by Aegipan Baphomet Samara-Wickrama
It came to me in a…VISION
The inaugural Vision Festival is nearly here. 3 stages, 25 international, interstate, and local artists across a diverse range of genres, food and, natch, the Territory’s best crowds light up Symonston Park from midday to 10pm.
Canberra’s had its fair share of music festivals. Some bigger and more mainstream (Spilt Milk and Foreshore, to name but two); many short-lived or died out for one reason or another; most catering to a niche (even while claiming to be multi-genre in content).
Canberra’s swell of electronic music fans haven’t exactly been spoiled for choice in this regard. Most options have been multi-day bush doofs outside our borders or far-flung fests requiring significant travel and time expenses. These are also genre-specific, significantly shortening the list of options for anyone with more diverse tastes.
If you’re anything like me, you enjoy getting out to the grander in scope than that of a humble club gig or typical rave, but crave a short trip home to collapse onto your own bed, partied out, yearning for the sweet embrace of temporary death that is a good night’s sleep.
This opportunity is made manifest by the inaugural Vision Music Festival—playing out at Symonston Park, Narrabundah—comprising but one reason for the fest’s deliciously enticing bature. The team behind it is a prime example of what can be achieved by working within the community and playing to your strengths.
“We’re still growing,” Ben, Director of Vision Entertainment, says. “We deliberately set out to do as much in-house as possible in order to keep ticket prices down.”
This small team, ably assisted by a slew of sound sleuths from within the scene, is responsible for everything – designing the festival’s three stages, setting up lighting and audio, and running the bar, all in a bid, as Ben says, to keep ticket prices down (an undeniable relief for the unrich raver suffering from the inevitable end-of-year wallet
tightening.
“Having those crews handle the stages is a massive weight off our shoulders,” Ben declares. “I can trust them to deal with it while we work on the big picture stuff.”
They even have their own professional and rave-conscious security and first aid teams, ensuring a space that’s as safe as it is fun.
The festival comes as a natural evolution for the group. Vision Entertainment emerged after the end of Canberra’s last COVID-19 lockdown, breaking the proverbial ice with a ripper of a party out the back of Tocumwal Lane. They intended to break out of the monotony of their day jobs and pursue something they’re genuinely passionate about – putting on gigs and showcasing talent from around the region.
It wasn’t until 2024, when they booked Germany’s Kaufmann that they locked down Symonston Park. A former greyhound racing track, the Territory’s ban on racing led to its repurposing as a hire space for community events. Vision Entertainment locked down exclusive access to the venue for music festivals and raves, giving the EDM scene a familiar, safe, and inclusive space for parties unencumbered by pesky noise restrictions.
In fact, the team even doubled the sound levels for their second gig at the venue, FKING HOT.
By all accounts, Symonston Park seems to be an ideal venue.
Unlike their first two events, Vision Music Festival will have multiple stages, including one outdoors with a bar and food truck. The stage for FKING HOT will feature bush techno, acid house, and prog aplenty, culminating in a three-hour closing set by Meanjin/Brisbane’s Paul Abad.
“He’s going right through to hard techno by the end of it,” Ben explains with evident glee. “It’s going to be pretty ridiculous.”
The outdoor stage will kick off by showcasing more commercial house and rave music, finishing the night with drum ‘n’ bass. The room at the other end of the venue from the techno stage will be dedicated to bass music – D&B, dub, and dubstep, with the production handled by RPG.
“We’re expecting that to be pretty popular because there are some pretty decent acts playing there,” Ben enthuses.
Indeed, the line-up for the bass stage is stacked with severe heavy-hitters from the local scene – Burley Bassweight, Mariana Dub, It’s A London Thing, Tidy and Samwise, and Kaliopi, to mention just a few.
The big pull on the festival line-up is Bristol’s Kippo, who plays an afternoon session on the main stage.
“We were talking to Tomorrow Agency, handling his tour here,” Ben explains. “They offered us to book him with a couple of their other artists.”
Make no mistake, Kippo’s appearance is a big deal. The DJ/producer is a rapidly rising star in the genre, with a slew of big releases and festival spots cementing him as one of D&B’s generational talents.
This year has seen many notable legacy acts from the UK D&B scene grace the Territory’s dancefloors, so bringing in new blood will only continue this happy tradition for years to come.
Vision Entertainment is set to break new ground for the Canberra scene with a stacked line-up, multiple stages, and a genuine collective spirit for the EDM underground. It is also, and pleasingly, a highly inclusive event, bringing various crews and their crowds into the same space.
“I think we’ve done a good job in creating an awesome, like-minded crowd that respects each other,” Ben says.
“As we grow, we’re going to try to keep that crowd as pure as possible.”
Great news for anyone who loves this scene and wants it to thrive.
With an eye on the future, Vision Entertainment hopes to turn this festival into an annual event, expanding and growing it, with more gigs in 2025. Before they came together, members of this crew used to throw hardstyle parties, so having a dedicated side-stage for other electronic music genres is within the realm of possibility.
“I want to keep it fresh,” Ben says. “I’ve even flirted with the idea of doing separate metal gigs in future, too.”
Vision Music Festival is on Saturday, 14 December at Symonston Park. Of all Canberra’s stellar shindigs happening at year’s end, this is unmissable. Tickets are currently on third release through Humanitix, so dance them fingers across your keyboard and reserve a spot at what will surely be a day to remember. I’ll see you there!
