Looking back at eight unforgettable Party In The Paddock moments
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09.01.2020

Looking back at eight unforgettable Party In The Paddock moments

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With Jesse Higgs, PITP Founder

Over the past eight years, Party in the Paddock has gone from just that – a 500-capacity birthday bash – to a mainstay of the Aussie festival scene. Sadly, this year marks the final PITP, so we’re looking back at some of the best memories from the festival through the years.

2013-14: Humble beginnings, happiness and hay bales

The first few years of Party in the Paddock were all about mates, local music and art, Tassie summer afternoon sunshine, BYO alcohol, happiness and hay bales. The stage was full of local gold, including Tassie favourites; Luca Brasi, Christopher Coleman, Jed Appleton, Younger Dryas and many more. 2013-14 saw interstate headliners including the likes of Sticky Fingers, Kingswood, Stonefield, The Vasco Era and Kingfisher. A memorable highlight was the Sticky Finger vs Kingswood on-stage stoush…

 

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2015: A mini Woodstock, but with Dune Rats and Jinja Safari

In the space of one year, PITP went from 1900 people to between 4000-5000. It felt like a mini Woodstock, with an emergency fence snip in order to fi t the unexpected droves of Paddockers. Our calm little festival turned into marvellous mayhem, with our biggest lineup to date, featuring The Beautiful Girls, Jinja Safari, Allday, The Smith Street Band and Dune Rats. Key highlights from this year; Dune Rats too intoxicated to sing ‘Dalai Lama, Big Banana, Marijuana’ and Pepa Knight crowd surfing his Sitar during Jinja Safari’s set.

2016: Violent Soho and that destructive moshpit

2016 saw the move of the Main Stage into the neighbouring amphitheatre paddock, with stellar sets from Spiderbait, The Preatures, British India, Tkay Maidza, Vallis Alps, Bad//Dreems, Tired Lion and The Bennies. But it was Violent Soho who stole the show that year with an intensified set at the peak of their Hungry Ghost fever. With a chorus of “Hell fuck yeah” the PITP moshpit reached a whole new level of fuck yeah… with nothing left of the hay bales at the front of the stage but dust and straw.

2017: The birth of Vibestown

The festival within a festival, Vibestown is the physical heart of PITP, officially sprouting in 2016 but not taking full effect until the following year. Almost becoming PITP’s rumpus room, entertainment deluxe, Vibestown became the new home for jumping castles, mechanical bulls, comedy (Matt Okine, Gen Fricker, Aunty Donna, etc.), poetry, Talk in the Paddock, The Goodtimes Church and other interactive art/performances.

2017: Tash Sultana at sunset

We’ve always kept an eye out for rising talent, but none of us could have guessed just how quickly Tash Sultana would become an international superstar. When we booked her back in early-mid 2016, Tash had only just posted the yet-to-be viral sensation that was ‘Jungle’ live from her bedroom. By the time the festival came around in 2017, we almost had to move her to the top of the bill. Tash did not disappoint. 8pm, Main Stage, sunset slot, 7,500 spellbound Paddockers – the hype was real, special stuff.

 

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2017: A Sticky hiatus

After locking in Sticky Fingers as the 2017 headliner, we were as shocked as anyone to see what unfolded between the band and Thelma Plum. After receiving some pretty serious external noise with demands for us to drop them as our headliner, we were feeling the pressure. After deep discussions with their management, it became apparent that they wanted Paddock to be the final show before their indefinite hiatus. With a new record PITP crowd of over 7,500, the atmosphere was electric, with thousands of Sticky fans from all around the country coming to witness their potential swan song.

2018: Grouplove and double rainbows

For 2018, we reached out to one of our favourite bands in the world, Grouplove, and they said yes! And so did Australia… to same-sex marriage. At about 5pm on the Saturday, for the first time ever, it rained at PITP. It threatened to take down the whole festival. Thankfully, the rain stopped, and a perfect double rainbow appeared above the main stage. The show went on without a hitch from that point on, with brilliant sets from Ball Park Music, Grouplove and The Avalanches to wrap up 2018.

2019: Yungblud’s onstage engagement

One of the partners of a long-time PITP punter reached out to us in the lead up to the event, announcing that she was planning on proposing to her partner during Yungblud’s set. As YB cranked into his main hit ‘I Love You, Will You Marry Me’, the magic moment unravelled in front of thousands of very stunned and emotionally-charged people. As far as memorable moments go, this one was right up there and you can catch it all via video on our Facebook page.

Party In The Paddock goes down in Tasmania’s White Hills, from Thursday February 6 to Saturday February 8. Grab your tickets and check out the full lineup at the festival website.

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