THIS THAT 2022
THIS THAT was definitely proof that Music Festivals are back, and this includes the greatly missed festival outfits, crazy hair extensions and the squads of happy smiley people. Held in Newcastle at Wickham Park, this event had everything covered. The THIS THAT event was run over four stages, The THIS Stage, The THAT Stage, The OTHER Stage and The Red Bull Mini Stage, with each stage providing such different vibes all the while catering for all tastes in popular music. The stage set-up and locations provided almost four separate events but allowed punters to transition between the four to enjoy the wide variety of artists and bands. The RED Bull stage set close to the amenities was a stroke of brilliance as it gave waiting patrons a welcome distraction. The major stage layout was well suited in this huge park, and also meant the acoustics were clear across all stages, with no distortion or overlay experienced.
Every popular music genre was represented by the bang-on mix of Hip-Hop, EDM , Alternative, Rock and Pop all delivered by some of Australia’s most current and popular bands including The Chats , Mallrat , San Cisco, Crooked Colours , Pacific Avenue and the Dune Rats . The angelically dressed Wafia brought a soulful edge to the day, while the Dune Rats hit the stage with an explosion of energy that got heads banging with their grungy rock feel. Some of the country’s best DJs were also in attendance including What So Not , Enschway & Luude and they did not disappoint when it came their turn to hit the stage, which developed into an energy that kept on magnifying with each burst of crowd participation.
The massive crowd full of smiles and plenty of colour, was mainly dominated by but in no way restricted to the 20 somethings, squads were in full force as was the Lycra and oddly, crocheted garments(Shout out to old mates mum who made his full outfit for the day, never seen a crocheted suit before). The collective was extremely well behaved and given that this was one of the first major festivals since coming out from the Covid cloud, the behavior demonstrated that the '“kids” just wanted their festivals back. It was clear from the moment you waited with the crowd to enter, everyone was here for a good time with lots of laughs and very happy vibes.
The music wasn’t the only variety at this event, there was a variety of everything from event merch to artist merch , food trucks, bars, even market and information stalls. Lots of Water stations were available and a surprisingly large number of portaloos set up in several locations. . A large police presence was also in attendance, dogs included but with extremely few issues on the day, the times they were actually needed was minimal. The VIP Area at THIS THAT was massive and included not only a well covered seating area, toilets, bar & food, but also Giant Jenga and Connect Four set up amongst the picnic tables and beanbag lounges .
A couple of notable mentions go to:
The THIS Stage, the biggest of all the stages, sandwiched some of the hottest bands at the moment between some of hottest artists at the moment, such as Jack River , Client Liaison , Crooked Colours, with Hayden James, who hit the stage as the sun started going down with a barrage of light and electronica.
ILLY and Kota Banks were the perfect bookends to the back to back big names on The THAT Stage, including MALLRAT that in a haze of smoke performed their monster hits with the crowd singing along word for word.
The Other Stage : WAAX , Teen Jesus & The Jean Teasers and Yng Martyr all pulled their own large & loyal crowds and generated an amazing atmosphere in a more intimate setting.
Our Rating
Public Transport: 🎫🎫.5
Venue: 🎫🎫🎫🎫.5
Line-Up: 🎫🎫🎫🎫.5
Amenities: 🎫🎫🎫🎫.5
Food: 🎫🎫🎫🎫
Bars/Alcohol: 🎫🎫🎫🎫
Merchandise: 🎫🎫🎫🎫
VIP Package: 🎫🎫🎫🎫.5
Over All: 🎫🎫🎫🎫.5