GROOVIN THE MOO MAITLAND 2023: PHOTO GALLERY & REVIEW

 It’s that time of the year again, when Groovin The Moo takes over six regional areas around the country and puts on a helluva event that people have loved since it started back in 2006 when most festival goers couldn’t even talk yet. It truly is our favourite time of the year because nothing can beat that Groovin atmosphere and the GTM team always do the best job running the event smoothly and making sure everyone has the best time possible. 
Saturday the 22nd of April saw the festival take to Maitland, NSW - and even though the rain came down early, it didn’t stop punters from heading in early, ready as anything with their rain ponchos and smiles on. 
Groovin The Moo always does a fantastic job at showcasing the local talent so it’s always a good idea to head in early to catch some of the best new talent that the area has to offer. Let us take you through our day and some of the acts we were blessed to witness.

Slowly Slowly are anything but slow - the members owned that stage from the second they walked out. Moving around effortlessly, taking control of the loud, screaming crowd with their fun energy and high spirits while playing favourites like “Jellyfish” and “Daisy Chain” and even including their Triple J Like A Version of Blink- 182’s “I Miss You” which was just perfect. Towards the end, frontman Ben Stewart  wowed punters with his great stage presence and his infamous jump into the crowd.

Next up for us: The Chats, who may play punk rock music, but like most punk rockers  are the sweetest at heart - making sure to always check up on the crowd by asking everyone to take care of each other. 
The sun briefly shone through the clouds during their set as it featured a whole heap of head banging, loud twangy bass, and vigorous guitar strums against the fast paced drum beats that kept the festival vibes intact. Finishing their set with none other than “Pub Feed”, punters went absolutely hard to that catchy as fuck riff, screaming out the lyrics “All I want and all I need, All I crave is a good pub feed”.

Over at the Triple J stage , the crowd only grew and grew awaiting Confidence Man to take the stage. Two members who were Clarence McGuffie and Reggie Goodchild came out first, getting the music started and everyone hyped before the smoke arose from the sides of the stage while Sugar Bones and Janet Planet came out both wearing white, with their matching bold eyeliner as they grabbed the mics - this is where the party really got started. 
The stage presence from these guys was immaculate - they are certainly no strangers to the festival scene, and know how to entertain with their banging electronic dance tracks that had everyone in the crowd far and wide jumping up and down for their life. The atmosphere was more than lively, it was unmatchable and with Sugar Bones iconically spraying the crowd with champagne, it definitely was an act not worth missing.

All the way from the UK were Nothing But Thieves who didn’t disappoint - with only a 30 minute set, the 5-piece didn’t delay and played through their most loved tracks which had fans screaming their lungs out throughout. Their indie rock infused sound soared out into Maitland showground and had even the people at the very back dancing along. Each member played their instruments with such drive, and all individually had great stage presence, with vocalist Conor Mason being the ultimate  king of facial expressions while singing.

Punters were already screaming before SKEGSS even came out onto the stage, and when they finally did a total eruption came from the crowd which sent smiles onto the artists faces before starting their performance. Being a three-piece band doesn’t stop them from throwing out some of the fullest, catchiest tracks to be heard at GTM all the while mixed with fun energy, and great attitude - it contributed to that ultimate festival atmosphere.

Ocean Alley were set to play right at twilight - when the sun was at the edge of the horizon, and the darkness was taking over which was honestly the perfect time for the kings of groove to take control of the festival with their smooth sounds echoing out and creating this very chill, and amazing atmosphere that was truly a perfect moment. 
As the cool air swept across the showground, the crowd had their arms up to the sky, moving around to the slick beat of the drums, and the groove of the bass vibrating the ground under their feet. They played for around 45 minutes which was enough time to see the sun go completely down and the fun to commence.

Amy Shark’s name lit up on the screen over at the Triple J stage before the singer came out only 5 minutes after Ocean Alley and as she walked out onto the stage and grabbed the mic fans ran over to that side of the stage to get ready for her terrific performance. In between songs she let the audience know just how grateful she was to be playing the Moo and how she’s very happy to be performing for everyone before diving into fan favourites like “Adore” then crashing into one of the best covers heard of Pearl Jam's “Better Man” which got EVERYONE up and dancing. The artist ended her set with one of her biggest tracks “I Said Hi” which kept the punters at the back up and dancing around. 

The night was barely over but the last act we got to catch was American rapper  Denzel Curry who played the Cattleyard Stage and had very mysterious effects the whole time with low red lights, switching from white strobes and the whole stage being covered in smoke which made for a great atmosphere for the artists performance. Festival goers were chanting Denzel’s name from the start as they got up on friends shoulders and got ready for one of the best.
Rapping his tracks, the artist walked from left to right of the stage - his silhouette being the only thing you could see before he emerged from the smoke briefly the look into his fans eyes then disappearing as more smoke was projected out. 
It was very visually pleasing to see and matched his energy perfectly - he had everyone shouting the words, and jumping the whole time.

Groovin The Moo is always the best time. 
The rain kept away the rest of the night as Fatboy Slim closed out the festival being the headliner with a high-energy performance.
This Saturday night was certain to be one to remember with the incredible atmosphere and some of the best artists in the game that all did their best to keep  punters going all day and night.