Since the events beginning in 1993, Falls Festival has supplied and contributed some of the most phenomenal and iconic lineups in Australia’s vibrant and expressive entertainment history, with this year’s festival being no different! The 2020 Falls Festival Fremantle showcased an immense range of performances from up-and-coming Aussie artists and colourful international acts. The energetic crowds were filled with the most diverse and spirited members of the local Perth community (including PH boss Pieta and PH team members Cassie and Liam!).
Cassie’s 2020 Falls Recap
I remember being absolutely stoked back in 2017 when Falls Festival finally made its way over to WA for the two-day musical extravaganza, and since then it has become one of my all time favourite Australian music festivals – having been to every WA Falls Festival since!
With Falls Festival Fremantle always occurring in the summer, temperatures tend to hit the high twenties to mid-thirties, and so having adequate sunscreen tents, first aid, free water and shade is a MUST. This year’s festival featured a fully undercover ‘Chill Out Zone’ close to both main stages and manned by the Falls Care Team. These guys did a fantastic job at looking after dehydrated, sunburnt and had-one-too-many festival goers, and it was great to know there was an area purely dedicated to recharge your batteries and seek help. Having lost my phone of Day 2 of the festival, I also knew there were plenty of friendly festival staff and security happy to help.
My Day 1 musical highlights started with an enigmatic, heavenly vocal performance from Vera Blue watched from the VIP viewing deck (thankyou Falls Festival!), before watching Aussie band Lime Cordiale make a lively, down-to-earth appearance, including belting out their Triple J Like a Version hit cover of ‘I Touch Myself’ by Divinyls. Having seen Peking Duk at Falls a few years ago, I was looking forward to seeing their set all day – and they did not disappoint! Rocking sweaty moustaches and zero shirts, the duo lit up the stage for their energetic night time performance before American band Vampire Weekend closed out the day with their eclectic, funky tunes.
Liam’s 2020 Falls Recap
With this years Falls Festival Fremantle being my very first one I had no idea what to expect. By attending other festivals such in the past, I had imagined this two day festival to be a similar mix but more spirited and on a larger scale, and boy was I correct! With Falls being located in the eclectic and soulful suburb of Fremantle, the towns vibrant energy set the tone for my weekend. The venues energy was nothing less than phenomenal, with a bright and artful theme reflecting a modern day bohemian carnival.
Day two started off with a groovy performance by Dope Lemon, who had no trouble getting the crowd prepped and ready for a final day of fun, laughter and a whole lot of dancing. After stopping for drinks at one of the many amazing bars ( VIP being the best one ) we refuelled and got ready for the wacky and energetic set of Yungblud! After jumping around to the artists theatrical performance, we headed off to what I like to call food truck heaven! With dozens of food stalls and trucks as far as the eye could see, there was no shortage of options, even for the most picky of eaters. After spending a good twenty minutes deciding on what I felt like, Baolicious prevailed with some of the most amazing bao buns I have ever had! With hands full of food we nestled under the trees in one of the “chill out” zones, taking in our surroundings and absorbing all the colourful and lively characters who wandered past. With full bellies and refilled drinks, the sun slowly began to set, and out of nowhere a glowing pinky purple sky came out and it could not have come at a better time as we were seconds away from seeing the amazing Lewis Capadli !
From the moment he stepped on stage the crowd was in awe. The most hair raising moment was when thousands of random strangers sang together in absolute lyrical harmony to his hit song “Someone You Loved.” Directly after Lewis’s set, we moved over to the opposite stage where the artist who I had been most excited to see all weekend was about to perform. Yes, Ladys and gentlemen I am taking about the incredible Matt Corby. To what simply followed could easily be described as the most unbelievable fifty five minutes of my life. There was not a second that was not filled with soul and magic. We stood with thousands in the crowd boogying to this acoustic genius with myself soaring high on one of my best mates shoulders to “Miracle Love”.
The day concluded with performances by Disclosure and Halsey who were nothing short of extraordinary. After a day filled with drinks, dancing, glitter and a whole lot of love we left Falls Festival, sad it came to an end but happy it happened. With the weekend personally being one of the most memorable moments of my life, I am incredibly grateful to have been invited by Perth Happenings and the Falls Festival team to join them on a weekend I will never forget.
We can’t wait for next year – keep up the amazing work Falls Festival!