Australian music icon Jimmy Barnes has rocked the red dirt off the desert, belting out a legendary set before 8,000 fans to close the Broken Hill Mundi Mundi Bash – Outback NSW’s biggest ever live music event. In his unmistakable style, Barnesy gave it all – storming the stage with classics from his beloved solo catalogue and signature hits from Cold Chisel. He opened with 2021 single Flesh And Blood, before moving into 80s favourites I’d Die To Be With You Tonight and Choir Girl. Almost two hours later, Barnesy closed his set and the three-day festival with a rousing rendition of AC/DC’s High Voltage – a fitting anthem to round out one of the most epic Australian music celebrations in recent memory.
Prior to Barnesy, Australian country-folk darling Kasey Chambers took the stage, performing hits such as Not Pretty Enough and The Captain as a spectacular red sunset adorned the sprawling festival site. Other final day highlights included performances from Daryl Braithwaite, Russell Morris, Pierce Brothers, Bachelor Girl and The Buckleys.
Braithwaite’s set was a sing-along spectacular – the crowd acting as a booming chorus of backup singers on hits like The Horses, One Summer, As The Days Go By and more. Prior to his performance, Braithwaite brought vivid new meaning to his classic The Horses – starring in a hilarious tongue-in-cheek photoshoot which saw him lead a Shetland Pony through parts of the festival site.
Earlier in the day, a State of Origin battle for the Nutbush world record went to Queensland, as more than 3,700 festival-goers danced across the festival site – falling painfully short of the World Record for the Largest ‘Nutbush City Limits’ Dance and keeping the record in the Sunshine State. Wild and colourful scenes unfolded as 3,720 revellers boot-scooted on the striking red Mundi Mundi Plains to the 1973 Tina Turner soul classic – many dressed in hilarious and wacky costumes inspired by the Mad Max movie franchise. With the Nutbush world record just out of reach for the Mundi Mundi Bash, the record stays at home in Queensland with the Mundi Mundi Bash’s sister festival, the Birdsville Big Red Bash. The Birdsville Big Red Bash set the current Nutbush World Record of 4,084 dancers in July this year. The world record attempt still marked a massive feat from Mundi Mundi punters, with almost half of the festival’s attendees choosing to register and participate in the dance. A world record attempt with a good cause to boot, participation via registration for the Nutbush raised more than $55,000 for the festival’s charity partner, the Royal Flying Doctor Service. Each punter paid a $15 registration fee to dance in the event. With today’s Nutbush effort, the festival pushed its collective RFDS fundraising total to more than $500,000 since 2016.
Close to 8,000 festival-goers of all ages have attended the Mundi Mundi Bash this August 18-20, 2022. On Day 1 of the festival, Midnight Oil and Missy Higgins – two cross-generational legends of Australian music – joined forces on stage for a once-in-a-lifetime performance. Performing on the festival location where Midnight Oil filmed their legendary Beds Are Burning and Diesel And Dust film clips, The Oils delivered electrifying renditions of Australian anthems from their revered five-decade career including Power And The Passion, Redneck Wonderland and US Forces. The Oils’ Mundi Mundi Bash performance marked one of the last chances for Australian fans to see the legendary rock outfit on home soil before their retirement – and the only chance to see them on the red dirt of the Australian outback.
Off stage, the festival has featured a host of colourful family-friendly activities including a Mundi Undi charity fun run, a Doggie Fashions on the Plains competition, plus Dunny Door Painting, scenic helicopter rides, sunrise yoga sessions, camel rides and more.
The August Mundi Mundi Bash is expected to deliver a welcome economic boost to Broken Hill and surrounding regions. The Broken Hill City Council reported that the inaugural Mundi Mundi Bash brought $3.5 million into Broken Hill in April 2022 alone, putting the festival well on track to exceed its forecasted visitor expenditure targets of $5.4 million over three years.
For more information on the Mundi Mundi Bash, visit www.mundimundibash.com.au.