Written by Sophie Wyatt
After taking a year out, Melbourne’s well-renowned Echo Beach Festival returned for its sixth edition. Known best for curating a lineup of emerging and established artists, this years Echo Beach saw a wide range of music take to the stage. Well loved international names, such as Jack J and Midland, shared the stage with legendary Aussie acts such as Adriana and Moopie to create an all round excellent day.
As the gates to Collingwood Children’s Farm swung open, and the crowds poured in, so did the rain. It wasn’t exactly the weather for it to begin with, but as music began to float around the farm, the clouds parted and the sun shone down.
Set across three stages, the Cafe, Barn and Paddock, the whole farm was served a steady bounce as you made your way through. Bali-based DJ Dita lit up the Paddock stage as the sunshine brought crowds down to the grassy field. Her mix of proto-house, disco tracks and overall just happy music makes her one of the most exciting DJs in the Melbourne music scene right now. Tracks such as Movin’ On by Carolyn Harding brought a smile to not only the crowd’s face but also Dita’s, as she danced along to her infectious tracks.
As the day went on, we saw Melbourne legend Adriana follow up Dita’s set with an equally electric one. Her collection of both dynamic and contemporary tracks brought a new energy to the day. Meanwhile electronic-indie-dance duo Jono Ma & Dreems took over the Barn stage for a transcendent set. Coming together to blend their sounds and love of music, the pair have created a unique and spacey tempo which made for a chilled but fun beat throughout.
For the rest of the day we held our ground at the Paddock stage. The first of the three artists to lead us into the evening was Australian born, singer-songwriter and producer Jack J. As the sun began to set, golden hour sunlight elevated both the stage and specifically Jack J as he sung out to the crowd. Following some heavier DJ sets, this set let everyone take a breath, find a sway and take in the amazing day. Jack J, positioned in the middle of the stage, surrounded by yellow, crema and green fauna sang several songs from his earlier and newer projects. Clearly a crowd favourite, it was certainly one for the books.
Closely following this, and taking the stage for over a huge two hours was British DJ and Producer, Midland. Alongside some amazing lights as the sun dipped behind the city, Midland had the whole crowd dancing in seconds. This same energy continued throughout PBS’ own Babycino’s set. The Melbourne-based DJ kept the crowd going right through to the very end with his dub-tinged house and summery tracks.
Finding Figaro have absolutely smashed Echo Beach’s return. Whilst it is indeed very hard to have a bad day at Collingwood Children’s Farm, the festival’s diverse lineup and welcoming energy made it what it was. We can’t wait to see what 2027’s lineup has in store for us.
