A West Australian town with only 150 people and just one business will soon play host to an open-air heavy metal festival in November.
The Shire of Donnybrook Balingup council recently approved the event to go ahead in the small town of Kirup, 220 kilometres south of Perth.
Shayne Macaulay-Smith, owner of the town’s only business, the Kirup Tavern, says having the South West Metal Fest is a great idea.
“Everyone craves a live music scene, yet we continue to see small venues close and musicians struggle,” she said.
“And with the ever-increasing cost of living, small businesses rely on tourism to survive, so I think this is fantastic.”
The South West Metal Fest is organised by JamArt Sound Lounge and will run over November 22 and 23.
The BYO, all-ages event will see tickets for up to 650 people, who can camp on-site for two nights.
Live music will play in 45-minute to one-hour intervals, from 2pm to 11pm on both days.
There are 131 properties located within 2km of the oval.
Why Kirup?
Event organiser Kim Zehra said Kirup was chosen because they were looking for a town that was “a bit out of the way”.
“The aim is to provide a metal-only open-air event, which will fill a gap in the current music festival market and also bring economic benefit to a smaller regional centre,” Ms Zehra said.
“Festivals have been on the decline right across Australia, so this is opening up an opportunity for a town that normally wouldn’t see this kind of event.”
Bush doof backlash
The second music festival to be held on the same weekend within the shire is the Meliora Arts and Lifestyle Festival.
The event will be held in an empty paddock in a locality called Newlands.
It is expected to see up 3,000 people attend with camping permitted for three nights.
However, event organisers were asked to make changes to the 2024 festival after backlash from the inaugural one over New Years.
It was previously criticised for loud continuous music and lack of community consultation.
| PREVIOUS MUSIC TIMES | DURATION | NEW MUSIC TIMES | DURATION |
|---|---|---|---|
| Friday 4:30pm to Saturday 3am | 10.5 hours | Friday 2pm to 2am | 12 hours |
| Saturday 8:30am to Sunday 5am | 20.5 hours | Saturday 10am to 3am | 17 hours |
| Sunday 9am to Monday 10:30pm | 35.5 hours | Sunday 9am to 10pm | 13 hours |
Newlands resident Collin Fisher, who lives just in front of the paddock, said the festival being allowed to go ahead again was a joke.
“It’s right behind my house by a couple of hundred metres and I had no sleep last time it was on,” Mr Fisher said.
“I don’t want a letter. I want the organiser to speak to me in person and to pay for me to get a hotel for the weekend.”
The ABC has contacted Elysian Art and Music for comment.
According to council notes, the organiser has shortened the November festival from four to three days with an acoustic consultant to be brought in to assist with assessing noise.
The Shire of Donnybrook Balingup will hold an event debrief meeting before the end of December to discuss any complaints arising from the festivals.
