QMF rocks on to open festival season

THE end of spring heralds the return of music festivals held over two or more days, and the Queenscliff Music Festival (QMF) is usually one of the first, if not the first, to turn up the volume each year.

The three-day festival, which begins today (Friday, November 22) and runs until this Sunday, November 24, typically draws tens of thousands of people to venues across Queenscliff to hear music from a wide variety of genres.

It is the first QMF under the stewardship of new director Claire Stickland, who has taken over from Andrew Orvis.

Stickland has an extensive background in festivals and major events, including Falls Festival, RISING, and most recently with Tennis Australia working on the Australian Open for the past 10 years.

She said the new role was “a real full circle moment” for her, as she worked on the festival as an assistant 20 years ago “and have loved the festival ever since”.

“I’m absolutely honoured to be in the position.”

She said the festival had many elements, and her job as director was to combine them to create a vibrant and exciting QMF.

“It’s really important we get the program right and a great diversity of artists and offerings; creating a really vibrant and inviting site atmosphere, making sure we’re creating a great experience for our volunteers – we’re very lucky to have an army of more than 400 volunteers that bring the festival together for the weekend.”

Ms Stickland said ticket sales were promising in the lead-up to the event.

“It’s tracking really well.

“It’s obviously been a really tough year for festivals, and we’re really the first multi-day festival kicking off this year’s festival season, and it gives us and the rest of the industry a lot of confidence that our ticket sales are going really well.

“Saturday’s going to be huge – we’re coming close to a sell-out, so that’s exciting.

“Overall, we’re expecting great numbers, the weather’s looking great so it’s a beautiful sunny weekend, so it’s shaping up really well.”

She said the audience was a mix of loyal fans who came every year and first-timers, split between those who lived locally and those who came from Melbourne and interstate.

Outside of the headliners – artists to play under the big top include Michael Franti, Kasey Chambers and Marlon Williams – QMF has a swathe of local and emerging artists playing in smaller venues such as the Brewhouse and the Queenscliff Maritime Museum.

Other attractions include a Bellarine wine bar, pop-up oysters from TARRA Queenscliff, and the Queenscliff Gin Distillery hosting a gin bar.

“There is a lot on offer beyond the music, so I think whether you’re into food, wine, you’ve got a young family – we’ve got a kids’ area – it feels like we’re really catering for a really great all-round experience this year,” Ms Stickland said.

Single-day and three-day tickets are still available both online and at the box office at the QMF site.

For more information, head to qmf.net.au