Rain dancing a joy at CMC music festival
Country crowd makes most of wet weather
IF THERE’S one thing that can’t be bought at CMC Rocks, it’s the friendships that are made by people who travel from all over the country for the biggest event on the Ipswich music calendar.
This year, they came from all over the nation to make new friends, and catch up with existing ones.
Chelsea Wallace is an admin assistant from Bribie Island and this year is visiting with her mate, disability worker Brittany Fahy from Bendigo, Victoria.
The pair met at CMC two years ago. It started a friendship that has not only endured ever since but will continue for many a concert to come.
“We met at CMC in 2017. I came all by myself as many of my friends aren’t into country music,” Chelsea said.
“Every day on the campsite I would walk past this tent that had a unicorn outside which stood out to me.
“Then one day Brittany saw me and said ‘come on in’.
“We’ve been inseparable friends ever since.
“Every year we meet up for CMC and other concerts.
“We do a themed T-shirt each year, make up nicknames and every year reunite at the place we met. That’s why this year we are Thelma and Louise.”
Brittany takes 10 days off work for the trek up north to Willowbank and says it is the highlight of her year.
“To me it means driving up for a holiday of a lifetime, through three states, seeing country that not many people see, meeting different people, see the sights… it’s amazing,” Brittany said.
“Back in Victoria we would die for this. We have nothing like CMC and right now it’s a dust bowl so I’m not complaining about the rain falling down.
“Chelsea and I have managed to reunite every year and we’ll continue to do so. You don’t get these acts any other way, you can’t get country music on the radio in Victoria. For me, just to sit here, hear the unknown artists and meet so many people, it’s what keeps bringing us back and will continue to do so.”
Police praised the behaviour of the majority of the 25,000 people who enjoyed some of the world’s finest music talent at Willowbank.
Despite being lashed by thunderstorms and plagued by mud, often drenched CMC Rocks fans made the most of the three-day live music extravaganza, with some donning gumboots while others chose to simply ditch footwear altogether to deal with the quagmire.
Following Friday night’s ferocious storm, what was described as a “graveyard of quick-shades” was a prominent landmark among the campsites.
Some festival-goers were seen packing up the camping gear a bit earlier, as the reality that they would have to return to the daily grind began to set in.
Police tasked with patrolling the event said there were very few arrests considering the scale of the event, with only a low number of evictions also.
❝We have nothing like CMC and right now it’s a dust bowl so I’m not complaining about the rain... — Brittany Fahy