‘Lost generation of music lovers’: Good Things festival’s push for young fans

An eight-year-old on his dad’s shoulders at a thrash metal band concert is an image that is under threat as Australia faces a “lost generation of music lovers”.

A popular Australian festival was forced to launch a petition to open up the event to young music enthusiasts after facing pushback in one state.

At just 13 years old I was lucky enough to tag along to my very first festival with my dad.

It was Soundwave’s last hoorah — though we didn’t know it at the time — and Faith No More, Soundgarden and Slipknot lit up the Royal Melbourne Showgrounds.

I watched it all unfold wide-eyed: Fear Factory boomed through the showgrounds, I screamed along to Gerard Way, and saw my first circle pit at Dragonforce (from a respectable distance with my uncle).

One of my favourite moments of the day was getting to see Gerard Way. Picture: Supplied

It was really special being able to share the day with my dad, who was cool enough to bring me along. Picture: Supplied

While the day remains one of my most cherished memories, kids growing up now are struggling to be afforded the same opportunities to experience live music.

Good Things festival was forced to launch a petition to welcome 16 and 17 year olds (with the supervision of a parent or guardian) to the Sydney event this year.

This is despite the Melbourne and Brisbane events being 16+ in the past.

My dad, Derek, and I still go to concerts and festivals together, having recently gone to Knotfest back in March. Picture: Supplied

Good Things festival promoter Chris O’Brien said it was “absolutely critical” for kids to have the chance to attend festivals with their parents or guardians, noting that while kids under 18 don’t farm a large portion of attendees, they’re an “integral part” of the day.

“Without them, how do they experience live music?” Mr O’Brien said.

He added he’d never forget the special feeling of seeing an eight-year-old on his dad’s shoulders at a Megadeth concert a few years ago.

“They both had Megadeth T-shirts on …(the child) had the big headphones on so he can protect his ears, and it almost brings a tear to your eye,” Mr O’Brien said.

“You’re just that happy that kid’s getting to experience something that his dad’s always loved, and you can just imagine how much it means to the dad.

“That’s how you get people back into live music and loving it.”

Good Things festival was forced to launch a petition to open up this year’s event to young music enthusiasts. Picture: Danielle Smith / NewsWire

The festival has long been lobbying with regulatory bodies to open up the event to younger music fans, but Mr O’Brien claimed there was constant pushback from NSW without much information or reasoning.

“It’s just been a matter of constantly going back to the regulatory bodies and pleading and arguing the case and giving them as much (safety) data as we possibly can to overturn decisions,” he said.

“The list is an absolute mile long, the efforts we go to make sure it’s a safe environment.

“We sort of bang our heads against brick walls with authorities trying to explain to them to them in great detail how good these events actually are.”

Good Things first came onto the scene in 2018, bringing The Offspring, Stone Sour and All Time Low for its debut events. Picture: Supplied

Q Music and Big Sound chief executive Kris Stewart said more all-ages events were needed to keep the festival sector going, adding it’s “essential” to introduce young people to the Australian music scene.

“We run the risk of having a lost generation of music lovers,” he said.

“This is a very risky moment for us at the moment: if we aren’t pro audiences … we run the unintended consequence of 20 years from now, more of these festivals might not exist.

“We’re at a real fork in the road, and we need to make the right decisions going forward.”

The petition has taken off, with Good Things set to officially announce they will welcome children aged 16 and 17 to this year’s Sydney festival in line with Melbourne and Brisbane after tireless campaigning.

“We’re so happy we’ve been able to get it across the line,” Mr O’Brien said.

Good Things will welcome those aged 16 and over at this year’s Sydney events – in line with Melbourne and Brisbane – after tireless campaigning. Picture: NCA Danielle Smith / Newswire

NSW Minister for Music John Graham said a review of the Music Festivals Act was expected to be finalised shortly.

“Lifelong music engagement and enjoyment is a positive thing, and it is important we support young and adult audiences,” he said.

Cancellations ‘incredibly concerning’

Ten iconic festivals – including Bluesfest, Splendour In The Grass and Groovin The Moo – have all been cancelled this year.

Mr O’Brien said the constant cancellations were “incredibly concerning” although not surprising with exploding insurance and policing costs.

Greens MP and music spokeswoman Cate Faehrmann revealed a festival paid more than $200,000 for user pays policing services in NSW last year, while the same festival paid just $46,000 in Victoria and $47,000 in Queensland.

“While the government continues to hide behind a review, more and more festivals close their doors to NSW. It’s devastating,” she said, urging Mr Graham to release the findings from the Music Festivals Act review and increase funding for festivals.

“We need to reduce the regulatory burden, ridiculous costs and military-like police presence that are burying festivals in NSW or the industry may never recover.”

Greens MP Cate Faehrmann says a ‘military-like police presence’ is ‘burying’ NSW festivals. Picture: NewsWire / Bianca De Marchi

A NSW Police spokesperson said the user pays programs “help event organisers meet their business needs and their responsibilities to the community”.

“Recovering this cost ensures more police are available for duty and maintains normal policing services to the community,” the spokesperson said.

However, the high policing costs led Mr O’Brien to consider moving Good Things out of NSW in the past.

“It adds on extra expenses we simply can’t afford, and for reasons that we’re not given why they need to be there in those numbers,” Mr O’Brien said.

The NSW Police spokesperson said crowd and venue sizes, risk assessments, and safety measures were all factors when deciding the number of police required for events.

Despite the exploding costs, Mr O’Brien emphasised the importance of lifting up the festivals that were still kicking and giving them more support.

“I can guarantee you we’re like a duck on the water,” he said.

“It might look OK on the surface, but underneath we’re paddling pretty hard, and it feels like it’s not a smooth lake.”

However, he expressed confidence that Good Things would stick around.

“People seem to love the event. It’s a little bit different, a good mix of bands,” he said.

The team is reportedly “super happy” with this year’s line-up, which is set to drop at 10am AEST on Thursday, August 22.

“Fingers crossed it resonates with people,” Mr O’Brien said.

Good Things festival is set to kick off in December in Melbourne, while Big Sound will run through September.

Originally published as ‘Lost generation of music lovers’: Good Things festival’s push for young fans