Some of Australia’s biggest musical exports including G Flip, Troye Sivan, and Sycco (pronounced SIGH-co) rolled into Newcastle over the weekend, alongside English rockers Glass Animals, for the Spilt Milk House Party 2024.
The event also gave a platform to some homegrown superstars including Georgie Winchester and Raave Tapes who warmed up the stage and made a great impression on the shed full of vibrantly dressed youngsters.
Before we talk about how each artist slayed the stage, we have to mention how the team behind the Spilt Milk House Party absolutely nailed the production in what is usually referred to as Newcastle’s Tin Shed.
It was easily some of the best sound and lighting design that we have seen in that room and to be completely transparent the excuse that you can’t pull a decent sound in the Newcastle Entertainment Center has been completely disproven. Spilt Milk showed us that as long as promoters invest in incredible lighting, sound and crew, our Tin Shed stacks up.
Walking amongst the crowd yesterday felt like a very safe space. From what we saw, punters were looking out for each other and being very respectful even when we were sardined in for Troye Sivan. The only thing that could have made the day even better would have been to have seen 1-2 more staff members at each bar, which is a usual complaint made at the Ent Cent.
A proud moment for Novocastrians and local music lovers was seeing Georgie Winchester open the festival. Lots of audience members had donned Georgie’s iconic G-string merch, with some even wearing them as headpieces. Despite the room not being at its full capacity, Georgie commanded the stage and the attention of the audience with her set that was primarily made up of songs from her debut EP Pretty Things as well as other tunes that were written on her latest 80+ date tour around Australia. We can only imagine the nerves and pressure felt by Georgie leading up to the big day, but she left the crowd buzzing and led her incredible band which was made up of Emily A Smith, Aunty Alan and Bailey Graeber through a highly energetic and standout performance.
Newy’s own alt-pop and hard-edged dance punk slingers, Raave Tapes were the second act of the day, playing fan favourites like Goodbye, k hi, and k bye. It’s always a fun time to be in the crowd for a Raave Tapes set and this was no exception. They turned on the party vibes and had some very passionate dancers getting right into it while they were playing.
An unexpected highlight for us was Australian singer-songwriter Sycco, who is about to head on tour to promote her first album Zorb. We couldn’t get enough of Sycco’s live electronic vocals and getting to hear her iconic songs Dribble and Ripple. One of the songs from her debut album Monkey Madness stirred the crowd into a frenzy and rightfully so, Sycco’s songwriting is innovative yet slightly reminiscent of Tame Impala and at times jazzy.
Artemas is a bit of a guilty pleasure for this writer so I was pretty keen to see how his music translated into a live performance. I loved the backdrop which made it look like the House Party had moved into Artemas’ mansion with the lights of each room/part of the mansion flaring up in sync with the music. The way that Artemas moves around the stage is fun to watch, it’s kind of like a desperately loved-up school boy led by his chest who runs across the stage expressing the extent and seriousness of each song.
The excitement was at an all-time high by the time Aus music legend G Flip took to the stage waving a rainbow flag and playing lots of tunes from their latest album DRUMMER as well as fan favourites like Drink Too Much and their cover of Taylor Swift’s Cruel Summer. G Flip was incredibly personable, even taking the time towards the end of their set to thank everyone who has ever supported/voted/or listened to them. They had some brilliant call-and-response moments throughout the set and made the audience feel as though they were part of the performance. G Flip put on a masterclass of stagecraft and the set made me want to dive even deeper into their discography.
As expected, the room was completely packed in anticipation for Troye Sivan who has recently been on tour with Charli XCX and is currently playing around Australia and New Zealand. This was Troye’s first time in Newcastle and the set included stage props such as a bed and his phenomenal backing dancers. His banter with the crowd was engaging and he directed us often to jump and sing along with him so that he could “dance his ass off”. To have one of the voices of our generation here in Newcastle was such a treat and proves that the want for live music and the capability to host them here isn’t an issue.
Rounding out Spilt Milk’s House Party was the English rock band Glass Animals who played bangers like Gooey and Heat Waves. Australia is a bit of a second home for Glass Animals as their tunes are often the soundtrack to many Aussie’s Summers. Their energy at the Entertainment Centre was next level and a perfect way to end the day.
We hope that the Spilt Milk House Party marks the beginning of a renaissance for Newcastle to host contemporary international musical acts. So that you don’t miss out on the next Spilt Milk, be sure to follow along at spilt-milk.com.au.
