Meredith Music Festival
Encyclopedia
The Meredith Music Festival (otherwise known simply as Meredith or MMF) is a three-day outdoor music festival held every December at the Supernatural Amphitheatre, a natural amphitheatre
located on private farmland near the town of Meredith
in Victoria
, Australia
. A self-funded non-commercial event first held in 1991, Meredith spawned Golden Plains
, a music festival which takes place over the Labor day long weekend in March.
. Since the Nolans own the site, permanent infrastructure has been built including showers, compost toilets, and recycled water with the surrounding areas setup for usage of tent
s, van
s, caravans or motorhomes. The culture and music of the festival reflects the strength, and diversity of the Melbourne
and surrounding music scene. Warren Ellis (musician)
(Dirty Three
/ Grinderman
) referred to it as "the world's best festival" in a recent interview.
The second allocation is sold in record stores in Melbourne
, Geelong, Ballarat and the Surf Coast as has been the case in previous years. These go on sale after the Ballot closes. The third allocation is distributed online.
Amphitheatre
An amphitheatre is an open-air venue used for entertainment and performances.There are two similar, but distinct, types of structure for which the word "amphitheatre" is used: Ancient Roman amphitheatres were large central performance spaces surrounded by ascending seating, and were commonly used...
located on private farmland near the town of Meredith
Meredith, Victoria
Meredith is a town in Victoria, Australia, located on the Midland Highway between Ballarat and Geelong.Meredith Post Office opened on 1 November 1854 and the railway came to the town with the opening of the Geelong-Ballarat line in 1862, with the local railway station opened soon after. Now only...
in Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. A self-funded non-commercial event first held in 1991, Meredith spawned Golden Plains
Golden Plains Festival
The Golden Plains Festival is held over three days during the Victorian Labour Day long-weekend on private farmland in Victoria, Australia. The nearest rural town is Meredith, which is between the regional cities of Geelong and Ballarat. The closest metropolitan city is Melbourne, 90 kilometres...
, a music festival which takes place over the Labor day long weekend in March.
Description
The festival is held on a private property owned by the family of one of the organisers, Chris Nolan near the town of MeredithMeredith, Victoria
Meredith is a town in Victoria, Australia, located on the Midland Highway between Ballarat and Geelong.Meredith Post Office opened on 1 November 1854 and the railway came to the town with the opening of the Geelong-Ballarat line in 1862, with the local railway station opened soon after. Now only...
. Since the Nolans own the site, permanent infrastructure has been built including showers, compost toilets, and recycled water with the surrounding areas setup for usage of tent
Tent
A tent is a shelter consisting of sheets of fabric or other material draped over or attached to a frame of poles or attached to a supporting rope. While smaller tents may be free-standing or attached to the ground, large tents are usually anchored using guy ropes tied to stakes or tent pegs...
s, van
Van
A van is a kind of vehicle used for transporting goods or groups of people.In British English usage, it can be either specially designed or based on a saloon or sedan car, the latter type often including derivatives with open backs...
s, caravans or motorhomes. The culture and music of the festival reflects the strength, and diversity of the Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
and surrounding music scene. Warren Ellis (musician)
Warren Ellis (musician)
Warren Ellis is an Australian multi-instrumentalist and composer, best known for his work with Dirty Three, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and Grinderman and his soundtrack scores with Nick Cave. He plays violin, piano, bouzouki, guitar, flute, mandolin, and tenor guitar...
(Dirty Three
Dirty Three
Dirty Three are an instrumental trio consisting of Warren Ellis , Mick Turner and Jim White , originating from Melbourne, Australia. Since the Dirty Three formed in 1992, they have spent a lot of time overseas...
/ Grinderman
Grinderman
Grinderman is an alternative rock band formed by Nick Cave , Warren Ellis , Martyn P. Casey and Jim Sclavunos in London, United Kingdom in 2006...
) referred to it as "the world's best festival" in a recent interview.
Attractions
- The Meredith Gift (a reference to the Stawell GiftStawell GiftThe Stawell Gift is Australia's oldest and richest short distance running race. It is run over every Easter weekend by the Stawell Athletic Club, with the main race finals on the holiday Monday, at Central Park, Stawell in the Grampian Mountains district of western Victoria.The race is run on grass...
) is a nudeNudityNudity is the state of wearing no clothing. The wearing of clothing is exclusively a human characteristic. The amount of clothing worn depends on functional considerations and social considerations...
running race, with the chance to win The Golden Jocks trophy. - The Pink Flamingo Bar, an ever-popular cocktail bar
- A sportsfield which includes the Meredith Eye ferris wheelFerris wheelA Ferris wheel is a nonbuilding structure consisting of a rotating upright wheel with passenger cars attached to the rim in such a way that as the wheel turns, the cars are kept upright, usually by gravity.Some of the largest and most modern Ferris wheels have cars mounted on...
. - The Ecoplex Cinema displays both short and feature length films, including outdated informational films, advertisements and television shows intended to humour the audience.
Ticketing
Ticketing is implemented via a system which sees the first allocation distributed through a 'Subscriber Ticket Ballot' - allowing half of the total allocation of tickets randomly distributed to 'subscribers' already on MMF's email list. Subscribers are notified in August and need to purchase their tickets within a set period of time.The second allocation is sold in record stores in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Geelong, Ballarat and the Surf Coast as has been the case in previous years. These go on sale after the Ballot closes. The third allocation is distributed online.