The world’s most remote music festival, the Birdsville Big Red Bash have sold out in record time, just over a week after tickets went on-sale.
“We’re absolutely stoked. It’s such a relief to have the event sold out so early, especially in these uncertain times. I was nervous, I always am, before the tickets went on-sale. So, when we had daily sales soring like they were and bringing us closer to this sell-out point in such a short amount of time the excitement was building. To experience our unique style of outback music festival people will now have to jump on next year’s Broken Hill Mundi Mundi Bash tickets. The events are nearly identical in experience; however, the Mundi Mundi Bash has shorter travelling times from capital centres and tarred roads the whole way to our event site. And for those wanting a bit more of an intrepid 4WD experience the Mundi Mundi Bash is on the edge of the Strzelecki Desert so there is still the opportunity to continue on and make a real adventure out of your trip,” said festival owner/founder, producer and Managing Director of the Outback Music Festival Group, Greg Donovan.
“The music industry and live event venues have been hit hard for years and like so many in the industry we’ve had to cling on while we had knock after knock with fires, the pandemic and even flood issues – so it feels good that the tide has turned and we’re heading into such a massive year. We’re all excited for what’s to come, and about the amazing line-ups we will deliver in 2023,” added Greg Donovan.
Just over 10,000 intrepid festival goers will attend the 2023 Big Red Bash – with next year’s Ten-Year Anniversary celebrations marking the largest incarnation of the event since it was founded in 2013.
Sister event the Broken Hill Mundi Mundi Bash has a similar capacity, and the event line-ups are almost identical with the events running back-to-back – The Birdsville Big Red Bash event will be staged from 4-6 July, 2023 and the Broken Hill Mundi Mundi Bash will run from August 17-19, 2023.
Tickets for the Broken Hill Mundi Mundi Bash have also been in very high demand, with sales well ahead of last year – and like the Big Red Bash is expected to sell out well before the festival.
Both events will feature a stacked line-up of some of the biggest names in Australian rock, pop, roots and country music including ICEHOUSE, Hoodoo Gurus, Human Nature, Pete Murray, The Angels, The Waifs, Kate Ceberano, Troy Cassar-Daley, Ross Wilson (Big Red Bash only), Dragon, Thirsty Merc (Mundi Mundi Bash only), Chocolate Starfish, Shane Howard, Jack Jones, Pierce Brothers, Wendy Matthews, Grace Knight, Mi-Sex (Mundi Mundi Bash only), Chantoozies, Melanie Dyer, Caitlyn Shadbolt and Furnace and the Fundamentals.
Legendary country music singer John Williamson will also hit the stage at the Birdsville Big Red Bash, reprising his Simpson Desert performance from a decade ago which helped launch the bucket list music event.
In 2013, Williamson was invited to perform a solo acoustic performance for a few hundred runners on top of the spectacular 40-metre-high Big Red sand dune to celebrate the completion of the Big Red Run ultra-marathon. News of Williamson’s impromptu outback performance spread via the ‘Bush Telegraph’ and attracted punters from surrounding towns, ultimately sowing the seeds for the Birdsville Big Red Bash and Broken Bill Mundi Mundi Bash – now two of Australia’s most unique travel experiences.
Accreditation to volunteer at both events only opened this week with all of those positions already filled – setting another record.
“We have always been very fortunate to be well supported by volunteer workers, with a great number of them enjoying the experience so much that they return year on year, and some are now volunteering across both events. But we have never been in the very enviable position of having all our volunteer shifts filled only days after opening applications. And we have a healthy wait list as well. This week has blown us away on so many levels,” said Greg Donovan.
The Birdsville Big Red Bash is supported by the Queensland Government through Tourism and Events Queensland and features on the It’s Live! in Queensland events calendar.
The Broken Hill Mundi Mundi Bash is supported by the NSW Government through its tourism and major events agency, Destination NSW.
Both the Birdsville Big Red Bash and Broken Hill Mundi Mundi Bash are all-ages, dog-friendly camping events that run across three days with a capacity of around 10,000 per event. The festivals offer up uniquely Australian destination adventures for families, grey nomads, camping and caravanning enthusiasts and intrepid travellers alike.
In addition to the music line-ups, each festival will feature jam-packed programs of unique outback entertainment and activities – from world record attempts for the ‘Nutbush’ dance and ‘Mad Max dress up’, through to comedy and outdoor film screenings, scenic helicopter flights, camel rides, charity fun runs The Bashville Drag Race and Mundi Undie Run, drag dress up competitions and much more.
While both festival locations are remote, they are easily accessible by road. The Mundi Mundi Plains location has a sealed road leading right up to the event site, while the Big Red Bash location has graded gravel road to reach the festival site with more road tarring set to take place before the 2023 event. Scheduled and charter flights, plus bus tours, are available to both events – and train transport is also available to Broken Hill for the Mundi Mundi Bash.
The Birdsville Big Red Bash and Broken Hill Mundi Mundi Bash are BYO alcohol for both their campsite and concert areas – and ticket holders are permitted to bring their own food. A large range of food vendors selling both hot and cold food and non-alcoholic beverages.
Both festivals have dog-friendly camping and concert areas, and children aged 11-and-under can attend for free.
Tickets for the Birdsville Big Red Bash and Broken Hill Mundi Mundi Bash went on-sale on October 25th. Information for both events, and ticket purchasing details for Mundi Mundi Bash, follow:
What: 2023 Birdsville Big Red Bash
Where: Big Red sand dune, 35 km West of Birdsville
When: July 4-6, 2023
More info: www.bigredbash.com.au (SOLD OUT)
Full Line-Up: ICEHOUSE, John Williamson, Hoodoo Gurus, Human Nature, Pete Murray, The Angels, The Waifs, Kate Ceberano, Troy Cassar-Daley, Ross Wilson, Dragon, Chocolate Starfish, Shane Howard, Pierce Brothers, Wendy Matthews, Grace Knight, Jack Jones, Melanie Dyer, Caitlyn Shadbolt, Furnace and the Fundamentals, The Chantoozies and The Big Red Bash Band.
What: 2023 Broken Hill Mundi Mundi Bash
Where: Belmont Station, on the Mundi Mundi Plains 9km north of Silverton – 35km north of Broken Hill
When: August 17-19, 2023
More info & tickets: www.mundimundibash.com.au (TICKETS STILL ON-SALE)
Full Line-Up: ICEHOUSE, Hoodoo Gurus, Human Nature, Pete Murray, The Angels, The Waifs, Kate Ceberano, Troy Cassar-Daley, Dragon, Thirsty Merc, Chocolate Starfish, Shane Howard, Jack Jones, Pierce Brothers, Wendy Matthews, Grace Knight, The Chantoozies, Melanie Dyer, Caitlyn Shadbolt, Furnace and the Fundamentals, Mi-Sex, Tha Boiz, The Mundi Mundi Bash Band and The Waterbag Band.
