Outback Music Festival Group announced that the Broken Hill Mundi Mundi Bash has sold out – with a record 14,000 patrons set to rock the plains at the iconic Outback music festival.
Festival goers will pack their cars, 4WD’s, Utes, vans and motorhomes for the three-day camping-based event staged on the spectacular red earth Mundi Mundi Plains outside Silverton, NSW from August 15-17, 2024.
“We only staged our first Mundi Mundi Bash event in 2022, so we’re both thrilled and relieved to reach this milestone of staging the biggest ever Bash event in such a short period of time. Without a doubt it’s tough times for festivals – we’ve certainly felt the shift in consumer purchasing with our 2024 events. This is our 11th year of staging the Birdsville Big Red Bash and we’re going into our third year for the Mundi Mundi Bash and we’re taking nothing for granted. Our iconic Outback locations, and the fact that our events are much more than just a music festival, give us a unique point of difference – and that’s holding us in great stead. We still have some tickets to sell for the Big Red Bash, but sales are tracking well – and we’re hoping to see another bump in sales now it’s the only remaining chance to have a bucket list experience at a Bash event,” said Festival owner and Managing Director of the Outback Music Festival Group Greg Donovan.
The all-Aussie line-up at the sold out Mundi Mundi Bash includes home grown music legends James Reyne, Jon Stevens, The Living End, Ian Moss, Daryl Braithwaite, Diesel, Tim Finn, Baby Animals, Vanessa Amorosi, Mark Seymour, The Rolling Stones Revue (starring Adalita, Phil Jamison, Tex Perkins & Tim Rogers), Richard Clapton, Casey Barnes, Bjorn Again, Chocolate Starfish – Bat Out of Hell, Pierce Brothers, Shane Howard, Ash Grunwald, Fanny Lumsden, Furnace & the Fundamentals, Sarah McLeod, Hayley Mary, Mundi Mundi Bash Band, Tha Boiz and Leroy Johnson & The Waterbag Band.
Last year 12,250 festival goers hit the Mundi Mundi plains, while 11,000 stood in the shadow of the Big Red sand dune at the Birdsville Big Red Bash for the 10th anniversary event. The 14,000 festival goers who will converge on the 2024 Broken Hill Mundi Mundi Bash will set new event records.
“Broken Hill has a population of just over 17,000 so our satellite town of 14,000 will create an epic outback party on the Mundi Mundi Plains. Last year we were the biggest event ever staged in Outback NSW, so this year we’re smashing that record again. With these numbers we’re also sure we’ll top the Nutbush world record again, and that new records will also be set for the Big Blue Day fundraising event that will be staged at the Mundi Mundi Bash for the first time. Throw into the mix that our event is staged on the very site that George Miller filmed key scenes for Furiosa – A Mad Max Saga and that we’re doing a Mad Max costume dress up, and that it was also the region where some of Priscilla Queen of the Desert was set ahead of the iconic film being released 30 years ago and we have a recipe for another awesome line up of fun events and entertainment” said Greg Donovan.
“It was exciting to have part of Furiosa filmed on Belmont Station last year. George Miller and his crew moved into the Mundi Mundi Bash site and utilised a lot of the infrastructure the Bash has bought to an otherwise remote location. We can’t wait to see our property featured on the big screen when the film launches next month. It’s a real pinch ourselves moment to have an internationally renowned film featuring big Hollywood Stars as well as a 14,000 strong festival featuring some of the biggest names in Australian rock both use our land within a twelve-month period,” said John Blore, co-owner/operator of Belmont Station.
“We’re sheep and goat farmers, so having such high-profile usage of Belmont Station is a huge departure from our everyday life. We’re loving the change of pace, and it’s taken some of the pressure off just relying on farming for our income.”
The Birdsville Big Red Bash has bragging rights of being the world’s most remote music festival, while the Broken Hill Mundi Mundi Bash is the biggest event ever staged in Outback NSW.
While the Broken Hill Mundi Mundi Bash has grown in size for 2024, the Outback Music Festival Group have no plans to grow the Big Red Bash festival any further – recognizing that the micro township of just 100 in Birdsville and many of the similar sized outback outposts on the routes to the event would be unable to cope with a bigger influx of travelers.
