That’s how Shady Cottage came to be – as Shady Cottage Creative Director Nick Bond explains, intimate groups can sometimes turn into a colossal community. “It started off the back of a friend’s 21st birthday – it was huge, lights, marquees – we all played [in bands and DJ’ed] and looked around saying ‘We could do this on a much bigger scale.’
“Last year we got together and we made it bigger. We got a concept for it and the party took off.”
Back for a second year, Shady Cottage Music and Leisure Festival returns to the tranquil North Blackwood Forest, where partygoers will experience some of Victoria’s best musical acts, visual artists and providers of leisurely activity. “You’re going to need a bathrobe for the Saturday – bathwear, it’s the theme. You need very warm clothing because it gets arctic overnight. And you need a positive attitude. No dickheads,” Bond says.
It’s a challenge running a festival at the tail-end of summer in the middle of the Victorian forest, when things are cooling off and you’re far from the ample conveniences of modern amenities, but Bond is adamant that the choice for location accentuates the desire to party. “The whole design aesthetic that we’ve been running with is important, especially for the setting of the festival,” Bond says. “We’re in the cut-out of a forest, the organic side of the festival is important to us – you can play music and you can dance, but the setting, it plays a big part.”
Complementing the organic aesthetic of the festival is a host of entertainment from all areas of the creative arts. “We’ve got the guys from Lucifer’s Monocle who are putting together a gallery of handmade furniture and finding an interesting way of displaying all this artwork. There’ll be morning Tai Chi sessions with a very spiritual being called Josh McLennan, we’re going to organise a family photo so everyone at the festival gets at least one permanent memory if they happen to forget everything else.”
That’s the leisurely side of things – let’s not forget, Shady Cottage is predominantly a music festival and there’s plenty of local talent to be enjoyed this year. “Last year there was an emphasis on people we knew,” says Bond, “Most of our headliners were people we played shows with or [had] seen before and we tried to keep that focus going this year.
“There’s a lot of rock music that you can dance to – Sex On Toast is a ten-piece funk band you can get your hips moving to. There’s a big Melbourne emphasis, keen to showcase the talent we’ve got on our doorstep.
“Melbourne is such a great place for music right now, it would be stupid to book artists from any other place.”
Indeed, with such a cool array of musicians to enjoy, it’s only natural that Bond would have his recommendations and standouts. “It depends what side you’re looking at – I’m excited for the DJs, [but] on the bands side I like Planète, he plays interesting house stuff, and Sunbeam Sound Machine is one of the trippiest sets I’ve seen in all time. Also Sex On Toast, because you can’t go past them.”
What’re the brains behind Shady Cottage hoping will be the end game this year? Well, all Bond says they really want is for people to have a good time and for the festival to continue to grow. “We’re hoping that it’ll sell out – we’ve put on a 500 person limit which would be a fair few more people than last year but really, we want to consolidate and improve on last year.
“If the atmosphere feels more tight and communal then that’s great because we had such a fun time last year – we want to just tighten the screws an extra inch.”
By Anna Wilson
