Harvest – Taking Australia to A New Dimension

Festival season has descended upon the land down under, and leading the pack is Harvest, a day-long event featuring an array of unique and talented acts. Taking place at Werribee Park in Melbourne, the inaugural edition of Harvest Presents “The Gathering” is being described as “one incredible day for discerning music lovers”.

Portishead will headline the Melbourne edition of Harvest (with similar day-long editions occurring the following weekend in Sydney and Brisbane) in what will be their first show in Australia in fourteen years. While Portishead’s performance will be sure to draw attention, festival organizers have outdone themselves with a collection of the music world’s most celebrated and diverse acts, including The National, The Flaming Lips, Bright Eyes, Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, Holy Fuck, The Family Stone, Mercury Rev, Death In Vegas, The Walkmen, Dappled Cities, PVT, This Town Needs Guns, The Holidays and Phosphorescent to name a few.

But Harvest is more than a “music-only” event. The Harvest website details how they will ensure the festival will be not only a unique experience, but also a memorable one:

“Limit the capacity and exclude rugrats to ensure comfort while substantially increasing the quality and quantity of amenities, services, food outlets and the variety of food & beverage options provided.

Last but definitely not least, create a mesmerising atmosphere by setting the events in magnificent, natural, green environments; show off all that natural beauty with ambient lighting and visual effects; and place within it art installations, holistic markets, cocktail bars and a plethora of performers — from visual and live arts mavericks to neo-cabaret stars.”

Will fans get to see Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips touring the holistic markets? Will past touring mates The National and The Walkmen unite onstage to perform some of either band’s classics? PopMatters is sure to find out, and will have all the details following what promises to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Harvest Dates and Tickets:

Saturday November 12 – Harvest Presents “The Gathering”, Melbourne, Werribee Park

Sunday November 13 – Harvest, Sydney, Parramatta Park

Saturday November 19 – Harvest, Brisbane, Botanical Gardens

For tickets and event details please visit:
http://harvestfestival.com.au/about

[Editor’s Note: There was some controversy over Promoter AJ Maddah’s blog posting about the timetables not being available for the show because of Portishead. The timetables seem to be up now. But some of his comments are worth sharing though he has now said the comments were taken out of context and not aimed at the band. From his blog:

At the beginning of this saga, we had what Declan (my Harvest co-conspirator) and I thought was the perfect timetable. Then came word that 1 of our headliners wanted absolute silence on other stages. We had to comply with this for 2 reasons:

1. Their amazing, melancholy and ethereal music would be ruined if there was any noise bleed from other stages; &

2. They would cancel. And this was no bluff.

Now usually I don’t react well to these situations… This time, however, it was a band I had chased for a decade. I had got down on my knees and begged them to play Harvest. It was a band whose final acquiessence had prompted me to launch the festival this year….]