West Best Bloc Fest turning a new corner through greater all-ages appeal
by Josh Leeson · Newcastle HeraldAcross the first four iterations of West Best Bloc Fest, Dylan Oakes was front and centre.
The charismatic venue owner and creative was the public face of the Newcastle music festival as it evolved from an underground event of emerging artists in 2022 to become one of the city's most important annual cultural events.
Bloc Fest's growth has coincided with the Midtown precinct of Newcastle West between Steel and Union streets becoming one of the city's most popular entertainment nightspots.
Co-directors Wanagi Zable-Andrews and Chris Barnett have been working with Oakes on Bloc Fest since day one, but more in a behind-the-scenes capacity.
Following Oakes' move to Britain this year, Zable-Andrews and Barnett are stepping forward to put their spin on the fifth edition set for Sunday, October 4.
"The offering of the event is on the track that we had it on," Zable-Andrews says.
"There are a few changes that we've made in the way that we approach some of the bookings and collaborations and a few new things that we've brought in this year.
"The sort of scope and the scale of the event have remained."
This year's Bloc Fest will include 80 sets from more than 300 musicians across 10 stages at nine venues. These include King Street Hotel, the Happy Wombat, Mad Poet, Papa's Bagels, Antojitos, Bernie's Bar, Jam's Karaoke, and Maru Hi-Fi.
For the first time Bloc Fest will also have a dedicated 21st-century all-ages stage in the EJE car park on King Street, headlined by Whitebridge's Trophy Wyfe, who won triple j's national Unearthed High competition in May.
Other all-ages acts include Anunnaki, Citruss, Cornea, Foiled Fishing Plans, Glycerine, Jetlag and The Sobars.
The expansion was possible through a grant from the state government's Sound NSW.
It's reached a point now where there are that many underage bands that it's important to include that component because that's the next generation of what we're doing.- West Best Bloc Fest co-director Chris Barnett
King Street, the Happy Wombat, Antojitos, Papa's Bagels and Mad Poet will also allow punters under 18.
"It's something we've wanted to do for a couple of years now," Barnett says.
"We've been trying to figure out the best way to do it. To be honest, it's reached a point now where there are that many underage bands that it's important to include that component because that's the next generation of what we're doing."
Bloc Fest is also attempting to expand its demographic in the other direction.
Lake Macquarie's ARIA Award-winning singer-songwriter and Dashville favourite, William Crighton, is headlining the festival as he continues to promote his fourth album, Colonial Drift, released in March.
With Dashville Skyline taking a year off, Bloc West won't be going head-to-head with the Lower Belford festival, which typically attracts a more mature audience.
Along with Crighton, several other Dashville regulars like Piper Butcher, Johnston City and Anna Weatherup are hoping to lure the over-40s crowd to Bloc Fest too.
"That's certainly part of our thought processes with it," Zable-Andrews says. "We're wanting to bring both ends.
"We bring the new generation in and then have something for a more mature crowd.
"William Crighton, we're really excited about. We think he's at a really critical point in his career, and he's doing great things."
Bloc Fest is strictly a Hunter artist-only festival (however, those rules were bent last year to allow Sydney punk legends The Hard-Ons to headline).
That hasn't prevented applications from pouring in from around the world.
Zable-Andrews and Barnett estimate that they received 400 applications.
"It came from a broad net," Zable-Andrews says.
"There were a few that came through from overseas that we had to be like, 'Sorry guys, we're not Newcastle in the UK.'"
Barnett says, "We ended up with bands applying from every continent except Antarctica."
Zable-Andrews and Barnett agree that music fans and the industry have woken up to what's being fostered in Newcastle.
"I just went up to Brisbane for Bigsound Festival, which is sort of a big showcase of emerging artists, and something that I found quite interesting was that Newcastle bands and artists were quite prominent in terms of showcases happening at Bigsound, and all of them were very well-received," Barnett says.
"I do think that Newcastle's music scene is really starting to get recognised for the quality that we have."
The pair laughs when Weekender suggests they might be the only people in Newcastle hoping the Knights don't defeat Penrith on Sunday and progress to the NRL grand final, which would coincide with Bloc Fest.
"It's been a conversation about what we do if they win," Zable-Andrews says. "We definitely would like it on the record that we hope they win.
"There are places on the block that are focused on sport, like the Happy Wombat. I'm sure they'll be playing it."