At the Gympie Music Muster, we love our campsites and we love to reward those campers who go to great lengths to style their home bases for the duration of the festival.
The annual Muster Mates Campground Competition is a title that hardcore festival campers strive for, and it was an emotional win for the Better Class of Losers Bar this year.
The Cows Bar was the runner-up this year after winning the competition in 2023.
Dave Riley from the Better Class Of Losers Bar said the 2024 Gympie Music Muster was his 22nd in a row after a mate recommended he come to the Muster in 2001 and he wouldn’t miss it for the world.
The Woolgoolga resident (near Coffs Harbour NSW) comes to the Muster four weeks prior and spends a week roping off and setting up the bar with his mates Chris Reid and Paul “Macca” McNamara from Caboolture, he then heads home and returns for two weeks of Muster memories.
“It’s all about the camaraderie for us,” he said.
“Winning this year was a big bonus, but the bar is about fun: we had bands playing all day and we just love camping.”
The bar took shape after Dave found an old bar and top and set it up in the campground with a gazebo, then Chris (a powder coater) brought his truck, which is the stage, and Macca is a builder, so they shared their talents the legendary campsite bar was born.
Everything stays in Chris’ shed and is a flat pack that travels on a pallet.
“It means the world to win this,” Dave said.
“When I got the phone call and told Chris, he broke down because we have been striving for this for years. We got runner-up last year and now that we’ve won it, we’ve topped the tree, but we will still add to the bar because we have so much fun and have met so many great people.”
As for what the Muster and the campsite means to Dave and his mates, he said it was a bucket list item that no one should miss.
“It is a premium camping site where you can be rough, but you don’t have to be rough doing it,” he said.
“You have the time of your life and you meet the best people. Strangers today are friends tomorrow. People I met from Muster were at my wedding two years ago and they are not just friends; they’re all family now.”
If you love camping, great music and meeting new friends who’ll become family, grab your tickets to the 2025 Gympie Music Muster at www.muster.com.au.
The major sponsor of the 2024 competition was OzTrail and Companion with a prize pool worth nearly $14,000 for the winner and runner-up prizes.
Prizes for the 2024 Muster Mates Campsite Competition included an acoustic performance from 2024 Gympie Music Muster Ambassador Andrew Swift at the winner’s campsite, four four-day adult passes to the 2025 festival, a Companion Rover 100 Lithium Ion Power Station fridge and freezer, gas shower, fire pit, two OzTrail sleeping bags, cooler, chairs, gazebo, portaloo for next year, acoustic guitar, merchandise, and various vouchers.
.jpg){kind=tracking}
