With a magic sunset backdrop, Angus and Julia Stone mesmerized SummerSalt Festival beach fans at Glenelg

By Deb Kloeden, Rock At Night Australia

Venue: Glenelg Beach, Adelaide – December 8, 2018

The outdoor music festival SummerSalt continues to bring some of Australia’s finest artists to a variety of unique, special locations around Australia. For the second year in a row I have been lucky enough to attend the Adelaide festival held on the stunning beach location, Glenelg.

A section of the flat, soft white sand right on the water’s edge is transformed into a one-day music festival site with the usual food stalls, bars and merchandise tents. On stage this year the headline act was the much loved Angus and Julia Stone, who were supported by four other strong, up-coming artists.

The day started at 3pm with Adelaide’s own favourite OLLIE ENGLISH, who recently won the best Blues and Roots artist award at the South Australian Music Awards. Ollie has been around for a few years now and is really starting to attract attention. Recently he was Triple J’sUnearthed Feature Artist, which gave him great national exposure. Ollie’s voice stops you in your tracks. It is powerfully deep and emotive. He delivered a tight set of his best strong, soulful tunes with the backing of several other outstanding Adelaide musicians.

Next up was Byron Bay band, SEASIDE who made the predictable quips about Seaside playing at the seaside. They are a four-piece Indie band, which has a funky, groovy vibe. Their single ‘GoldenGirl’ is winning them fans around the country. Their fun, party vibe was perfect for the beach location.

Next on the bill was Melbourne’s Indie artist DIDIRRI, who really is quite special, with his thoughtful songwriting and onstage charisma. I have seen him perform three times before and noted that his performances are becoming stronger with each viewing. At SummerSalt there was a lot of energy on stage with expressive guitar dueling between him and his lead guitarist. He provides quirky anecdotes as an introduction to each song, which adds to his appeal. His folky numbers are dreamy and alluring. Watch out for Didirri if he comes your way.

MEG MAC is an absolute powerhouse. I have been keen to see her perform for ages and finally got my chance at SummerSalt and she did not disappoint. She already has a string of signature songs. Each new release seems to be stronger and more dynamic. She performed early favourites ‘Every Lie’ and ‘Should Have Known Better’ as well as her latest release ‘Give Me My Name Back’. She definitely had the crowd on their feet and dancing to her powerful voice.

As the sun sunk low in the sky casting beautiful pink and purple tones in the thinning clouds, the much anticipated ANGUS AND JULIA STONE took to the stage. Angus limped on with crutches and a moon boot on his left foot and performed seated throughout the show. The dynamic brother and sister duo gave the crowd a stunning show, performing old and new classics including ‘Big Jet Plane’, ‘Cellar Door’ and of course ‘Snow’ the title track from their latest release.

The Indie-Folk superstars display a real endearment for each other on stage. Their harmonizing and vocal conversation creates a distinctive, unique sound. Knowing glances and smiles between the two adds to their love-enthused show.

They gave a generous hour plus set and had the crowd singing along to every song. As punters moved off into the night, shaking sand from their feet, there was a real feeling of contentment that everyone had experienced a very special day.

More SummerSalt festivals are coming up early next year:

• ROTTNEST ISLAND WA with The Waifs and Pete Murray – 13/01/19
• COFFS HARBOUR with John Butler and Missy Higgins – 17/02/19
• GEELONG with Xavier Rudd and Yothu Yindi & The Treaty Project – 16/03/19

Find out all the details on the SummerSalt website.

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Deb Kloeden

Editor-AU

From Darkroom to Lightroom in 4 decades.
Deb is aPhotographer, Music Lover, Ex teacher, and traveller.

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