In 2021 The Gum Ball festival at Dashville popped up on schedule, pivoting between pandemic shutdowns, and gave punters a high five of musical highlights (King Stingray, Cash Savage, The Beautiful Girls) in a year devoid of such good times.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
With the line-up for the 2022 rendition of The Gum Ball announced last week, founder Matt Johnston is determined to give it another hot shake.
And hope he can navigate through the the unknown - lockdowns, restrictions and fears.
"It's been pretty full-on,' he says. "There's definitely times when you consider all the aspects. It's not what we envisioned when we started. It gives us an extra purpose. People need that social connection. The music industry is hurting. Considering all the pros and cons, we try to stay positive."
It's not what we envisioned when we started [17 years ago]. It gives us an extra purpose. People need that social connection.
- Matt Johnston
The festival will celebrate its 17th birthday April 22-24 with headliners Bad Dreems, Ed Kuepper and Jim White, Skunkhour, Horrorshow, Mia Dyson and Claire Anne Taylor.
Other bands include Didirri, Wolf & Cub, Isobel Knight & her band, Hot Potato Band, Swedish Magazines, Baby Velvet, Vaudeville Smash, Bananagun, Jazz Party, Bobby Alu, Pollyman, The Bottlers, Ruby Gill, Fools, Van Walker & The Ferriters, Bones & Jones, Horse Drawn Cadillac and Peach Fur.
"It's a great first start to what will be a great festival," Johnston says. "It's been quite a while since we've done three days. When Redgum played on Anzac Day it was a Thursday [2013]. We did Thursday-Friday-Saturday."
Further acts for The Gum Ball will be announced around late February.
For Johnston, the sweet spot comes on Sunday. After nearly a year of organising the event, including booking bands, selling tickets, arranging all of the other services and elements (not to mention a handful of other music events on the 100-acre Dashville property), it's a moment to be savoured.
"I think the moment the music starts on Sunday, when you've journeyed through those first couple of days, that's the magical time, you've kind of got that time ahead. The day is ahead of you," he says.
While Dashville has not received any pandemic-relief government handouts - like the $1.35million to the promoters of the rescheduled Guns 'n' Roses tour - it's had to be agile to survive.
Like ticketing - The Gum Ball and now all Dashville events use Humanitix.
"There's a whole new protocol" when it comes to tickets and refunds, Johnston says. "We never had to deal with force majeure [acts, events or circumstances beyond the control of the parties which excuses them from legal obligations]. It was always rain, hail or shine. Now, with public health orders ..."
"We have been fortunate to have a system to move forward, a credit system ... To be honest, we just came up with it. We didn't have much of an option. We couldn't afford to refund people. That would force us into bankruptcy. We are just a middle person for a lot of industries - contractors, running expenses."
"Gum Ball takes up 10 months a year of planning. You are tied to that expense for a whole year."
It has meant a fundamental change in the relationship with festival ticket buyers.
"People are waiting to buy a ticket," Johnston says. "That's definitely happening. People consider us as an investment. People can feel confident they will get a credit or rescheduled date. In terms of gigs and live music, it's definitely a trend."
Curating the line-up still remains a pleasure, but it's a puzzle, too. And a grassroots festival like Gum Ball (3000 maximum crowd) has a much tighter budget than the big boys.
"We can't afford Paul Kelly, Crowded House, Midnight Oil," Johnston says. "By virtue, we're always in a situation of grassroots, emerging acts.
"Definitely with Bad Dreems, Skunkhour, Mia Dyson, Ed Kuepper, we have so many great acts. But the reality is the only reason they will play is because they really want to. Our pay packet can't compete with big festivals."
Johnston is hoping to keep alive the festival's "young gums" initiative this year. Over the course of the five days, a group of 10 selected students will engage with a range of qualified music professionals from musicians to lighting technicians, from set up to showtime, through a series of workshops, tutoring and one-on-one mentoring.
The result achievements last were "pretty emotional" for Johnston, a flicker of hope for the future.
Perhaps soften by time, and parenthood (Matt and his wife Jess have a 14-month-old baby, Ruby), Johnston has kept his eternal optimism despite wave after wave of hurdles.
"There's a lot of positives in everything that's going on," he says. "That's all you can focus on. It's hard to predict what the future will hold for us now. It's important to focus on the now, and what we can do.
"It's a bit daunting when you look too far."
