Gympie Muster 2022 gears up as campers start to pour in

The Gympie Muster is back after a Covid hiatus and days out from the major music event, fans are already flocking to the country property where tens of thousands will soon celebrate. VIDEO, PHOTOS

Die-hard fans are already in the Gympie Music Muster spirit, with outrageous campsites and bars popping up across a rapidly emerging tent city in the Amamoor State Forest.

The Main Stage, soon to be the spotlight of country music icons like Lee Kernaghan, Kasey Chambers, John Williamson and Graeme Connors, is in the midst of set-up, surrounded by a freshly mowed lawn awaiting a huge crowd of Muster fans keen to make up for lost time and two cancelled Musters.

Gympie Mayor Glen Hartwig had the honour of bolting up the big 2022 year sign on Main Stage on Thursday, August 18.

Gympie Mayor Glen Hartwig changes the old 2019 sign to 2022 at the Gympie Muster Main Stage in preparation for the Muster, which officially kicks off on Thursday, August 25, 2022. Photo: Patrick Woods.

Some campers, eager to party hard with old friends, set up their caravans and tents almost a month in advance.

Kevie’s Muster Bar is ready for several nights of partying, with pictures, cardboard cutouts, lights and other rustic decorations lining the walls.

“There’s so many different favourite parts [of the Muster], from the music, to the people,” Muster veteran Bevan McPherson said.

A pair of campers, whose friend mysteriously received rubber ducks in the mail for more than a year, have now decided to put the collection to good use by setting up a ‘Duck In Bar’ at their Muster campsite.

The Bra Bar, a Muster fixture since 2009 raising money to fight breast cancer, is back with mannequins, bras and other decorations strewn under a bright red gazebo.

And a pair of volunteers can finally show off a certain crochet helmet cover, after it was sadly packed away in 2020 during Covid-19 quarantine.

Some campers, like Mr McPherson, have enjoyed 30 Musters, and a fan-favourite among these early birds is Travis Collins, who will be performing on Friday, August 26.

From the Muster Main Stage to Kevie’s Muster Bar, preparations are underway across the vast site, and campsites are roped off as far as the eye can see.

Here are 20+ photos of diehard fans already getting their Muster on.

Gaetano Bruzzano and Bevan McPherson at the Gympie Muster holding a cardboard cut-out of Kevin Meredith. Photo: Patrick Woods.

Andrew Wheatley and David Avenell at the 2022 Gympie Muster. Photo: Patrick Woods.

Kay Phillpot is ready for the 2022 Gympie Muster. Photo: Patrick Woods.

Allana and Les Townsend at the 2022 Gympie Muster. Photo: Patrick Woods.

Gympie Mayor Glen Hartwig changes the year sign to 2022 at the Gympie Muster Main Stage. Photo: Patrick Woods.

Allana and Les Townsend at the 2022 Gympie Muster. Photo: Patrick Woods.

Marie Adams, Carloyn La Maitre and Rose Caldel at the 2022 Gympie Muster. Photo: Patrick Woods.

Les Townsend and Keith Small at the 2022 Gympie Muster. Photo: Patrick Woods.

Lorraine Waddington and Karen Griffin at the 2022 Gympie Muster. Photo: Patrick Woods.

Tracy, Peter and Helen Conley at the Gympie Muster. Photo: Patrick Woods.