Unify Gathering has been gathering dust on the shelf of beloved Aussie festivals for years now, but man, I wish it would make a comeback.
Unify Gathering: it’s one of those iconic festivals that makes many Aussie alt and heavy music fans wistfully sigh when simply uttering its name. While in comparison to some of the local festival juggernauts of days past, its seven (or eight, if you count the Off The Record run in 2023) instalments were enough to solidify it in many minds as a mainstay in the festival calendar, and a damn good time.
Right now, in previous years when the event was run, punters would be starting to pack their bags and prepare the troops for the hallowed trip to Tarwin Lower either this or next weekend (with the exception of 2022, which was held later in the year). Alas, no joy for us this year, or the one before, or the one before that – and so on.
Those who love multi-day camping festivals in the form of bush doofs have Beyond The Valley or Pitch, folks looking for a more indie or pop vibe have Meredith, Party In The Paddock, and a whole lot more. We had Unify from 2015 until 2022 (not including the brief break during COVID), and God, I would love nothing more than to have it back – or to see a new festival take its place amongst the list of festivals where you bundle a bunch of mates into a sh*tty tent for a weekend and enjoy music, each other’s company, and probably a few too many beers.
We’ve had a pretty rough twelve months on the Aussie music festival front across all genres – longer, honestly, if you count Groovin’ The Moo’s cancellation in 2024 – and events across the country are struggling to break even to handle the rising costs of the event industry. In recent months, we received confirmation that Knotfest Australia was taking a brief break in 2026, and Park Waves was suddenly cancelled before its debut run Down Under. While we’ve still got ol’ reliable in Good Things Festival, things are otherwise pretty quiet on the western front when it comes to major heavy music festivals.
You know what would fix that? A bunch of emos and heavy music lovers dicking around in a paddock in the middle of nowhere while their favourite bands play across a weekend for Unify Gathering.
Of course, that’s oversimplifying things. It’s no small task to put on a major music festival, especially one with the extra logistics of camping, and general multi-day event considerations that add up cost and labour-wise. And this isn’t to discount the smaller, more grassroots festivals and multi-act events we get across the country throughout the year from dedicated promoters and organisers in the scene.
But man, what I wouldn’t give to watch Architects or Parkway Drive deliver an amazing set in some random field in Tarwin Lower, grab one of the best potato cakes I’ve ever eaten (shoutout Tarwin Sharks), then fall into the world’s least comfortable sleeping bag / air mattress combo and get ready to do it all again tomorrow.
A girl can dream, I guess. Here’s hoping one day we might see Unify Gathering make a triumphant return, or an approximation of it, at least.
I’ve got all the camping gear gathering dust in the garage just screaming for another one.
RELATED
MORE IN Music
