James Donovan is the person behind this Saturday's Wrapped Up 3 festival being held at Phoenix Park in Ballan. The former booker for the Eastern Hotel in Ballarat and the Pinnacle in North Fitzroy says he decided to confront the challenge of COVID by planning what he considered would be his ideal line-up at a festival he wanted to attend - and then put on the whole show himself.

He's got together an astonishing array of acts, including Romy Vager Group, CIVIC, Krakatau, Leah Senior, Parsnip and Bananagun, as well as Ballarat musicians Connor Toomey Dream Band and Chimpanzee.

Getting the bands and DJs together - there are 16 confirmed already - is one thing, but the added pressure is dealing with the local council and residents, and finding a date when the venue is available. But that's all part of the business of rock'n'roll, James Donovan says.

"It's been a project of about maybe 24 months," he says.

"It started in 2020: things started clicking over and there were a few setbacks originally, just in the way the world was going on... I was able to lock in the date, April 2, but building up to it the community have been really receptive and supportive, and especially with council as well, they thought it was fantastic to be able to have a bit more live music and build upon that arts presence in the town.

"I guess, with COVID and lockdown and the current state of affairs, I was able to just have enough time to really nitpick and be able to figure out the ideal festival. I've been to a few in the past and always taken in little ideas. I thought, 'Now it's time to time to manifest my own little own little project.' And it's come together in a real tidy way, and I'm really excited for it."

A Ballan native - he's lived in the town since he was 12 - James Donovan says he's noticed the changes happening as the population has grown and changed. He says the idea of the festival was warmly received, and there is a greater appreciation of the wider appeal of music and art generally. At the same time, he says, creating a festival from scratch is a lot different from running the band room at the Eastern, and he's grateful for the education he was able to take away from that job.

"This time around, it's a bit of a different rodeo, having it happen out in Ballan and a few other things going on around it," he says.

"Although working in the city at the North Fitzroy Pinnacle and at the Eastern, which was a bit of a grassroots approach to running operations, and the bands I brought in... it's all pretty close to home. I mean, I've got to be honest: it's a bit of a indulgence for myself. I just wanted to see all these bands."

The line-up for Wrapped Up 3 is indeed an impressive indulgence, with some well known local acts mixed in with bands on the rise like RVG, Bananagun and CIVIC. How does someone book a huge number of acts and convince them to play at a first-time festival?

"I guess it was simple enough: reaching out to their agents and giving them a general idea of what the festival would be," James says.

"They were really excited to be able to be doing it, I think. And not just RVG, but for a lot of bands on the lineup, and out in the community as well, I think a lot of a lot of performers are just straining for that opportunity to get back into that sense of normality, do you know what I mean? Everyone was really eager and excited.

"To be able to get back to the routine of performing regularly and, I guess, get out and play songs and demos which people have been writing over the whole period of COVID. I think a lot of bands generally get a kick out of playing in a lineup where they admire the other bands, as well. So it's kind of inclusive."

The distinctive poster for Wrapped Up 3 was created by Ballarat artist Deanne Gilson, and provided free of charge in a gesture of support. James said Ms Gilson provided the original banksia design which he thinks is phenomenal, and the layout was created by his friend, the designer and musician Edan Strachan.

"I reached out to (Deanne) kind of sheepishly, I didn't really know if it was appropriate to ask an artist to have it," he says.

"I said, 'Hey, I'm just, I'm a bit of a schmuck, but could I maybe use this on my festival?' And she was really understanding and supportive. She said she's got kids who work in the industry as well and if I wanted to use it, it was fine. And from then I got Aiden. He's just kicking goals at the moment with a lot of local projects, and international kind of things as well. He put together a layout and did all the font design. So it's pretty local as well."

Wrapped Up 3 opens on Saturday April 3 from 12pm and runs until 3.30 on Sunday morning at Phoenix Park, 5623 Geelong-Ballan Road, Ballan. Tickets include parking and camping access, and are available through Eventbrite with limited numbers also available at the gate. The festival is supported by the Victorian Government through Creative Victoria.