Meredith Music Festival 2016 review

Making her entrance wearing a giant vulva on her head, Peaches rocked the crowd as she did the foundations of gender norms and expectations at Meredith Music Festival.
                 

The Canadian electronic music artist put on a wild, over-the-top, politically charged performance on Saturday night.

The sexually explicit show could be passed off as smutty titillation but her message means she is no novelty act.

Gender-bending, bondage-clad back-up dancers simulated sex acts as she sang about female objectification, vaginoplasty and sexual freedom.

It cumulated with her climbing inside a massive inflatable condom as she sang Dick in Air: "We've been shaking our tits for years, so let's switch positions. No inhibitions."

The music at this year's Meredith – held at a farm between Geelong and Ballarat since 1991 – was varied but almost always good.

On Friday night, Prince collaborator and percussionist Sheila E had the crowd in a frenzy as she belted out the late purple one's hits. King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard and Kelela were also standouts of the night.

Over in the camping grounds, four friends – some in sailor hats – were rowing to an imaginary location in a inflatable boat on top of a Kombi van.

Just before close on Sunday afternoon, as always, was the Meredith Gift – also known as the world's greatest nude footrace – which sees festival-goers compete in a naked sprint.

Special guest MC comedian Judith Lucy asked competitors to do yoga poses before each heat, including the downward dog, to cheers from the crowd.

There were disappointingly no tumbles this year, but there was some blood and a girl with a strap-on who skipped and waved pom poms as she made her way around the track. She came last, but all agreed she was the winner.

Music industry worth $1b to WA economy

The Western Australian music industry is pumping nearly $1 billion into the state's economy, a study has revealed, strengthening calls for more government support.    

Researchers at Edith Cowan University found the sector contributed $985 million in 2014 and employed almost 3,000 people as WA hosted more than 350 live music events each week.

It also found contemporary music made up 49 per cent of ticket sales in Western Australia, compared with festivals at 13 per cent, musical theatre at 9 per cent and classical music and opera at 5 per cent.

The billion dollar figure did not take into account any cash sales, but it was double what industry group WA Music (WAM) chief executive Mike Harris had anticipated.

'It's still pretty good in WA'

Until now the sector has largely relied on anecdotal evidence when fighting for funding.

WAM president Al Taylor said the new research allowed the group to mount a stronger argument for private sponsorship and government funding, to put music on a more even playing field with the likes of theatre and ballet.

Perth-based singer, songwriter and member of the four-piece Little Lord Street Band, James Rogers, believed the local music scene was healthy despite a decline in arts funding around the country.

Arts Minister John Day said it was important for the State Government to take a balanced approach to arts funding.

"There are those art forms that have been around for, in some cases, hundreds of years and they're a very important part of our heritage," Mr Day said.