Almost two years since the first cancellations of events in Australia, the landscape is still restricted and incredibly unpredictable. Currently, New South Wales (Sydney) has completely banned singing and dancing, even outside. After the ban was introduced in Sydney, many events had to postpone or cancel. The Sydney iteration of Untitled’s Grapevine Gathering feel victim to this situation, with the festival being canned halfway though their extensive set up.
Thankfully, Untitled had their events Wildlands, Beyond The City and Grapevine Gathering go ahead throughout the country, dodging the restrictions.
Wildlands opted for a double weekender this year, after their multi year postponement. Taking place in Brisbane, the event brought together a mix of bands and electronic artists across two stages. From the massive main stage to the more underground esque halo stage, there was something for everyone. Acts such as Golden Features, What So Not, Crooked Colours and Chillinit graced the stages. With an abundance of food trucks and bars, the festival ran without a hitch.
Just a number of days after Wildlands, Untitled held Beyond The City, a alternative take on their extremely popular Beyond The Valley festival. With shorter than usual notice, an event held closer to the city and less capacity than usual, the name was temporarily changed. Also held over two days with the second day being New Years Eve – the event did not any have trouble selling out. The Melbourne festival showcased three stages, allowing for multiple different experiences throughout the day, especially thanks to their creative stage designs. In the ever changing environment that event organisers are still experiencing, the decision to run Beyond The City was the right one and came just in time before the omicron wave swept through a lot of Australia. Whilst Untitled are sure to return to their multi day country based festival, future one off city events would be welcomed.
Thankfully, restrictions in Victoria are currently not as strict as New South Wales, therefore Grapevine Gathering was able to go ahead just this past weekend. The wine and music infused festival had been postponed and finally took place in the wine centric Yarra Valley. With bands and more chill atmosphere than the above mentioned events, Grapevine Gathering is another terrific imprint under the ever growing Untitled Group.
With various other events on the horizon, thankfully Untitled Group are now back in the swing of things. They managed to successfully traverse the restrictions and put on many, safe shows for tens of thousands of patrons.
You can see upcoming events from the Untitled Group here.
