“I think we’ve got one of the best festival landscapes in the world,” says frontman William Rimington. “Even my American friends, they see the way we run festivals, they see our lineups and how much fun we have, and they love it. I was able to hang out with a few guys like Denzel Curry, and they were telling me, ‘Bro, you guys in Melbourne, it’s so refreshing.’ Especially down here where we have such a crazy and diverse music scene. People actually appreciate the music. It’s not, ‘Me pay money, me come watch.’ It’s ‘Me pay money, me come watch, me enjoy music, me talk to artist after set.’ I think that’s an awesome thing about playing a festival in Melbourne. I think the reason they succeed is people are not just there to get crunk.” Rimington pauses, then laughs. “Well, that might be a partial reason. But they’re mostly there for the music.”
To that end, it’s a hell of a bill. There are tours of the prison, of course, and more food trucks then you’ll know what to do with. But the music lineup is primed for one epic party; Billy Davis, Dj collective Cumbia Massive and Big Words. Given Rimington is spearheading a posse of ten musicians for Billy Davis, this setting seems oddly appropriate.
“To be honest, because we’re a ten piece, dealing with these guys in rehearsal, I think Pentridge is fitting. I was telling them on Monday that when we do the prison gig, it’s going to be the most appropriate gig for you hooligans,” he laughs. “As you can probably foresee, running a unit of ten people – a horn section, three vocalists, a rhythm section – it gets a bit hectic. So seeing that we’re doing this gig at the prison I thought, ‘Finally, a venue that suits you guys.’ I feel like we’ve come so far that we’re like a family. We can read each other. It’s crazy. I don’t know how we do it and run this unit live on stage with no in-ears. But we’ve worked out a system. It’s not easy, but it’s working well.”
And for both band and audience, Pentridge has one more happy accident to enjoy.
“I did a collab with Big Words on our initial EP and we’ve never actually done a show together, so it’s pretty awesome to do this for the first time,” says Rimington. “Because I’m good friends with Oscar [Diaz], who’s helping run the event and is a food master, I know there’s a lot of food involved. I’m keen as, because as soon as the set finishes – not going to lie – I’m going to pig out.”
By Adam Norris
