The announcement of a brand new festival naturally arouses plenty of questions in punters. Especially when the lineup consists of some of the best rock, metal, punk, and metalcore bands that Australia has to offer. Such is the case with UNIFY Gathering, which descends on Gippsland, Victoria this January.
With a lineup that boasts The Amity Affliction, Northlane, In Hearts Wake, Thy Art Is Murder, Deez Nuts, Confession, and the reunion of Break Even, just to name a few, it stands to reason that punters will be a little curious about this new boutique event, which comes courtesy of Aussie label UNIFIED.
Well, the organisers, which also includes the folks behind the popular Hills Are Alive festival, have come to the rescue. They recently jumped online to field fan questions during an illuminative Twitter Q&A, and we’ve compiled a rundown of everything you might want to know about the inaugural UNIFY Gathering.
When to arrive.
@seriouslyben gates open at Midday
— UNIFY Gathering (@UNIFYgathering) October 1, 2014
That said, get there early.
@Prosphetics It's going to be first come, best dressed, but there is plenty of room and there will be organisers helping place everyone
— UNIFY Gathering (@UNIFYgathering) October 1, 2014
Need a ride?
@misslany_xx We are working on a bus to get people there, we'll have news in a week or so!
— UNIFY Gathering (@UNIFYgathering) October 1, 2014
And good news for those that have one.
@DylanWiltshire Parking will be completely free. You'll get in, we'll show you your park and its a short walk from there to the campsite.
— UNIFY Gathering (@UNIFYgathering) October 1, 2014
You’ll enjoy a boutique experience when you get there.
@DanMcAuley1 Only 3000 tickets for this one.
— UNIFY Gathering (@UNIFYgathering) October 1, 2014
No passouts, though.
. @Dippa597 It's no pass outs this year dude, but it's more fun to hang in the camping area and meet people and have a blast anyway!
— UNIFY Gathering (@UNIFYgathering) October 1, 2014
Seriously, no passouts!
@michaelbest96 You can't leave and come back for the second day, so its camping only.
— UNIFY Gathering (@UNIFYgathering) October 1, 2014
But there’s a good reason.
@michaelbest96 It's part of the way we had the festival approved with the local council and community.
— UNIFY Gathering (@UNIFYgathering) October 1, 2014
A really good reason.
@michaelbest96 Potentially having 3000 people leave the event at 2am into a small town didn't seem like the best option
— UNIFY Gathering (@UNIFYgathering) October 1, 2014
However…
@Prosphetics Saturday night only mate! But there are plenty of awesome places to stay in the local area on the other nights.
— UNIFY Gathering (@UNIFYgathering) October 1, 2014
And…
@HaysElizabeth Yep thats fine
— UNIFY Gathering (@UNIFYgathering) October 1, 2014
Don’t expect too much sleep.
@Dippa597 About 2am on Saturday night and starting again at 11am on Sunday
— UNIFY Gathering (@UNIFYgathering) October 1, 2014
The set lengths.
@wezna6133 Most bands will be 30 min. Amity will play 50, Northlane, In Hearts and Break Even will play 40
— UNIFY Gathering (@UNIFYgathering) October 1, 2014
Too short? There’s a good reason for that, too.
@wezna6133 Because its only one stage, so the bands play one after the other
— UNIFY Gathering (@UNIFYgathering) October 1, 2014
But you know what that means!
@Dippa597 Just one stage ie. no clashes!
— UNIFY Gathering (@UNIFYgathering) October 1, 2014
What the bands will be doing after their sets.
@Prosphetics Well we'd like to think most of the bands will spend a bunch of time out in the crowd partying,so quite likely! #unifygathering
— UNIFY Gathering (@UNIFYgathering) October 1, 2014
You will be safe.
@aidanmick Yeah there has to be crowd barriers at these things or it's a big safety issue. But we know @svtvnsvtvn loves to get in the crowd
— UNIFY Gathering (@UNIFYgathering) October 1, 2014
Speaking of safety…
@DylanWiltshire Yeh man no glass at all. Just cans and if you have spirits bring them in a plastic bottle or flask
— UNIFY Gathering (@UNIFYgathering) October 1, 2014
Sorry under-18s.
@Dippa597 It's illegal in Victoria to have U18 crowd in a licensed arena, which means U18 fans couldn't even watch the bands.
— UNIFY Gathering (@UNIFYgathering) October 1, 2014
And dogs.
@sremcitydtd It's actually no dogs allowed, but Arnie is gonna be at a house in nearbye Venus Bay partying!
— UNIFY Gathering (@UNIFYgathering) October 1, 2014
At the moment, this is your one chance to catch Break Even again
@nthnjmspln At this stage it's just UNIFY planned, but not ruling anything out
— UNIFY Gathering (@UNIFYgathering) October 1, 2014
When you can catch them.
@HaysElizabeth But Break Even headline the Sunday so you'll miss them!
— UNIFY Gathering (@UNIFYgathering) October 1, 2014
The future’s looking bright.
@Dippa597 The plan is to have it in the same location each year. We haven't thought too much beyond this year yet tho. Gotta nail it first!
— UNIFY Gathering (@UNIFYgathering) October 1, 2014
Tickets for the inaugural UNIFY Gathering go on sale tomorrow morning at 9am. Details below.
UNIFY: A Heavy Music Gathering
Saturday, 10th January & Sunday, 11th January 2015
Tarwin Meadows, Gippsland VIC (18+)
Tickets: 24Hundred
Tickets on sale Thursday, 2nd October
Please note, UNIFY Gathering is a strictly 18+ event
The Amity Affliction
Northlane
In Hearts Wake
Thy Art Is Murder
Deez Nuts
Break Even
Confession
Buried In Verona
Hand Of Mercy
Antagonist A.D
Hellions
Storm The Sky
Endless Heights
Aversions Crown
Stories
Electrik Dynamite
Earth Caller