SHOWERS and a new suburban venue couldn’t dampen the enthusiasm and party atmosphere of the This That Festival on Saturday.
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The crowd was likely below the expected 12,000, which allowed the Wickham Park venue to comfortably host the youth-orientated music festival, which featured artists like The Presets, Tash Sultana and The Thundamentals.
It was the first time This That had been held at Wickham Park, after it was shifted from the Newcastle Foreshore due to construction on the Supercars race track.
Electronic heavyweights The Presets stole the show by attracting the largest crowd of the evening. Julian Hamilton and Kim Moyes performed a selection of their most-loved material like My People, This Boy’s In Love and Are You The One, plus several songs off their long-awaited fourth record like Do What You Want and the premiere of Until The Dark.
Earlier in the afternoon The Preatures’ frontwoman Isabella Manfredi did her best to warm up the crowd with a typically charismatic performance.
However, the indie-rockers were unable to muster the drawing power of hip-hop posse The Thundamentals.
Many in the audience had come to see roots wonder girl Tash Sultana following rave reviews for the 2016 Triple Unearthed artist of the year, but she unfortunately failed to meet expectations.
Her set was dominated by jams and became overly self-indulgent at times which prompted many in the audience to lose interest.
That was until Sultana finished the set with her breakout hit Jungle.
Beyond the music This That provided classic people-watching. Despite an uncharacteristically cool November evening, a liberal amount of flesh was on display.
Glitter also appeared a popular fashion accessory among punters.