Reviewed on Sunday November 23 (photo by Ashley Mar)
With over 70 artists across seven venues, Rock The Gate was a powerful and diverse demonstration of the Australian entertainment industry uniting to support the anti-fracking movement.
From electronica and hip hop to alt-country, blues, roots and jazz, the street festival delivered a eclectic mix of music, arts and performance. Each venue showcased a killer lineup of Aussie and international acts, community activists and industry speakers, all supporting rural communities in protecting their farmlands and livelihoods from fracking and unconventional gas mining.
With so much talent packed into the afternoon, decisions had to be made. Schedule clashes had patrons choosing between Maatzi and Leah Flanagan, Pete Murray and a drag show; tough choices indeed, but the level of talent made sure there were no bad options.
Little blues bar The Midnight Special took us to the Dirty South with the deep, smooth sound of Groove Depot. Standout guitar, bass and drum solos and an infallible frontman delivered blues to rival New Orleans’ greatest, and it was a challenge to peel ourselves away to check out the rest of the festival.
Town Hall AKA La Townie had things swinging with alternative country, featuring the banjos and synco-sonic sounds of The Rusty Spring Syncopators, while electronica was pumping across the road at Zanzibar with the likes of Bumble, Ginger And The Ghost and Dakini on the decks all night.
Acoustic sets dominated The Green Room Lounge while The Warren View Hotel housed the Art Party, featuring a plethora of local talent including Son Of Sun, Nic Cassey and Kallidad.
Powerful words were bought to the stage at The Sly Fox with conscious hip hop, while the Enmore Theatre was an absolute powerhouse ofAustralian and international talent including indigenous group the Black Cockatoo Dance Company, The Herd, Ash Grunwald, Natalie Pa’apa’a and US roots legend Nahko Bear. All up, it was non-violent community activism at its finest.
