Nothing says summer like a music festival. Who does not love fun, sun, tunes, and perhaps an adult beverage or two? At Phil Gilbert Toyota, we are always on the lookout for the perfect summer road trip for our friends and customers, and music festivals in NSW and beyond rarely disappoint. Let's take a closer look at some the mainstream and more eclectic summer music festivals you can drive to this year.
Parkes Elvis Festival
While not a traditional music festival, the Parkes Elvis Festival sounds like a ton of fun. As the title infers, this is all about celebrating the music and legend of Elvis Presley. Running from 10-14 January 2018, the Parkes Elvis Festival features a whole host of competitions, tribute concerts, talks, car shows, and even a Miss Priscilla contest. The festival takes place in Parkes, which is 365 kilometres west of Sydney, and it attracts over 22,000 fans each year.
Sydney City Limits
If you are not in the mood to stray too far from home, there are some great music festivals in Sydney, including dynamic Sydney City Limits Music Festival. Happening on Saturday 24 February at Sydney's Centennial Park, Sydney City Limits, this event has something for just about everyone. You can check out big-name acts like Justice, Beck, Grace Jones, The Libertines, and Vance Joy, as well as hand-picked festival, eats and beverages. Tickets give you access to Centennial Park from 11:00 am-10:00 pm AEDT and the festival is all ages with children under 11 getting in free!
Ultra Australia
Got time for a road trip?
Perhaps the most anticipated summer music festival for 2018 is Australia's edition of the Ultra Music Festival. On 24 February, this worldwide EDM phenomenon arrives at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl in Melbourne. The lineup features some of the biggest names in EDM including DJ Afrojack, Axwell Λ Ingrosso, KSHMR, and local acts like Tigerlily and Will Sparks. This is the first time Ultra hits Australia, so it might be worth the roughly 900 km trip down to Melbourne from Sydney.
Toyota Country Music Festival Tamworth
Running from 19-29 January 2018 in Tamworth, this massive, 10-day country music festival features 700 artist and more than 2,800 events. Unlike the other festivals on this list, you have 120 different venues to choose from and a who's who of Australian country music artists. Some of the bigger names performing include, Judah Kelly, Travis Collins, Rachel Fahim, and many more. There's a reason Tamworth is the country music capital of Australia, so if you like a little more twang in your music, this jaunt up the M1 to the M15 to the A15 is worth the roughly five-hour drive and the tolls.
St. Jerome's Laneway Festival
If you cannot make up your mind and need some choice when it comes to your music festival road trip, then the St. Jerome's Laneway Festival is for you. This travelling show will make stops across Australia including:
- Adelaide – Fri 02 Feb
- Sydney – Sun 04 Feb
- Fremantle – Sun 11 Feb
- Auckland – Mon 29 Jan
- Melbourne - Sat 03 Feb
- Brisbane – Sat 10
Depending on the location you can expect to see popular acts like Aldous Harding, Alex Cameron, Amy Shark, The War on Drugs, and Father John Misty. Visit their website and choose your city to learn more about the lineups, venues, and directions.
