Review: Southbound delivers

• Review *

Southbound

Sir Stewart Bovell Park

January 3-4

4 starts

The rock gods again shone on Busselton for the 11th edition of the two-day festival, with spectacular weather and even better music providing a big exclamation point to the end of the party season.

After three or four years of steady but uninspiring crowds in the 10,000 to 12,000 range, this year Southbound was able cement its status as a summer staple, with 15,000 punters exploring the grounds on Saturday on Sunday.

Generally the increased numbers helped create a better atmosphere at the performances compared to previous years, and judging by the punters having an absolute ball around the grounds, the extra numbers did not cause too many problems.

And musically, despite a few hiccups here and there, Southbound once again produced the goods.

Kicking things off on day one, Icelandic solo singer-songwriter Asgeir drew the first big crowd of the day, captivating the main stage audience with his angelic voice and a stirring cover of Nirvana's Heart-Shaped Box.

Over at Lefties, the alternative stage under the big top that tired campers often used to escape the heat, Aussie hip-hop artist Remi had the masses dancing with his funk-infused hip-hop.

Punters wanting hand-claps and sing-alongs got what they deserved with sugarplum singer-songwriter and future Taylor Swift support act Vance Joy.

Southbound regulars Cold War Kids followed, and though they might not have the pull of yesteryear, their new songs such as the chaotic Miracle Mile showed they can still entertain a crowd.

What was supposed to be one of the highlights of day one, Atlanta punk rockers Black Lips, was unfortunately distorted by some early sound issues.

But the lads - who perform on-stage "tricks" such as spitting in the air and catching it (in the mouth) - recovered and finished well with the Ramones-inspired Bad Kids.

At the main stage Sydney psychedelic-dance troupe Jagwar Ma produced one of their better sets, finishing with the euphoric The Throw showing why they are one of Australia's best musical exports at the moment.

Speaking of musical exports, Temper Trap pulled a predictably huge crowd at the main stage, as did surprise packet George Ezra.

Over at Lefties, US hip-hop duo Run The Jewels dropped a banging set, including a crowd surfer in a wheelchair that was the highlight of the festival for some.

Hip-hop was the order of the day, with legends Salt-N-Pepa bringing the party home at Lefties later that evening. Their four major hits were meshed into a hip-hop mega-mix spanning three decades that had the crowd heaving.

Back at the main stage the Presets were simply brilliant. New bass-heavy songs such as Youth in Trouble were contrasted smoothly with classics such as Talk Like That.

Later La Roux was a bit hit-and-miss but her big songs such as Bulletproof did the job, and local boy Luke Steele's Empire of the Sun finished the day on the big stage with a feast for eyes and ears.

Over in the Southbound camping ground, the 10,000 campers seemed to be stoked about the car-camping situation (the first year this has been allowed). And despite a few inevitable gripes, the facilities in general appeared to hold up well.

But back to the music.

Sunday started with Manchester- inspired Sydney rockers DMA's - a band that will be on the main stages across the world in 12 months. They were sensational - and surely Australia's next big thing.

German trio Milky Chance were another surprise package, delivering a chilled set that suited the early-afternoon vibe perfectly.

It was getting really hot by the time Sticky Fingers came on but, despite this, the crowd and the band were on song, finishing with a stirring rocked-up version of Australia Street.

As usual, festival stalwarts Spiderbait were all about the party, with lead singer Kram running around the stage like a lunatic.

Later, last-minute replacements Cloud Control were slightly less enthusiastic but solid nonetheless.

And it was nowhere near John Butler's best set, but the Freo legend still managed to give off the odd highlight.

In their last-ever show, Bluejuice bid farewell to a big crowd spilling out of the Lefties big top. For the record Broken Leg was their last song ever, and it went off.

You had to feel for SBTRKT when technical issues cut apart his set smack bang in the middle of Wildfire. Apparently a faulty laptop was to blame, but after an apology from organiser David Chitty, he did come back on to give the crowd at least a little taste.

Finishing off the festival, UK- experimental rockers Alt-J were a bit of an enigma.

Some in the crowd were fixated; others seemed a little, well, bored. But closing with the brilliant Breezeblocks, they no doubt sent most punters back to their tents with that fuzzy feeling.

Southbound 2015 was once again brilliantly organised, and promoters Sunset deserve praise for producing such a well-run festival year-after-year.

Bring on next year.