Beyond the Valley is celebrating its 10th birthday this New Year's with its biggest lineup to date.
Beyond the Valley’s 10th birthday edition sold out in under an hour. It’s an impressive feat at a time when music festivals across the country are grappling with rising costs and unpredictable consumer habits. But despite the broader market conditions, Beyond the Valley, which is presented by Untitled Group, continues to go from strength to strength.
This year’s event is on from 28 December to 1 January in Hesse, Victoria. The lineup includes Dom Dolla, Addison Rae, Turnstile, The Temper Trap and a who’s who of the globe’s biggest touring DJs. We caught up with Casey Serrao, director of marketing at Untitled Group, to learn more about BTV’s ongoing success.
Beyond the Valley
- 28 Dec – 1 Jan
- Barunah Plains, Hesse VIC
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The idea for Beyond the Valley emerged in 2012 when the event’s four co-founders were at another camping festival.
“They recognised a gap in the market,” says Serrao. “Electronic music was on the rise, yet there were no commercial camping festivals in Australia that highlighted electronic music in the way it deserved. At the time, electronic artists were treated as a small side offering on smaller side stages.”
The action at this year’s Beyond the Valley will be spread across four stages. The biggest names play on the Valley Stage and in the Dance Dome, with the latter entirely dedicated to electronic music. There’s also the smaller (but by no means small) Dr Dan’s stage, and the talks-oriented Lounge Room.
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The Dance Dome – which this year welcomes I Hate Models, KETTAMA, Chris Stussy, DJ HEARTSTRING and VTSS – is representative of the co-founders’ original vision for the festival.
“[It’s] almost, if not just as big as the main stage, consistently drawing in huge crowds, and is a large part of the experience and brand identity,” says Serrao.
Over the last ten years, Beyond the Valley’s capacity has grown from 8000 to 40,000 people. There’s nothing inevitable about this kind of growth, but BTV has always been committed to being more than just another big festival.
“This commitment to diversification means deliberately introducing and curating a range of new, engaging spaces and alternative programming designed to cater to a variety of interests, fostering connection, dialogue, and unexpected discovery,” says Serrao.
The Lounge Room is a primary example of BTV’s efforts to diversify. This year’s Lounge Room lineup includes live podcasts from 200 Plus, Kinky History and Club Elevate, a run club, live musical comedy, trickery from magician Lucas Kogaki, and talks addressing everything from the TikTokification of dating to the climate crisis.
There are also two smaller zones for punters keen to steal away from the main stages: the Smirnoff Schmall Klub and the Palms Pool House.
“Our Smirnoff Schmall Klub is a secret, hidden nightclub activation that gives people an unexpected and intimate experience,” says Serrao.
Open during daylight hours, the Palms Pool House is an entirely new space with a resort-style atmosphere. “With curated DJs and plenty of room for poolside lounging, it’s designed as a place where people can unwind and enjoy the festival in a more laid-back, sun-drenched setting,” Serrao says.
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Serrao started at Untitled as an intern in 2015. She held various positions, including marketing coordinator and head of marketing, before moving into her current director of marketing role in 2022. Seeing the 2025 event sell out in under an hour is one of the proudest moments of her decade at Untitled. But spearheading the marketing campaign for BTV 2019 – also an instant sell-out – is another proud achievement.
“Building on the success and positive customer experience of the previous year’s event, we capitalised on the FOMO element for those who didn’t attend,” she says. “This was strategically paired with a controlled leak of our headliners, RÜFÜS DU SOL, which generated significant pre-lineup excitement and buzz. This momentum carried through to the official lineup announcement, culminating in the festival selling out instantly.”
BTV’s unrivalled success can be attributed to the team’s knack for keeping their finger on the pulse of what’s trending in music, culture and the wider festival ecosystem. “Staying ahead of the curve is important to us, and it’s a big part of why the festival is where it is today,” says Serrao.
The BTV team also engage directly with their community of attendees to make sure they continue to deliver a premium multi-day festival experience.
“The patron experience is key,” Serrao says. “We take feedback from our community seriously and implement it into our strategy and event updates to ensure our patrons are satisfied with their experience, and come back year-on-year.”
Learn more about Beyond the Valley here.
This article was made in partnership with Beyond The Valley.
