Harvest Rock was such an incredible addition to our festival calendar last year – and it’s great news that this was not just a one-off, with another stellar line-up of Australian and international talent on display during Day One.

And while last year was characterised by the mud and relentless rain (that somehow added to the experience in a strange way), the opening to this year’s edition was all sunshine and blue skies.

It was fitting that an early feature spot on the main the stage landed with local Adelaide powerhouse Bad//Dreems. With a typically firey set, they set a high bar from the start of the festival. With songs crammed with cultural references that lay bare the darkness at the heart of Australian society against pounding, incediary rhythms – they have taken over where Midnight Oil left off. Recent single ‘Jack’, which capably carries on the ‘Beds Are Burning’ mantra, was among the highlights, dedicated to its co-writer, Marlon Motlop.

The Rolling Stones Revue was another terrific moment on the program (in the vein of last year’s Neil Young tribute set). Tim Rogers has the kind of elastic stage energy to match Mick Jagger, taking turns with the powerful Adalita and the unique charisma of Tex Perkins on lead vocals. With a highly accomplished ensemble behind them, this was a thoroughly enjoyable performance from start to finish; the highlight was all three vocalists combining on ‘Gimme Shetler’ towards the end of a well chosen setlist.

There was a time when Bernard Fanning would be headlining a festival like this – but his peformance was just as enjoyable in the late afternoon sun. He mentioned that the splendid Tea and Sympathy was now released some 18 years ago – and we were reminded of just how good these songs are. The set was also sprinkled with other career highlighs, both solo and from the Powderfinger days – with ‘Sunsets’ and and stripped back ‘These Days’ making a welcome appearance.

Speaking of ‘These Days’, the song was later covered by Thelma Plum in the middle of her performance on the Vines Stage, albeit with a slightly fuller arrangement. Her set was one of the Saturday’s true highlights – really connecting with the audience and emoting her lyrics, while backed by an excellent three-piece (particularly Monica Sottile on bass and occasional keyboard – positioned behind Plum, she lives every lyic and hypes the crowd through the performance). A very poignant moment came with ‘Homecoming Queen’ – with its reference to 1967, this was the first time Plum had performed the song since the recent vote. She cried, we all cried – it was a heartbreaking moment of solidarity. We were also treated to some fantastic new material and can look forward to forthcoming releases from one of the best singer-songwriters in the country.

Once the sun had gone down, Nile Rodgers and Chic held court on the Harvest Stage, ragaling us with tales of those he’s worked with and Grammy Award triumph. His list of collaborations is quite astounding, and his versatile band, including the chameleon-like voices of his singers, was very much up to the task of recreating these hits, incorporating Madonna, Bowie, Daft Punk, Diana Ross and Beyonce. The set bounced between medlies and extended jams, with Rodgers’ insightful banter in between. The coverage of hits from ‘We Are Family’ to ‘Get Lucky’ and the lastest Beyonce album was quite startling and had the entire crowd moving from start to finish – despite the lack of room from all the punters crammed in to catch this legend.

Saturday night headliner Jamiroquai contined the funk with the final set of the that that clocked in at 105 mins. The ensemble sounds as good as at their height of popularity, and reminded us just how good their collection of songs is and Jay Kay’s voice is as fine as it’s ever been. The one misstep, however, was the singer’s Native American headdress – a problematic appropriation (noted, though, that Kay did make a strong point of acknowledging country and the band incorporated some fantastic yidiki into their set). It was an excellent end of night performance with many highlights, such as ‘Space Cowboy’, ‘Travelling Without Moving’ and ‘Cosmic Girl’, before culminating with an all-in singalong to ‘Virtual Insanity’.

Another stellar day of Harvest Rock all done – and we are looking forwarding to doing it all again, with the festival continuing for its final day today. Get there if you can!

Reviewed by Matthew Trainor

Photos by Kay Cann