This September will see the 2nd edition of the KickAss Music & Camping Festival kick off at Kenilworth on the Sunshine Coast, KickAss is a family friendly, camping festival with a sound-track supplied by a selection of the best Australian rock you could hope to find on one lineup. MFA caught up with Festival Director Josh Allen to ask him about the events origins, what makes KickAss so special and what punters can look forward to at this event that will run from the 8th - 9th of September.

Josh, you are the Festival Director for the Kick Ass Music & Camping Festival, is this the first festival you have been involved in on the planning side of things or do you have a history in music events?

I have worked extensively in the events industry for many years with a broad range of roles and responsibilities across music festivals and large scale sporting events. A two year music festival hiatus due to Covid, slowed down some momentum on the music events I was involved in, but its great to be back and its great to see the industry absolutely thriving again!

What makes Kick Ass different to other festivals?

The KickAss Music & Camping Festival is without a doubt one of the more unusual music festivals I've been a part of. It is the tale of how it came to be that distinguishes it. I suppose it's similar to how the Big Red Bash began..."Accidental music festival"

The KickAss Festival was intended to be a low-key KickAss "Campout." KickAss' top customers from around Australia would be invited to a small, low-key event in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland town of Kenilworth, where they would sing kumbaya around the fire and trade camping and adventure gear stories.

It wasn't until KickAss Founder and former Adelaide busker Klaeton Sheehan attended a Black Sorrows concert in Brisbane that he realised his vision of a campout wasn't quite enough.

Klaeton would contract Aussie rock icons Ross Wilson (Daddy Cool) and Joe Camilerri (Black Sorrows) to headline a two-day music event attracting caravaning adventurers from all over Australia, of all ages and backgrounds, 10 weeks later…The very first KickAss Music & Camping Festival was on!

“you have no choice but to work through it and find affordable solutions without compromising on quality and consumer expectation”

— Josh Allen

We are living through difficult times at the moment, what have been the challenges in organizing a festival and especially a brand new one in the current climate?

Yes, tough times as an industry for sure. But, it is what it is and it will eventually get better. As a professional event manager, you have no choice but to work through it and find affordable solutions without compromising on quality and consumer expectation. The biggest challenge for many in the industry has been finding staff! Thats slowly starting to get back to normal though.

KickAss as a camping/adventure brand were one of the fortunate few who came out the other side of Covid with significant growth from a two year domestic travel boom which saw staggering numbers of people purchasing caravans and camping gear for their escapades away from harsh lockdowns.

This has given our Festival a larger target audience than perhaps 2 or 3 years ago when the urban one day music festival was the priority for a lot of people.

Was it important to have camping as an option for punters when you were planning Kick Ass?

Yes, absolutely. We look at this festival as an opportunity for people to enjoy a multi-day festival with great music in the great outdoors. In fact, we were so adamant about making camping a crucial part of the festival this year that we actually changed venues to a more central and suitable venue so we could welcome more people.

Kenilworth is also the second most popular camping destination in Queensland, only coming behind Fraser Island. So, with that being said, maximising our camping attendees whilst making sure they are comfortable and have adequate space is important to us and we feel this will play a pivotal role in the festivals success going forward.

The Sunshine Coast is a beautiful part of the country which is easily accessible and has great weather in September, were these important factors when choosing the location for Kick Ass?

They sure were. Being a Sunshine Coast born and bred company was also a driving force behind our decision to operate in the area.

Funny story though! Last year, it absolutely bucketed down for most of the festival. An event managers worst nightmare for outside events. You’re checking the radar all the time, and it always feels like the rain blob is just hovering over your venue like some kind of sick joke mother nature is playing on you…Anyway, Klaeton was so onto the rain that he paid the BOM to do an accurate weather forecast for the festival. The forecast was almost to the minute precise that we were able to be proactive enough to buy ponchos to keep almost everyone dry! This just shows the lengths we will go to, to ensure our audience is comfortable and having a good time.

“It was important for us to curate a lineup that stayed true to the roots of the festival which is icons of Aussie rock”

— Josh Allen

Kick Ass has an all Australian Rock, Alt-Rock & Alt-Country lineup. As a curator, how did you decide which bands to invite to perform?

It was important for us to curate a lineup that stayed true to the roots of the festival which is icons of Aussie rock but with a bit of everything to mix it up for genuine music lovers.

We wanted to really zero in on a lineup that targeted our core demographic but attracted others and created that ‘something for everyone’ festival.

Lastly, we had to make sure it was in budget.

In our opinion, our lineup absolutely nails the brief and we can’t wait to launch tickets.

Was it important to you to cater to a range of demographics with the musical genres you have selected ?

Yes, this was a huge reason why we curated the lineup we did. It had to stay true to the KickAss brand and the original festival. Like I mentioned above, the growth of domestic travel in Australia during Covid grew ten-fold, particulary with young families. Giving families, core 4WD clubs and other groups, was the driving force behind our lineup.

We have a really interesting mixture of nostalgic meets modern at our festival and we believe our audience will love it as much as we do. There’s bands in there from the 70’s who people in there twenties will know the words to and there more modern bands who will get the oldies jumping around like the twenty-somethings.

“The beauty of KickAss Festival is that the core music festival crowds can come and have an epic time knowing the kids zone is away from the major action and they have their own entertainment to keep them happy and busy”

— Josh Allen

The two day event is a family friendly affair, does this make it easier or more challenging to organize given the regulations involved around alcohol cosumption and finding suitable kid-friendly activities?

Not really. I have personally run bars at family friendly events and 18+ events and I find festivals with families easier to control.

There’s a level of responsibility, sensibility and maturity that everyone shares when there’s kids around and this changes the mindset for the majority.

The beauty of KickAss Festival is that the core music festival crowds can come and have an epic time knowing the kids zone is away from the major action and they have their own entertainment to keep them happy and busy. Mum and dad can get a break, but also feel confident that their kids are in a safe environment.

Alot goes into an event like Kick Ass behind the scenes, Is there anyone from the stage, sound or staff crews that deserve a special shout out?

It’s hard to single anyone out. At this stage in the process, we have to give a huge shout out to Damian Costin from Live Nation who assisted me in curating the lineup and will now go on to help with several other facets on the entertainment side of things.

We are busy behind the scenes organising suppliers and contractors, so we will let you know who blows our minds once the Festival is over.

What do ticket holders need to know for Kick Ass? Do you have a message for punters attending this spring weekend event?

This is a festival for all. If you aren’t camping, don’t worry we have day tickets available. OR there is ample accommodation in the town of Kenilworth as well as a healthy range of airbnb’s. There’s also companies out there like Camplify (airbnb for caravans) if you want to take the plunge and get a set of wheels for the weekend!

Once tickets are released, all the key vital information will be provided to you with tips on how to book camping, where all the campgrounds are located, what equipment to bring, set times, other entertainment to look out for as well as information on our courtesy bus loop that will be running people North and South between campgrounds all weekend for your added convenience.

Don’t forget your camping chairs and picnic rugs, leave egos and bad vibes at the door.

Lastly, GET IN EARLY. This is going to be a sell out!

Josh Allen is ready for KickAss