Thousands flocked to the Meredith Supernatural Amphitheatre yesterday for the venue’s “other” big festival.

This year’s line-up was headlined by big name acts Public Enemy and You Am I, which meant many of the revellers were significantly less than half the age of some of the performers. Not unlike a Wiggles concert.

That didn’t deter anyone from kicking up their heels – and the dirt – at the outdoor music festival.

Plenty of water was consumed to quench parched throats and wash away the dust. When water wasn’t handy, patrons resorted to beer. 

For many, the Golden Plains Music Festival has become an annual pilgrimage, its popularity beginning to approach that of sister festival, the Meredith Music Festival in December.

Henry McGoldrick from Ballarat said he was rapt just to get away from work for the weekend. He wore what might have been the standard “hipster” uniform of the event – generic t-shirt, ripped shorts, funny looking hat. 

The fashion of the weekend was, well, just about anything really. The unofficial theme may have been “eccentricity”. Op shops across the state appear to have been raided to get the “latest retro” look. Oxymoron much. 

There were all the hues of the rainbow, often on the same outfit. But that was about the only sign of a rainbow as the hot sun beat down upon the crowd.

The musical line-up was equally eclectic: the folk-country of Archer, surfer rock from Los Coronas, the mellow sounds of singer-songwriter Neko Case, the rock of You Am I, and the pioneering hip hop of Chuck D, Flavor Flav, Professor Griff, and DJ Lord, AKA Public Enemy.

Most revellers took on the organisers’ advice to slip, slop, slap. Some didn’t. They, along with some who chose beer rather than water late into the night, will pay for it in the morning. 

The Golden Plains Music Festival continues today.

gavin.mcgrath@fairfaxmedia.com.au