For many millennials, music festivals were a cultural milestone, complete with wild mosh pit stories and tales of surviving portable toilets. But until this weekend, many teenagers in Western Australia’s South West had never experienced one for themselves.
That changed on Saturday, when Triple J’s One Night Stand arrived in Busselton. For a group of Bunbury teens, the wait was well worth it.
“I love it, it’s a vibe,” said 15-year-old Lily Martindale.
“We usually miss out,” added her friend Ruby Maratea, also 15.
In recent years, local youth have faced a string of cancelled events, including the annual Groovin the Moo and new festival You & Me, both of which were called off last year.
Saturday’s all-ages event featured acts like Perth’s Spacey Jane and New South Wales’ Ruby Fields, drawing a crowd of 15,000 — the fastest ticket sell-out in One Night Stand’s 20-year history, according to Triple J head Lachlan Macara.
“There’s a huge demand for live music in regional areas,” he said. But Macara acknowledged the key challenge now is maintaining that enthusiasm beyond the event.
Training the Next Generation of Music Industry Pros
To help sustain local music momentum, eight South West teens were chosen by youth music organisation The Push to receive training in various music industry skills. Working alongside Triple J, they gained hands-on experience in areas like audio engineering, social media, video production, and radio broadcasting.
Kate Duncan, CEO of The Push, praised the teens’ growth.
“We want to see this continue and help build the next generation of live music audiences,” she said.
Fifteen-year-old Lachie Cole from Dunsborough said the experience inspired him to pursue a career in audio engineering.
“I’ve learned so much about how these massive events come together,” he said.
Riley Morrant, 17, was equally thrilled to be working behind the scenes at his very first music festival.
“I’d done some local theatre volunteering, but this is a whole new level,” he said.
The group is now planning their own music event with continued support from The Push and the City of Busselton.
Spotlight on Local Talent
The festival also highlighted local artists, with Busselton band Fool Nelson opening the show after winning Triple J’s Unearthed competition.
“It was our biggest gig yet,” said lead guitarist and vocalist Tom Broadbent, who hopes to continue supporting local acts.
“If we’re playing a show down here, we try to bring other local bands in and get them gigs too,” he said.
Call for Long-Term Investment in Youth Music
Molly McKenna, a 20-year-old musician from Bunbury, has already been running her own events, including Ruckus — one of the few recurring all-ages gigs in the region. But she says it hasn’t been easy, citing unexpected costs and bureaucratic red tape.
“People don’t want to risk time or money on slow-growing community events,” she said.
McKenna participated in one of three industry panels hosted by Triple J before the festival and urged for greater investment — not just in funding, but in trusting young people to shape their own music scene.
The WA government contributed $60,000 to The Push’s training initiative, but Minister for Creative Industries Simone McGurk said more needs to be done to support regional live music.
“In smaller towns, it’s tough to make events financially sustainable,” she said. “We want to encourage people to attend and support live music.”
