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Ten years ago the Big Day Out, a major Australian Music Festival that featured the likes of Nirvana, The White Stripes and Kanye West, was cancelled. Nirvana played the first Big Day Out in Sydney in 1992 alongside Violent Femmes.(Reuters) At the time it was reported that ticket sales and friction between organisers and bands was to blame. But pop music commentator and Melbourne Conservatorium of Music Professor Mark Pollard said its cancellation signalled a change in the Australian festival scene. "That was kind of a big milestone in terms of change of music festivals," he said. A decade, pandemic and cost-of-living crisis later, it is evident that the landscape of Australian festivals has shifted, with big events like Splendour in the Grass and Groovin the Moo calling it quits for the foreseeable future. A silver lining is festivals aimed at older generations and smaller events (under 20,000 attendees) are thriving. One such festival is the Mundi Mundi Bash, a predominantly rock music festival featuring big names from previous decades that takes place on the Mundi Mundi Plains in Far West New South Wales. The Mundi Mundi Bash is marketed as family friendly.(ABC Broken Hill: Bill Ormonde ) The Bash was first introduced to locals in 2022 and ran twice that year with great success, despite the pandemic. This year the Bash has broken its ticket-selling record by selling 14,000. Professor Pollard says that with the double whammy of the COVID-19 pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis, millennials and members of Generation Z are being hit the hardest, making attending festivals simply no longer in the budget. "Sometimes it is the money, which is major, but the other thing is I can't afford to miss work to go, which is a big thing post-COVID [restrictions], and the third thing is that disposable income element," he said. Groovin the Moo is among festivals cancelled due to insufficient ticket sales.(Supplied: Groovin the Moo) The typical Mundi Mundi attendees are of retirement age or are families with children, which is exactly the audience the festival is targeted at. Superjesus lead singer Sarah McLeod remembers her first performance at Mundi Mundi last year, and feeling like she was somewhere special. "If you go for a walk, you can just think, 'Wow. Where am I?'," she said. The close proximity to those attending and camping around Silverton meant she met attendees in a casual setting. "I go wandering around and talk to people, because everyone's in a good mood. It's quite spiritual," McLeod said. The closest town to the Mundi Mundi Plains is Silverton, which has a population of about 50.(ABC Broken Hill: Coquohalla Connor) Professor Pollard says it is exactly the combination of a unique space and proximity that has led to smaller festivals thriving. "One of the things that have become more apparent is that smaller festivals, that are more [family] inclusive, those that involve more volunteers, are becoming more successful," he said. It is something that Mundi Mundi founder and organiser Greg Donovan agrees with. "I think that one of the reasons why we've continued to have good numbers is because we're very focused on that [older] demographic, where costs of living is more of an issue for the younger generation," he said. Many would also think the prospect of travelling more than 13 hours from Sydney, or more than seven hours from Adelaide, would be a barrier for attendees. Adam Thompson from Chocolate Starfish performed at the Mundi Mundi Bash last year.(ABC Broken Hill: Bill Ormonde) But that is what makes the Mundi Mundi Bash successful. "People look at it like, 'Well, this is a bit of an adventure. We get to have a holiday [and] we can stop on the way there'," Mr Donovan said. It is hard to know exactly how much the scene will change in the next decade because, as Professor Pollard says, "We're in the middle of it". He does have a few guesses though. "I think the smaller festivals will become bigger, there will be more of them, the bigger festivals will change more and more to become more [family] inclusive events," he said. The Mundi Mundi Bash was held twice in 2022.(Supplied: Matt Williams) For now, festivals like Mundi Mundi are set to continue reaping the benefits of the older audience they target and the unique environment they chose to play in. And for Superjesus' front woman, it is a gig that does not get old. "I'm glad they invited me back because I love it," McLeod said. "I'm so keen for it." Get our local newsletter, delivered free each FridayGenerational differences
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