Photo: Brian Purnell — Photo: Brian Purnell

Upon walking into the festival site, there’s a noticeable difference to the layout compared to last year so it’s exciting to start exploring what’s on offer. We’re greeted by a huge ‘Welcome To Sugar Mountain’ sign in the food precinct that’s filled with cocktail caravans and tasty trucks to quench the thirst and satisfy any hunger. It’s a great atmosphere with plenty of seating under a spot of shade or to relax in a sun lounge on the grass.

Stella Donnelly kicks off the music on the Dodds Street main stage that’s been decorated with an arch of metallic balloons. Before unleashing her emotional hit “Boys Will Be Boys” she gives a content warning, “This song talks about sexual assault and rape so if you don’t want to listen that’s fine,” she announces. The vulnerable and confronting song sends a powerful message and sheds some light on the dark side of the entertainment industry. She quickly re-tunes her guitar for an emotional love song with an acoustic vibe, which showcases her impressive jazzy vocal tones.

Sugar Mountain is all about unique experiences and VIA ALICE is no exception. We line up for an early performance session to beat the crowds and make our way to a dark room with a dim red lighting. We then take a seat on a swivel tree-trunk stool and put on a virtual reality headset with headphones to take us on a 360-degree journey through the Australian landscape told through movement and music. Once our eyes and bodies re-adjust from the VR, we watch a remarkable live contemporary dance to finish.

It’s the perfect day to cool off with an over-indulgent disco-inspired ice cream treat from Messina before heading over to the Boiler Room for Fantastic Man. The amphitheatre-style stage is heaving underneath a roof of party streamers and the DJ is spinning infectious tropical funk tunes to get the masses dancing on every level. One guy even has his fly swat in hand as he swats the bugs away to the beat – potentially the best festival accessory of the day.

Duo Ara Koufax stand face-to-face with each other as they whip up an expansive and dreamy electronic sound that travels down Dodds Street, while the Future Culture stage opens up with an acknowledgement of Country from the Djirri Djirri dance group. The next experience in this zone is a moving performance of cultural expression that includes an indigenous lyrebird dance and an evocative visual projection display as performers with elaborate hair styles strike a pose beside a colourful pattern backdrop.

Karajala Kirridarra (which translates to ‘Sandihill Women’) draw their sound from traditional Aboriginal communities from the Northern Territory and create a fusion mixed with a fresh new electronic production. The unique performance is atmospheric and bold. The group sings about the important meaning of their culture and how to keep it strong, living in peace and feeling one with the land. “If you feel something today it’s the Earth!” shouts singer Eleanor 'Nalyirri' Dixon.

The audience throws their fists up in the air with gusto as hip-hop duo A.B. Original make their way onto the stage with a grand entrance. They make a special dedication to all their black brothers and sisters that couldn’t be here and the audience shows support by chanting along “No justice no peace.” DJ Total Eclipse pumps up the crowd with a quick intermission of heavy bangers before Dan Sultan joins in for an encore cover of Paul Kelly’s “Dumb Things” and “January 26”. They wave the Australian Aboriginal flag around as the crowd lets loose. ”Change comes from the youth, it comes from you and me!” yells singer Briggs.

We remain at the main stage to wait for Jamilla Woods who has a late start but redeems herself quickly with impressive sexy, smooth and soulful tones. The sublime electric guitar solos and funky bass lines hook us in right away and if that doesn’t do it then her mash up of Destiny’s Child’s “Say My Name” mixed with her own original track “In My Name” is sure to have everyone dancing and singing along. And we get all the nostalgic feels when we hear a reference from the Dawson’s Creek theme song “I don’t want wait for our lives to be over!” she sings on “Lonely.” Woods recites a moving poem before she unleashes power anthem “Blk Girl Soldier” dedicated to all the powerful women out there.

For a change of scenery we make our way through the hectic Boiler Room crowd to the Meryl Theatre stage at the Malthouse Theatre, which is incorporated into the festival site. It’s so dark inside that we almost lose our mates before our eyes adjust to fixate on the enigmatic Sevdaliza. The Dutch-Iranian singer is a few songs into her hard-hitting fierce performance and instantly captures our attention. With her incredible spirit animal dancer by her side, combined with high production visuals, strobe lighting and her powerhouse multi-lingual vocals, she’s the real deal. We appreciate her craft – it’s pure and what she feels from the heart.

It’s Joey Bada$$’s birthday so we sing to him and he gets the crowd hyped up by asking the audience to shout his name repeatedly, “What’s my name what’s my name?” He’s got a great stage presence and draws a huge crowd to fill Dodds Street. After a quick food break we head back to the main stage to secure a spot for the final act. Cut Copy once again proves that they are the perfect festival headliner for any occasion. They’ve been around a long time so they play a mixed set from their catalogue including “Future” from their very first album and “Black Rainbows” from their latest release ‘Haiku From Zero’. They get the dance floor started with ‘”Pharaohs & Pyramids” as lead singer Dan Whitford tells us to “Be ready!” before they unleash the huge drop. Fan favourites “Hearts On Fire” and “Lights & Music” bring the festival to a close with a huge rush of adrenaline pumping through the crowd. We dance along to the euphoric electronic-pop that’s just made for this a festival setting and we leave on a sweet high.