Last weekend saw the third edition of Sydney’s hippest boutique festival, OutsideIn. The weather was gorgeous, everyone was in great spirits, drinks were super reasonably priced and the music sparkled in a well-deserving spotlight until the last moments of the last set. Here’s a few reasons why we reckon this is the best festival that Sydney has to offer:

 1. Manning House is a surprisingly incredible venue

I was wary of the decision to move OutsideIn from Marrickville’s Factory Theatre to Sydney Uni’s Manning House (by the way, when did Manning Bar become Manning House?) Not only was it moving an undeniably hipster, ‘underground’ festival from its spiritual homeland, but, having spent three years studying at USyd, I simply couldn’t picture a festival of that caliber taking place there.

Boy, I was wrong. Whoever scouted that venue did a damn good job. Three levels with ample indoor and outdoor seating spaces – including a carpeted couch-filled room and a decent patch of grass out back, wicked PAs, two outdoor stages (one covered over with a plastic tent,) enough shade and indoor space to protect yourself from the sun, plenty of bathrooms, super quick lines for the bar, and even an old-school bubbler. Plus, it was WAY easier to get home or out to the city afterwards.

2. Having a 90% electronic lineup is great – especially that 10%. 

OutsideIn is almost entirely focused on electronic music. But my day began with a live band and ended with hip hop, and it rounded the middle acts off perfectly. The first main act I caught were Melbourne’s No Zu, a motley crew of singers and horn players and percussionists and more. The brassed-up shambles were huge and fun, and the band were flying about like a bag of jumping beans. The energy was infectious, reminding me of Astral People’s still-fresh-in-my-mind, beyond brilliant live performance of The Avalanches’ Since I Left You at OutsideIn ’13.

Skip forward a few hours – I’d seen a LOT of electronic acts. They were all amazing. But there’s nothing quite like a hip hop gig and LA rap legends The Pharcyde put on one hell of a closing set. They’re not the obvious choice for many; they’re completely unknown to some, beyond revered by others, having been able to remain almost ferociously underground for about 25 years. Regardless, their closing set was a blistering celebration, and, while some of the audience may not have readied themselves for a non-electro closer, the majority of us lapped up every beat.

3. It doesn’t matter whether you know the lineup or not

One consistent fact throughout all three OutsideIns has been that I’ve only known about half the acts – less in the first two years, to be honest. But the day has been so carefully, artfully curated that I wasn’t disappointed or bored or annoyed by one single act throughout the day. The best part is that that wasn’t a surprise – I knew that everyone would be great, whether I’d heard of them or not. Every year has been a brilliant discovery of great new music. I mean, the 2012 event featured then-upcomers Fishing, Africa Hitech, Oliver Tank, Collarbones, and, oh, some mid-range headliner dude named Flume.

Walking in to to the last moments of Jubilee, followed by the sweet beats and ’90s R&B remixes of Brenmar, followed closely by the aforementioned brass bangers of No Zu and later on listening to Black Vanilla in between Seekae and Pharcyde. Right there, four acts I didn’t know before, but I do now, and I’m so happy about that.

All in all, these guys know how to curate a festival.

 

4. Artists who play non-festival sets at festivals can be so damn brilliant. 

The main down point about most festivals is that even your favourite acts only get a limited amount of time to play. You know, being a festival and all. But a lot of the acts today performed something more like a headline set, compressed though it was. Wookie serenaded us into sunset with his swift beats, garage rhythms and, as the set went on, heavier bass and heartier melodies. Pantha Du Prince, who I was so keen to see after our recent interview, clearly confused a few of the uninitiated in the audience. His slow-burning set was just above a crawl for the first few tracks, painstakingly building on what was essentially reverb, one layer, one faster beat per minute, one more rhythm, at a time. Those wanting a dance left early, and to be honest, I shocked myself at how much I enjoyed his extremely minimal, carefully constructed jenga-tower of a set. It was worth every second though. As each track grew and flourished and pulsated, the energy mushroomed. It felt like the set went for a lot longer than it did. The same can be said for Seekae’s run, taking the stage shortly after Pantha finished up. The Sydney legends delivered a captivating, career-spanning set that again, felt equally bigger and more personal than your average festival set.

(And a special 5th reason goes to whoever had the brilliant idea of putting it on the same day as Stereosonic 😀 )

Anyway, there you have it. Another OutsideIn done and dusted, another year where I find myself wholeheartedly believing this to be Sydney’s best event. Thanks to Astral People and Yes Please for another brilliant day – we can’t wait for 2015!

Photo credits: Voena. Check out the rest of our OutsideIn pics here!