A popular Australian festival was forced to launch a petition to open up the event to young music enthusiasts after facing pushback in one state. At just 13 years old I was lucky enough to tag along to my very first festival with my dad. It was Soundwave’s last hoorah — though we didn’t know it at the time — and Faith No More, Soundgarden and Slipknot lit up the Royal Melbourne Showgrounds.
I watched it all unfold wide-eyed: Fear Factory boomed through the showgrounds, I screamed along to Gerard Way, and saw my first circle pit at Dragonforce (from a respectable distance with my uncle). While the day remains one of my most cherished memories, kids growing up now are struggling to be afforded the same opportunities to experience live music. Good Things festival was forced to launch a petition to welcome 16 and 17 year olds (with the supervision of a parent or guardian) to the Sydney event this year.
This is despite the Melbourne and Brisbane events being 16+ in the past. Good Things festival promoter Chris O’Brien said it was “absolutely critical” for kids to have the chance to attend festivals with their parents or guardians, noting that while kids under 18 don’t farm a large portion of attendees, they’re an “integral part” of the day. “Without them, how do they experience live music?” Mr O’Brien said.
He added he’d never forget the special feeling of seeing an eight-year-old on his dad’s shoulders at a Megadeth concert a few years ago. “They.