Located on the picturesque farm of Tomich Wines, Vintage Vibes Festival opened its inaugural festival, kicking off the near-end of the vintage season – and the start of autumn in the Adelaide Hills.

This exciting new festival was much anticipated, with the headline for Saturday Tash Sultana back from a four-year hiatus of playing in Australia. Their musical abilities bring new meaning to the concept of multitasking, which was evident on stage. Enrapturing the audience with their one-of-a-kind set and entwining their old favourites with a self-proclaimed new-era of music in 2023, Tash Sultana’s set scopes over beats, brass, keys, guitar and a range of other instruments, her dreamy vocal range was a beautifully climactic way to end day one of Vintage Vibes.

This festival is teething; the sound and staging issues throughout the day were a sticking point, with local Adelaide favourites West Thebarton without a lead vocal mic for half of the set and with an amalgamation of bands dealing with technical issues throughout the day. Noted, however, was the professionalism of the band’s to keep going, particularly West Thebby, and play out their set.

It was wonderful to see a mix of local offerings and international artists on the line-up, notably Adelaide’s own, Adrian Eagle, who featured on a Hilltop Hoods ARIA award-winning single and now holds his own on the stage.

Old School favourites Donny Benet, and Leo Sayer brought class and fun to the festival, with the crowd singing and dancing. These two act’s show that this was a show for all ages and anyone to get involved. A couple of punters in Donny Benet’s dress-up were spotted around the grounds, sporting his unique hairstyle and costumes. 

Hermitude kicked off their ’10 Year of Hyperparidise’ tour at Vintage Vibes; the two performers, unlike many electronic acts, are engaged with the audience, playing synth and keyboard-type instruments as you would a lead guitar and various pads being played like a frontline instrument visibly bring the beats.

Punters to this autumn festival had plenty of options to engage with the one-stage festival, from chilling out in the Red Bull tent, setting up a picnic blanket and chairs in the back or getting into the mosh pit at the front. Tomich’s wines were clearly the drink of choice for the day, but the range of food and beverages would keep most happy.

Busses taking punters to and from the city allowed stress-free transportation to the Hills. Following the lead of other large festivals, the app allowed you to have all of the information for the festival at your fingertips.

There is always teething in a festival’s first year, but I hope we get to see what the crew and Tomich bring next year; I know I will look forward to more Vintage Vibes!

By Mindi Edwards

Photos by Laura Franklin

Vintage Vibes continues today.