The team behind The Naval Store are launching a new indie music festival in Fremantle to banish the winter blues.
The non-profit ARRIVAL will be held from May 30 to June 8 and split between three venues – The Naval Store, PS Art Space and the Buffalo Club.
The team that run The Naval Store – a multipurpose venue for arts, music and exhibitions on Queen Victoria Street – wanted a winter festival to plug the gap in the national touring circuit.
After successfully trialling a small festival in 2024, they decided to try a full-scale version this year.
• (above and below) Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter Jessica Pratt, and Blind Girls are some of the acts playing ARRIVAL.
“One of the reasons why we started ARRIVAL is that we and many of our friends have travelled to festivals over east like Melbourne’s RISING and Dark MoFo in Tasmania for years to see music that we like, and thought; why not start something similar here so people don’t have to travel over?” says The Naval Store’s Adam Jorlen.
“Also, we all believe that we need more boundary-pushing music in winter in WA in general.”
The festival has a diverse line up of established and up-and-coming indie artists with everything from haunting folk and energetic punk to electronica and experimental music.
Artists performing include Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter Jessica Pratt, rapper Bktherula, the shoegazing DIIV, ambient duo Wilson Tanner, and punk rockers Blind Girls.
Jorlen describes the festival as “music for the curious”.
“There’s no algorithm-friendly filler, just a handpicked mix of international headliners that excite us and rising local acts that we think need more exposure,” he says.
Organisers are planning to make the festival an annual event with an arts program in future editions.
“We’ve discussed weaving in site-specific sound installations, filmmaker collaborations and workshops/public discussions with visiting artists,” he says.
“We’re sharing one of our venues, the Naval Store, with the new contemporary arts organisation Vessel, which launches on May 9, so that’s also a potential logical avenue for future exciting collaborations.”
It’s a risky gambit launching a new music festival in 2025. In recent years, they have been dropping like flies because of rising insurance and logistical costs.
But Jorlen says their festival is non-profit, which gives them a better chance of success.
“We believe a charitable model can be more viable in the long term as we don’t need to make a profit on top for investors,” he says.
“That’s why we’ve partnered with The Australian Cultural Fund, where 100 per cent of tax-deductible donations go directly to artists and creative projects.”
Another Fremantle winter music festival, Hidden Treasures, also returns this year after a brief hiatus.
Freo council has decided to make it a standalone event, separate from 10 Nights in Port, and it will be curated by prominent Fremantle artists.
One of the Hidden Treasures nights, June 5, clashes with the ARRIVAL festival, but Jorlen doesn’t think it’s a problem and believes there is enough demand for both.
He’s encouraging everyone to come down to the debut ARRIVAL and show their support.
“If we want ARRIVAL to become an annual Fremantle staple, the community has to back it,” Jorlen says.
“Government grants rarely prioritise boundary-pushing lineups like ours, so it’s on us. Buy tickets.
“Donate via the ACF. Drag your friends.
“Otherwise, festivals like this won’t exist here. No pressure, but do it for the culture.”
For more info and tix see arrivalfestival.com.
by STEPHEN POLLOCK