Since it’s founding in 2016, Werribee’s Lost Lands Festival has done all three, and plans to pull off even more at 2018’s event.
Held over Melbourne Cup weekend at Werribee Park & Mansion, Lost Lands presents two days of music, theatre, comedy, arts and nature for friends and families to enjoy. Amazing stages, spacious camping, and BYO food and drinks are all foundations of the Lost Lands philosophy, which aims to create a relaxed and appreciative atmosphere.
Lost Lands’ founder, Simon Daly, was also the brains behind the creation of Falls Festival back in 1993, and helped it grow into the circuit drawcard that it is today. But he is quick to tell you that Falls and Lost Lands are not alike.
“They’re polar opposites. With big festivals such as Falls, you tend to get stuck in what you can do with the demographic that you’re working with. So now, with Lost Lands, you get to put together an event that isn’t bound by age or a certain demographic.”
2018’s Lost Lands festival will bring back the Little Big Top, which will host kids comedy, theatre, and circus performances, and will also have baby change tents set up throughout the site, where you’ll find microwaves, change tables, and even food options for the bub.
“Half of the audience are children – between five to 12 years old – and it’s so chill, such a relaxed atmosphere. We don’t even have to worry about having a push barrier because people are so respectful of each other and the musicians.”
This respect branches into every aspect of the festival’s organisation, including respect for the earth upon which it’s hosted. Daly’s enthusiasm for creating a sustainable and impact-limited festival environment is nothing new – Lost Lands is openly “waging war against plastic” – but he admits that he’s still got a lot to learn.
“I think single-use plastics sort of creeped up on us, it wasn’t really in our consciousness until relatively recently. Now, with China not taking back everything that they give us, it’s a real positive because it forces everybody to sit back and think, ‘okay, well what are we going to do?’,” Daly says.
“For a festival, we’re so well placed to enact change and see how far we can go. Ultimately, I hope everyone will end up sustainable; music and the arts tend to lead the way with social change, and hopefully that inspires change at sporting events and all the way across the board.”
Unsurprisingly, these sustainable ideals are matched perfectly with the inclusive and diverse nature of the whole event. Particularly, the music lineup is not only stacked – The Teskey Brothers, The Jungle Giants, You Am I, and Alice Ivy to name just a few – but features a heavy dosage of non-male artists.
“I’ve always had a consciousness of gender presence, but it was more just a feel of an event,” Daly explains. “You wanted to have a balance, and it wouldn’t look or feel right if it was an all-male stage of music.
“In our first year of Lost Lands, our line up was at 54% female. That wasn’t a conscious decision, it was just how we programmed it, and it’s a pleasure to program that way. At the end of the day, there’s an equal participation within the audience between genders, so why shouldn’t that be regarded when putting artists on the stage?”
