By Laura BennettWednesday 23 Nov 2022Hope AfternoonsMusicReading Time: 2 minutes
The summer season and musical festivals go hand in hand, but lately we know they’ve been thin on the ground.
Northern Beaches locals Zac Warneford and Finn Ashton wanted to reinvigorate the summer music scene by launching Sun Sets Festival – 42 local and international artists will perform over four stages across one day on December 3, in the Northern Beaches suburb of Warriewood.
The idea “started in lockdown when we were all confined to our local areas”, Zac told Hope 103.2.
“For me personally, [I was] learning to re-love the area that I’m from and that I’ve grown up in.
“Coming out of lockdown it felt like there was a need for outdoor events, and outdoor music events because everyone was really enjoying [being] outside and the day culminated in Sun Sets.”
With backgrounds in professional football and film and TV, venturing into event management may not seem like the next natural fit for the pair, but Finn said it’s really an extension of existing passions.
“We really enjoy music, and we’ve always organised film shoots and small parties and tried to put a unique flair on that,” Finn said.
“So, when we saw this gap in the market on the Northern Beaches we went, ‘Why couldn’t we do this?’.”
70 per cent of the Sun Sets Festival artists will be local, and for many it’s the first time they’ve been able to perform to such a large audience since live music began to make a comeback.
On the day, 70 per cent of the artists will be local, and for many it’s the first time they’ve been able to perform to such a large audience since live music began to make a comeback.
“There’s a lot of really talented local artists, and there’s the bigger artists that are coming back, but [it’s] the local ones for us that are really exciting,” Zac said.
“It’s awesome seeing something that came from an idea just sitting on the beach in lockdown to something that’s now happening. It’s an unexplainable feeling.”
Find out more via their website.
Listen to the full interview in the player above.