The Bellarine’s biggest music festival is back this weekend, with the 25th edition of the Queenscliff Music Festival (QMF).
In a festival first, the music kicked off on Thursday night (November 23) with 11 shows across four venues, with Aussie music legends The Badloves and Melbourne cult favourites Jazzparty giving their sole performances for the weekend.
With international artists such as Aloe Blacc, G.Love & Special Sauce and Foy Vance, local powerhouses like Ian Moss, Something For Kate, Boy & Bear and Illy, audiences will have their pick of familiar and favourite acts to choose from.
But festival director Andrew Orvis said it was the musical surprises that QMF was always most proud to present to punters.
“I think what sets us apart is you can come and see the big shows, the big name artists that you love, but in amongst all of that you’re going to see some bands that maybe you’ve never heard of but will soon be your new favourite bands,” he said.
“The other thing that’s unique for us is Queenscliff itself; the coast, the park, the beautiful old town, the harbour, venues like the Vue Grand and the Queenscliff Town Hall. All of that’s pretty special and unique to our festival and our community.”
Like many other annual events, QMF didn’t run in 2020 or 2021, but last year saw a triumphant return for the festival.
This year, with the likelihood of COVID-19 lockdowns well behind us, QMF expected to attract over 25,000 to the Bellarine over the weekend.
Mr Orvis said it was a relief to go into the festival without the spectre of COVID-19 hanging over everything.
“Everyone’s just excited, it’s nice to be back doing it with things feeling pretty normal again,” he said.
“Even though last year’s festival went ahead it was still kind of always in the back of our minds, so it’s nice to be full steam ahead.”
