And then there was one. Stonefest is Canberra’s last surviving music festival after many others have fallen and its origins hark way back to 1971.
The University of Canberra festival was once the largest music event in Canberra and at its prime in the ‘80s and ‘90s was dubbed “Return to Woodstock” and “Stoneage”. But for the past 20 years, it’s simply known as Stonefest.
For those who don’t know, Stonefest is actually not cannabis-related but celebrates the laying of the foundation stone in 1968 by then Prime Minister John Gorton. Oblivious uni students probably walk over the stone every day (located between Building 1 and Student Central).
Today, the festival is a Canberra institution for young and old, whether you’re a uni student or not. So as other Canberra music festivals crumble (Spilt Milk and Groovin’ The Moo were cancelled this year) what makes Stonefest so resilient?
Well, it has the benefit of being run as a not-for-profit event by the University of Canberra Union (UCX). Therein lies its success.
UCX associate director of entertainment & retail, Charlotte Anderson-Clift, said Stonefest “holds its own compared to a lot of smaller festivals”.
“Because we’re a student union, we don’t profit off things,” Charlotte said. “Any money that is made just goes straight back into doing more of what we do and providing more services – but we do break even.
“What’s really unique about this festival is that the Student Union is the sole promoter so it provides that scalability. We can make the call and go, okay, the market isn’t very good right now so if we wanted to do less, we can do less and if we wanted to do 10,000 on an oval, we can do that. It’s part of our student funds so we make sure that we provide an experience to the students and make sure that tickets are really affordable.”
Stonefest did scale down in 2012, due to declining numbers, and was forced to return to its modest Stone Day roots. However, it got a second wind in 2019, followed by a forced hiatus during Covid. At this year’s Stonefest, organisers are expecting a crowd of 1,200 (an invitation has even been extended to incoming Vice Chancellor and current Labor MP, Bill Shorten).
“We’re thrilled to be going ahead in this climate, if I’m honest,” Charlotte said. “It doesn’t take away from the fact that it is still having the same market struggles as the rest of the festivals but the fact that it’s been running for so long, that really helps.”
So as week eleven of the second semester looms, Stonefest is preparing to light up again with big acts like Teenage Dads, right down to local support act Lucy Sugarman. While other long-standing music festivals like Byron Bay Bluesfest have burnt out, Canberra’s little Stonefest keeps on keeping on.
“The intention with Stonefest is to keep on building it back up to its glory days,” Charlotte said. “I’m not fearful of the future of the festivals. People still want live music, they still want those experiences … festivals will make a comeback.”
Stonefest is on Saturday 19 October at University of Canberra lawns; stonefest.com.au
