AFTER a successful debut that attracted thousands of people, Freo music festival Arrival is back for another year and is hitting the high seas—well a party boat on the Swan River.
It’s all part of an ambitious expansion that sees the non-profit festival held in five venues across the port city—Buffalo Club, Wyola Club, Phillimore Chambers, Naval Store and the Swan River.
Specialising in alternative, electronic, experimental and dance music, Arrival was the brainchild of the folk behind The Naval Store, an arts/music hub on Queen Victoria Street.
Naval Store’s Adam Jorlen says they were thrilled with how last year’s Arrival was received.
“We sold 80 per cent of tickets across seven shows (3000 tickets) which felt like a genuine validation of what we were trying to do—fill a real gap in WA’s winter touring circuit and bring a genuinely adventurous music program to the state, across spaces that go beyond your standard commercial venue.”
• (top and below) Get ready for Smoked Trout fun and Alias Error at this year’s Arrival music festival in Fremantle.
The bill has 45 acts that never resort to musical cliché, with everything from the avant-pop of Welsh songwriter Cate Le Bon to a Smoked Trout queer party.
“We always encourage our audience to stay curious and take risks on artists they might not know yet,” Jorlen says.
“This year we’re welcoming back Wednesday, Dry Cleaning and Cate Le Bon to WA — all returning off the back of massive sold-out tours — alongside the debut Australian shows from Purelink and Chanel Beads, both from NYC, which are really exciting.
“And Drifting Clouds (Arnhem artist who combines synth pop and ’80s rock with ancient Songlines), Alias Error, Bridget Small and Nick Ure are all making their WA debuts.”
A lot of festivals claim to be community-driven and grassroots when they’re not—ticking an imaginary box on some virtue-signalling checklist—but Arrival is the real deal.
This year’s festival includes a co-presentation with experimental label Tone List, a collaboration with Good Trouble Projects, who make creative work about “issues that matter”, and the launch of an online community radio station.
Spearheaded by local DJs Montana & Ephacy, Radio Cazimi will be a place where “music, stories and ideas can be explored and shared in a way that feels open, inclusive and deeply rooted in community.”
The festival’s opening night will raise funds towards the launch of Radio Cazimi.
“Community is at the heart of everything we do, so expansion for us has always meant more points of connection, not just more shows,” Jorlen says.
The festival is non-profit and doesn’t receive any government support, so they’ve set up a fundraising campaign via the Australian Cultural Fund.
“Donations over $2 are tax deductible, and every contribution goes directly towards keeping independent live music healthy in WA and making Arrival an annual fixture,” Jorlen says.
But right now, the festival team are busy getting their sou’westers ready for that winter party boat—a four-hour DJ cruise from Barrack St Jetty to East St Jetty.
Kindred Spirits is billed as a casual dance affair soundtracked lovingly by buddies.
So make sure to look out your glow sticks, rave whistles and oilskins.
The Fremantle music festival Arrival is on May 26-June 6. For more info and tix see arrivalfestival.com.
by STEPHEN POLLOCK