Gypsetters and partygoers alike flocked to Byron Bay for Splendour In The Grass 2015, the 15th anniversary of the iconic arts and music festival. With heavy rain in the week leading up to the event, North Byron Parklands transformed into the quintessential mud-pit, perfect for sliding, singing under sun-showers and wearing paisley-patterned gumboots.
As Australia’s most beloved festival, ‘Splendy’ attracts more than 30,000 revelers every year in July to rock out to epic headliners; this year’s including Florence and the Machine, Blur and Mark Ronson. Surrounded by lush forest, the Amphitheatre main stage roared with mud-splattered music worshippers entranced by the blend of nature and hedonistic joy.
Florence and The Machine
But, it’s not just about the music. The Moroccan Wine Bar is at the heart of gypset festival lifestyle; a magical land of color, lanterns, Chandon sipping bohemians and, this year, a dazzling array of blue, gold and silver metallic tattoos, colorful kimonos and gypsy-trimmed fedoras.
Coined the ‘Heart Chakra of Splendour’, the Global Village pays homage to the eclectic culture of Byron Bay, with dance workshops, yoga classes, circus toys, art classes, burlesque performances, meditation and chanting with Tibetan Monks, in addition to the ever-popular silent disco.
The Wombats
For underground sounds and alternative beats, the DJ-laden Tipi Forest is all about expressing personal freedom and celebrating through dance. It transports you into another world, with creative acts, light shows and an overwhelming atmosphere of cheeky, unrestrained bliss. The danger of entering the Tipi Forest is that you may never again come out!
And, for those in need of some mental stimulation to wake up after a night of non-stop dancing, the Splendour Forum by The Guardian brings politicians, activists and musicians together for live discussion panels, debates, interviews and Q&A sessions. Then, there’s The Splendour Comedy Club to keep everyone in fits of laughter with some of Australia’s funniest comics.
For those times when your Splendy outfit has succumbed to one too many mud splatters, all you need to do is head to Splendour In The Craft for some retail revival. You can cover yourself in an explosion of glitter, discover your creative talents with a hot glue gun or take a craft workshop and leave the festival with some new, artsy skills.
As if that’s not enough to send you into festival heaven, the campgrounds, themselves, are an event. They play host to an innovative bunch of travelers, locals and gypsetters from around the world– setting up with creative flare for 3 days of fun.
Caravans shine with fairy lights, tents glow with flower shaped solar lamps, knitted ponchos act as tent-identification flags and fluorescent, blow up couches set the scene for old friends to meet and new friends to arrive.
Many party-goers have praised 2015’s Splendy as the best year yet, but that’s what everyone says every year. If you’re thinking of going in 2016, tickets go quick, so keep on eye on the website. There are heaps of options to rest your glitter-filled
eyes. You can get a camping ticket, hire a ready-made set up from Tent City or find accommodations in Byron Bay, Brunswick Heads or Pottsville (über cool towns with transport links into the site).
