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Photo – earth sea and sound photography

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One of Australia’s most cherished cultural escapes, The Gum Ball, returns to the majestic bushlands of Dashville (Wonnarua) for its 19th chapter, over the last weekend of the April school holidays (NSW) running Thursday 25th April, through to Sunday 28th April 2024.

A supreme live music and art experience held at Lower Belford, Hunter Valley, NSW, The Gum Ball is run by a small team of music lovers, and boasts an enviable reputation as one of the best laid-back festivals in existence.

The natural bushland space of Dashville makes for an incredible home away from home and the long running festival, The Gum Ball is their flagship event of the year. A comfortable and inclusive festival experience, connecting music lovers from all walks and ages of life, with some great hand-picked recording artists from across Australia, as well as locally and and overseas. One big central stage presents a three-day musical journey as artists perform one by one, amongst the big tall gum trees that wrap across the idyllic arena space.

The festival is pleased to announce the first taste of a well-considered line up full of variety and intrigue. A mere sample of what’s to come, with a full line up announcement scheduled for late January 2024 which will include around 40 artists, including a special ANZAC evening concert for those who like to arrive a day early.

Expect an incredible journey of live music alongside live art, comedy, pro skateboarding, markets, workshops, camping and more.

The first portion of The Gum Ball’s musical program for 2024 looks like this;

BATTLESNAKE + BURGER JOINT + CLAIRE ANNE TAYLOR + COTERIE (NZ)+ DALLAS CRANE + EMILY WURRUMARA + JET CITY SPORTS CLUB + KID CONGO & THE PINK MONKEY BIRDS (USA) + MAIN GUYS & THE OTHER GUYS + MELODY POOL + RADIUM DOLLS + RVG + SF WRENS + SITTING DOWN + THE BURES BAND

YOUNG GUMS RETURNS! Organisers of the Gum Ball festival, Dashville are also excited to announce the return of the Young Gums Youth Mentorship Project. Young Gums is an immersive five-day music-based learning experience for 10 regional high school kids aged 14-18 who are interested in music festival production and events. The program runs across the festival weekend, kicking off Wednesday 24th April and concluding with a final main stage performance on Sunday 28th April.

Applications for Young Gums close March 20th 2024 and require parental consent. Apply here.

Head to the Dashville website to find out more.

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Follow THE GUM BALL
Website – Facebook – Instagram

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Photo – Renae Saxby

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GUM BALL 2024
ARTISTS IN FOCUS

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Kid Congo & The Pink Monkey Birds (USA)

KID CONGO & THE PINK MONKEY BIRDS (USA)

With a rock n’ roll resume cooler than anyone else’s, Kid Congo Powers was a founding member of cowpunk blues outfit The Gun Club and guitarist for legendary psycho-billy purveyors The Cramps as well as Australia’s own, Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds.

Following the 2022 release of his long awaited and critically acclaimed memoir , “Some New Kind of Kick”, Kid Congo makes his 4th trip to Australia with long-term cohorts The Pink Monkey Birds in support of their latest album , “That Delicious Vice” out thru In the Red Records.

“That Delicious Vice” is the 5th full length album for In The Red Records and marks the band’s first as a 3 piece, however on this tour, we have a surprise secret weapon planned for you which we can’t reveal.

You’ll just have to come to the show to find out ! Kid Congo & The Pink Monkey Birds will be touring Australia this April.

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RVG

RVG

“If we could only make one more album, it would be this one,” says Vager.

RVG’s highly-anticipated third album is named Brain Worms for the hyper-recognisable experience of, each day, baring witness to a world of private obsessions being aired out in the infinite. This may not be wholly new territory for the Melbourne post-punk band and its lyricist/frontwoman Romy Vager, but this time around, there’s a newfound radical acceptance glistening overtop everything.

After a momentous first five years — finding critical acclaim for debut A Quality of Mercy, landing on countless end-of-year Best Of lists, and playing alongside some of the world’s biggest acts in Pixies, Kurt Vile, Pete Doherty, Sleaford Mods, Camp Cope, Shame, and more — RVG released second album Feral as the world was locking down. Feral was called “masterfully executed” by The Big Issue, “the record of a lifetime” by Rolling Stone Australia, and given four-and-a-half stars by the Sydney Morning Herald.

But between the four bandmates — lead singer and guitarist Vager, guitarist Reuben Bloxham, drummer Marc Nolte and bassist Isabele Wallace — this is the most confident they’ve ever felt in RVG. They’ve moved past their influences, pushed themselves, and tried new things. And they have made a record they can, by all accounts, call their best.

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Coterie / Photo – Tom Grut

COTERIE (NZ)

Coterie, four brothers making massive waves across Australian and New Zealand coastlines! The band encompass an authenticity often lost in modern music, their records telling lyrical stories drawn from real-life experience and using melodically rich vocals to bring a raw narrative heat to the songs. Immersed in a world of surf and art, the band have developed a unique blend of high energy reggae-rock music that has audiences demanding more!

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Photo – earth sea and sound photography

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AMNPLIFY – DB