What Groovin The Moo succeeded in doing yet again was staggering fan favourites alongside incredible new acts over the course of the day so there was always someone to be mesmerised by, whether you knew the act or not.
Local boys Horror My Friend rolled through their 20-minute set with pure rock attitude - not unlike the Cattleyard Stage headliners - and set an awesome vibe for the day ahead.
"An absolute masterpiece and definitely one of the highlights of the night."
Northeast Party House managed to fill the Moolin Rouge tent to the brim, with crowd members ready for a day of good vibes and incredible music. Pair the energetic Melbourne six-piece with confetti guns and you have a wonderful set to kick off the early part of the day.
The size and level of love the main stage crowd was giving Montaigne was incredible – and for good reason, too. Not only were her songs wonderfully punchy and full of character, she moved and sung so actively. Montaigne radiated true artistry in her set, and if there was one person who was a no-brainer in seeing, it would easily be her.
Slumberjack wasted no time getting the party started with hard-hitting tunes such as Open Fire and Horus, their visuals syncing perfectly. The only way the vibe would've been better is if they performed at night, though their afternoon set worked well as a mid-fest pick me up.
The late afternoon crowd for Tash Sultana was huge (like, seriously huge). Her natural charisma and passion oozed out and her guitar work was so fluid. A lot of her set was pretty jammy and chilled out with her songs paced pretty slowly, flowing quite well into each other.
The highlight of the day was PNAU, who beamed back into the spotlight late last year with their single Chameleon. Throwing in a wealth of classics around the new hit smoothed the edges between their new worldly style and their old electronic music.
Late evening saw George Maple take to the stage in the Moolin Rouge tent, unleashing completely flawless vocals that tugged on the heartstrings as she mesmerised with passionate songs and gripping instrumentation.
It’s fair to say that Groovin The Moo threw us a couple of curveballs when it came to the line-up. No one was expecting to see names like The Darkness, but their Singstar classic I Believe In A Thing Called Love was an absolute masterpiece and definitely one of the highlights of the night.
The Wombats put on a flawless set, as always, throwing in core classics and hits from their most recent LP, Glitterbug, while the twangy guitar intro in Let’s Dance To Joy Division reminded everyone why they fell in love with the band.
Over at the Moolin Rouge stage, Dillon Francis brought the tent to a close with an incredible (and hilarious) set full of chilled out dance tunes mixed in with some harder stuff. Even though he didn't play Get Low, it didn't feel like he had to - his set was 100% full of bangers.
Pumping out gritty attitude to the jam-packed oval, it was clear that Violent Soho have mastered their festival set, playing with so much energy and conviction during Covered In Chrome, Like Soda, Blanket and So Sentimental that they truly cemented the day as a memorable one.
While SA’s new era of Groovin The Moo didn’t have the level of freedom and adventure that the Oakbank location did, it still delivered a solid day of music and an uplifting atmosphere. Now residing in the place that Big Day Out stood for most of its Adelaide life, the first leg of Groovin The Moo 2017 played out like an incredible housewarming party.
13.05.17
Hay Park, Bunbury
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