Thirroul turns electric as live music fills the streets and locals and visitors alike soak up the festival atmosphere. Photo: Supplied.
Grassroots heart, heavyweight backing — Thirroul Music Festival is pressing play after a 2024 pause, plugged in and turned up for its biggest year yet.
The premise remains: buy a ticket, get a wristband and wander between intimate seaside venues to catch world-class artists performing up close and personal in the venues of Thirroul’s vibrant heart.
This year, the community-grown event has three powerhouse partners turning up the volume, including the local legends behind Yours & Owls, who will co-present the festival with Cheatin’ Hearts Records.
“Last year we hit pause to reassess what shape we wanted the festival to take, and that’s when Yours & Owls joined up,” festival founder Luke Woods says. “They’ve been friends of ours for a long time, and their success in staging large-scale festivals and elevating the local scene is something we’ve long admired.”
Supported by the Thirroul Arts & Entertainment District, all venues are within a breezy five- to 10-minute walk of each other, creating an immersive, village-style experience.
It’s a long way from the festival’s humble beginnings, when Woods and Aaron Curnow (founder of Spunk Records) dreamt up a platform to showcase their favourite Australian artists in Thirroul’s quirky, underused spaces.
Back then, the Thirroul Railway Hall was the main stage, with satellite gigs popping up in laneways and local haunts such as Frank’s Wild Years.
“The hall is a venue we love and hold dear, but the event soon outgrew its capacity,” Woods says.
Thirroul Music Festival founder Luke Woods says the event’s heart remains local, even as it reaches new heights. Photo: Supplied.
Now, the festival’s main stage is set once again at Anita’s Theatre — the town’s 1200-capacity entertainment powerhouse.
“We’re so lucky in Thirroul to have a venue like Anita’s right in the heart of town — a place with experience hosting large-scale international acts,” Woods says. “It will make a fantastic mainstage, while we maintain the presence in smaller beloved venues around town that’s been a hallmark of the festival.”
Drawing the finest Americana, country, blues, surf and indie music from around the world, the festival is billed as a tangible example of the Thirroul Arts and Entertainment District’s success under the NSW Government’s Uptown program, which provided state funding in July to boost night-time districts and help businesses promote their area.
This year’s headline acts include international surf-rock icon Donavon Frankenreiter, Gareth Liddiard (The Drones), Melbourne powerhouse Grace Cummings, and Tasmania’s soulful Claire Anne Taylor, alongside hometown heroes such as crowd favourite Earth, Wind & Choir.
Organisers have also teamed up with Wollongong City Council to host a free all-ages stage on King Street, offering a family-friendly line-up and kids’ activities, as part of the council’s Open Street program. Part of the street will be closed off for this on Saturday 29 November, with vehicle access to the Coles carpark preserved.
“It’s another way for the local community to plug in and be part of the festival buzz,” Woods says. “Between Yours & Owls, Anita’s and Wollongong City Council, we’ve grown to real festival proportions — and we couldn’t have done it without the community that’s been cheering us on from the start.”
Thirroul Music Festival takes place on Saturday 29 November.