With ticket numbers limited for the Big Red Bash festival organisers are encouraging anyone considering a trip to Birdsville for the event to act fast.
“The reward for travelling further to the World’s Most Remote Music is the smaller event numbers and that Birdsville and the Channel Country are looking incredible. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to experience birdlife, wildflowers and green swaths in the red earth and to see the unique channels that cut through the region like veins channeling water throughout the appropriately named Channel Country after some summer rains. Winter is already considered the peak season to explore Outback Queensland and with the countryside looking the way it does and supporting an explosion in native animals there’s never been a better time to visit,” added Greg Donovan.
“We’ve seen pelicans and other birdlife roosting in Lake Eyre in recent years but Birdsville itself hasn’t had the flocks of pelicans on their waterways that are now in abundance. That and the wildflowers will add another layer of unique beauty for our festival goers to experience this year,” added Greg Donovan.
Remaining tickets for the Birdsville Big Red Bash (July 2-4, 2024) are available at www.bigredbash.com.au
There are slight line-up differences between the two events with Tina Arena and Jon Stevens headlining the Birdsville Big Red Bash joined by an epic lineup of over 30 artists including Ian Moss, Colin Hay, Tim Finn, Diesel, Baby Animals, Vanessa Amorosi, Mark Seymour, Richard Clapton, Casey Barnes, Shane Howard, Pierce Brothers, Bjorn Again, Mi-Sex, Chocolate Starfish – Bat Out of Hell, The Rolling Stones Revue starring Phil Jamison, Tex Perkins and Tim Rogers, Furnace & the Fundamentals, Ash Grunwald, Fanny Lumdsen, Sarah McLeod, Hayley Mary, Steve Balbi and Amy Ryan.
Both the Broken Hill Mundi Mundi Bash and the Birdsville Big Red Bash are all-ages, dog-friendly camping events that run over three days. The festivals offer up a uniquely Australian adventure for families, grey nomads, camping and caravanning enthusiasts and intrepid travellers. Festivalgoers can expect an exciting lineup of artists, bands and cover acts representing a slew of music genres from rock, pop, folk, country and more, guaranteeing something for everyone to kick up the dust too.
Off stage, the events also feature a wonderful wide-ranging program of outback activities – from a Nutbush City Limits World Record dance off attempts (the current record of 6,594 boot-scooters was set by the Mundi Mundi Bash in August 2023) to a Mad Max costume dress up world record attempt, sunrise yoga, dunny door painting, comedy and outdoor film screenings, scenic helicopter flights, camel rides and charity initiatives like the ‘Bashville Drag Race’ and ‘Mundi Undie Run’ – raising funds for the Royal Flying Doctor Service.
The Big Blue Day will also be launched at the Mundi Mundi Bash in 2024 with both events attempting to smash the world record for the largest human image of a country. The newly created day was a highlight of the 2023 Big Red Bash, with a new world record set for the largest human image of a country with 5,467 participants dressed head to toe in blue.
While the event locations are remote, they are accessible by road. There is sealed road leading right up to the Mundi Mundi Bash event site and this year for the first time Big Red Bach festival goers can choose routes that see them traveling on under 15kms of unsealed road.
Both events are BYO alcohol for both the campsite and concert areas, and ticket holders are also permitted to bring their own food. There will also be a large range of food vendors selling both hot and cold food and non-alcoholic beverages, and dog-friendly camping and concert areas.
Event details are:
What: 2024 Broken Hill Mundi Mundi Bash – SOLD OUT
Where: Belmont Station, on the Mundi Mundi Plains 9km north of Silverton – 35km north of Broken Hill
When: August 15 – 17, 2024
More info & tickets: www.mundimundibash.com.au
What: 2024 Birdsville Big Red Bash – TICKETS STILL AVAILABLE
Where: Big Red sand dune, 35 km West of Birdsville
When: July 2 – 4, 2024
More info & tickets: www.bigredbash.com.au
