Photos: Dameeka Middleton

Words: Dameeka Middleton and Penny Brand

Music festivals are dead you say? Not on the Sunshine Coast!

In its third consecutive year, The Big Weekend proved everyone wrong on Saturday with local rockstar Pricey putting on a sold-out show at Blackflag Brewing, Coolum.

The event celebrates Coolum and it’s thriving music scene, and this year Pricey asked his mate Dave Gleeson from The Screaming Jets to join him, with hip-hop heavyweights The Bennies headlining.

From rap and hip-hop to punk, rock and even reggae, the brewery carpark drew a 600-strong crowd of thirsty punters who danced up a storm from 2.30pm-10pm.

Local rap masters Harlum and El Mack were the perfect openers, with Harlum bursting onto the stage with his lively, high-octane schtick.

Pricey’s childhood mate Wigs flexed in his solo Aussie hip-hop effort, while CaelWhip N Nix got punters off their chairs and into the pit, with their hilarious on-stage antics which saw them shed most of their clothing (oh my!).

Catching Salmon were up next, bringing some of the heavier stuff to this rock show.

Their punk-rock spin on The Police classic, “Message in a Bottle”, got the attention of concert-goers, and the energy these boys bring to their recordings was even madder on stage… epic.

As the sun began to set, it was time for a legendary performance from Chamber Lane who sounded magnificent on the outdoor stage, which organiser Ben Russoniello says came with “Splendour-quality” sound – superb!

Feeding off each other’s energy, these boys really know how to get the punters running, showing they were made for a party like this.

Loyal fans sang crowd-pleaser, “Liana”, word-for-word, while frontman Connor and bassist Josiah worked the stage at full force, sharing vocals for their latest punk anthem “Love is for Losers” (a personal favourite).

Up next, Brixton Alley made everyone take notice when they broke into an incredible mash-up of The White Stripe’s “Seven Nation Army” and Eminem’s “The Real Slim Shady”, with a sample of 50 Cent’s “Candy Shop” thrown in for good measure.

The Brissy-based British lads brought a new wave of professionalism to the stage, with their indie-punk flair and Jonny’s mesmerising lyrical delivery. IMPRESSIVE.

While waiting for the highly-anticipated performance of Pricey and Dave Gleeson, we met some huge fans who were lucky enough to meet The Screaming Jets frontman.

It was SO great to see Dave giving so much of his time to the festival and its performers, proving to be the ultimate mentor to our local superstar acts and their fans.

One concert-goer struck up a conversation with us about “how bloody good it is to see an Australian music festival thriving”, pulling out an original 1997 Screaming Jets T-shirt (pictured) which Dave had just signed.

This gentleman and his friend expressed the pure love they have for “good live music”, and it really shows how important it is to have an active music festival like this is in our region.

As the stage lights dimmed, a long-haired lout dressed in all black and a vivid green VB hat emerged.

Pricey kicked straight into his opening song, “88” stirring the masses into an all-out frenzy with the audience’s blunt Aussie accent firing the lyrics back to him.

Since his debut with The Chats in 2016, Pricey has continued to be a formidable force and still performs a song or two from their discography, such as pub-rock classic, “Don’t Tell Me What To Do”.

It was around here when a fancy-dress pirate launched himself off the stage and into the mosh pit, in an attempted crowdsurf, but landing somewhat flatly on the carpark bitumen. Ouch.

But never fear, because Dave Gleeson was here to lend him a helping hand, bringing his Aussie music royalty to this rock show, and joining Pricey on stage with smash hit, “Better”.

Showing it wasn’t his first rodeo, Dave performed with the same boy-ish charm he had in the 1980s, and the crowd went nuts when he lapsed into The Angels classic, “Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again”.

Bringing music lovers of all ages to the dance floor, Dave told the rowdy mob he “LOVES swearing!” as they sang the expletive-laden version of the song – “No way, get f*cked, f*ck off!”

Riding on a huge high made by their musical predecessors, five-piece psychedelic rockers The Bennies filled the stage for the ulimate send-off.

Despite the weather dropping to Antarctic lows, The Bennies had the 420 crew lighting-up and bouncing to stay warm, with some reggae-infused beats to soothe the souls.

Frontman Ant Horgan took full direction on stage, charged from his band’s all-out fun energy, as he swayed, grooved, and sprang around in tight, stripy pants.

Ant’s smile lit up the venue, and at one point he joined the nosebleed sniffers for a singalong, tying together the night’s loose ends beautifully.

With the recent trend of music festivals being cancelled, it was such a pleasure to see the Sunny Coast community’s full support on display.

The Big Weekend provides a major platform for our emerging performers, giving them the opportunity to showcase their talents to a new audience, while bringing the commmunity together, no matter the demographic.

Everyone in Pricey’s camp and the boys at Blackflag should be stoked.

And Dave Gleeson, you’re a flipping legend.