set -  encapsulating the bands versatility. Closing with the feel good-sy ‘Edge of Town’ which highlights Middle Kids talent with the mixture of harmonising vocals and electric guitar work.

Following Middle Kids was Hockey Dad, a cruisey, perfectly placed late afternoon set. The duo consistently reinforced hydration and safety, something other acts had mentioned but Hockey Dad really pushed this message. After music festivals having a two year hiatus, it’s easy for punters to get wrapped up in the music and forget those around them. GTM themselves reinforced this message by playing videos of the artists chatting about these topics on the LED screens in-between sets.

Montaigne’s powerful, passionate vocals were not to be missed. Taking over the Cattleyard stage with her fantastic dance moves and noteworthy use of a loop box. She paused for a moment on stage to use her time to talk about climate change and the importance of voting and using your rights. And if that wasn’t impressive enough on its own, Montaigne’s vocal control was beyond insane. She’s passionate with incredibly beautiful, raw lyrics and I can’t take my eyes off her on stage. I hadn’t seen Montaigne perform before but and I was incredibly impressed by her stage presence.

The NZ duo Broods bought about the perfect blend of synth poop beats and vocals, with harmonies mixed into the songs with the use of a loop box. Broods had the best visuals assisting their set of the day, with the LED screen  displaying the song lyrics as they were being sung. Playing during the transition from dusk to darkness, dancing to ‘Free’ during this time was the perfect feels-like-you’re-in-a-movie moment. With commanding vocals and ponding electronic x pop beats, they were another stand out act of the day for me.

Lime Cordiale had fans waiting at the at the barrier hours before they came on, they drew the biggest crowd to the Cattleyard stage that we had seen all day. They’re always incredibly fun to watch live with their energetic demeanour and matching embellished suits; their attention to detail is unmatched. Their statement use of unusual instruments is crucial to the Lime Cordial act and they’re quickly becoming an Australian household favourite. Their set was fun, wholesome and had great visuals on the LED screen which really made an impact considering it was dark at this point. They were an absolute crowd favourite for sure, and there was a decent portion of the crowd that left after they played.

UK band Wolf Alice brought a lot more rock than I was expecting, especially since their latest hit ‘How Can I Make It OK?’ is on the softer side. Their vocals blended so smoothly with their sound, and showed off the bands diversity with as they backed up their softer songs with something heavier. It was great to see more variety of heavier/rock bands this year at GTM to break up the diversity of the typical Aussie-indie pub band sound.

GTM would not be complete without Hilltop Hoods on the lineup, I caught them at the festival a few years back and you simply can’t ever have a bad time when seeing Hilltop Hoods. Surprisingly, they also included a saxophone during their set. I was genuinely surprised at how many times I saw a saxophone on stage at GTM, however I like the diversity. Their Hilltop Hoods played all their classics, 1965, Exit Sign, Cosby Sweater; but I particularly enjoyed their latest release, Show Business. Hearing the lyrics of Show Business live was jarring in a way. The lyrics touch on the darker side of the industry, but then hearing the crowd enjoying themselves and singing the lyrics in tune with the band was juxtaposing. It’s definitely an important message and if you haven’t taken to time to read the lyrics, I recommend so. This wasn’t a dull moment in the set however, and to find one would be hard. Hilltop Hoods always bring. FULL band, and guests on stage with them. They’re truely some of the best performers I’ve seen that set the bar incredibly high.

Another GTM royalty is the Peking duck duo, who hadn’t performed at GTM since 2014. To summarise their set up, they had literal fire shooting from the stage. They played a perfect mix of dirty house bangers and their well-known classics, very well suited for 10pm at night. Their set was mixed well with  smooth transitions between the tracks. There was a moment during their set I hadn’t witnessed at a festival before - they asked the crowd to all crouch down on the ground and jump when the beat dropped. And my god did nearly every single person at the Cattleyard stage do it. After the lack of live music experiences in the past few years, it was really beautiful to experience that sense of community again.

To describe the feeling of GTM briefly - it’s love. Maybe it’s the vibe and nostalgia of the festival for me, or just being with people I love. But GTM just makes me fall in love with life again.

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