Held on the Nolan Family Farm on Wadawurrung Country, Golden Plains is widely known as the best festival in Australia—it’s so well organised and committed to safeguarding. It notably embraces a non-commercial ethos, with no sponsors or signage on the site; the festival felt extra intimate and special. While it may be full of 20-something nepo babies from Fitzroy and Brunswick ready to let loose for a weekend, they sure know how to have a good time.

Golden Plains was also swarming with the Irish. Over 13,000 punters were decorated with Irish flags, shamrocks, and bum-bags. This year, Ireland’s punters were either at Golden Plains or the Port Fairy Folk Festival, with Gaelic energy properly on display on that Labour Day weekend. With Ireland’s most popular bands Fontaines D.C. and Kneecap headlining, I expected nothing less.

SATURDAY 8 MARCH

After a long day of setting up all the camping gear in the excruciating heat, Bonny Light Horseman’s set was exactly what I needed. Their light, homey acoustics and frontwoman Anaïs Mitchell’s soft country voice can make anyone feel cosy. Their easy listening put me in a little blissful world along with the crowd, as if we had retreated to a cabin somewhere with a fireplace and scented lit candles under the evening sun.

As the sky darkened, this blissful serenity continued with the amazing jazz group, Sun Ra Arkestra. The Sun Ra Arkestra is renowned worldwide for its theatrical live shows that combine all sorts of songs and dances, such as big band swing, space-age free jazz, Afrofuturistic bebop, and Afro-pageantry. They came on stage in these bedazzling costumes with flashy capes and sequined headdresses. I witnessed it right at the front and found myself being catapulted into some alternate, otherworldly universe. Watching their deeply funky and groove-driven music unfold, my soul felt like it was doing backflips. It was such an alive, organic performance—it felt like I was at church, band practice and a jazz gig all at once. Watching Sun Ra Arkestra is such a celebration of life, of music, and of people.

The indie pop princess of Naarm, Thelma Plum, was next up. Her music leans into the indie-folk genre, focusing on a stripped-back, acoustic sound. Her velvety-sounding voice feels so raw and vulnerable like she’s bravely baring her soul to the audience—it was so beautiful to see in person. Her set was full of soulful renditions of songs from her new album I’m Sorry, Now Say It Back, where Plum talks about her ex, mental health issues, and pondering on her experiences of being a Gamilaraay woman. Plum is no stranger to getting vulnerable on stage. She is such a genuine performer, and you can tell she cares about her audience, wanting to connect with them through her music.

As the clock struck closer to midnight, alt-pop duo Magdalena Bay settled us in for a hypnotic, visually surreal adventure. I was getting delusional at this point; something about the heat got to me, so watching Magdalena Bay made me feel like I was on a weird psychedelic trip. They walked on stage with bizarre cosmic costumes, electrifying the audience with a fusion of punk rock sounds and electronic pop. Mica Tenenbaum and Matthew Lewin looked like intergalactic aliens from outer space, with Tenenbaum’s ethereal voice and Lewin’s dazzling guitar taking me out of this world. The absurdity of it all was just what I needed as I looked up at the clear midnight sky, feeling as if I was one with the universe.

I was saving up all my energy throughout the day in anticipation of absolutely losing my mind at Kneecap’s set, which was directly after Magdalena Bay. This hip-hop trio from Belfast is an explosion of punk rebellion, Irish drill, and unapologetic swagger. They came out, insisting that all the stage lights be turned off, only for the projection of their balaclava logo to illuminate their figures. I hear a scream: “WE ONLY HAVE 45 MINS, SO GIVE ME EVERYTHING YOU GOT YOU CUNTS!” Give everything we certainly did. I’ve never felt so passionate about whispering, “Your sniffer dogs are shite” and flailing a boot in the air, classic festival style. After chanting about Margaret Thatcher being dead and telling Jeff Bezos to get fucked, Kneecap finished with ‘H.O.O.D’ with member Mo Chara insisting the mosh pit to be opened to lengths they haven’t seen before. Some beast was unleashed in that mosh pit as the crowd roared, “IT’S GONNA BE A BLOODBATH, IT’S GONNA BE A BLOODBATH”, and that beast certainly could not be tamed.

SUNDAY 9 MARCH

After the energetic first day, I warily woke up to the dreamy electronic sounds of Acopia. The heat hadn’t subsided, and I was welcomed with that half-dead feeling unique to festival camping: slightly hungover, feeling suffocated in your sleeping bag as the music blared from the main stage near the surrounding campsite. I did my fair share of coughing and splattering before I headed to the main stage to hear Golden Plains fixture Uncle Barry share some stories about Wadawurrung Country. The crowd slouched over their camping chairs or couches they had brought to the main stage area, peacefully dozing off in their heat and hungover-induced coma.

The instrumental Latin guitar duo Hermanos Gutiérrez welcomed us into the afternoon, casting a hypnotic spell with their laidback soundscapes. Hermanos Gutiérrez fuses Latin and Western music to create intricate melodies on the pedal steel guitar and add percussion elements. It’s the kind of music that makes you close your eyes and sway to it, tickling all your senses.

After a little break to let the ice from my esky melt on my face to save me from the heat, I saw Philadelphian rapper Bahamadia. Let me tell you, she has certainly not finished her prime since her ‘90s debut album Kollage. Her smooth, almost jazz-infused approach to the hip-hop genre was such a special thing to see, using boom-bap aesthetics to spit infectious bar after bar. I felt so powerful watching her—she makes you feel like the most confident and coolest version of yourself.

Greek goddess and DJ legend Adriana then led us into the night. To introduce herself, she welcomed the stage with a traditional Greek dance accompanied by local Pontian dancers performing the Kotsari folk dance. It was so moving and different to see a DJ affiliate incorporate their culture into their musical style. Her DJ set was stacked with Greek music, including Greek house music and remixes of the famous Greek singer Despina Vandi. She also included some classic electronic hits, closing her set with a remix of Bob Sinclair’s ‘World Hold On’ whilst performing a traditional Greek dance with her backup trio.

It started bucketing down with rain and even some lightning. It is said that PJ Harvey conjured herself to prepare us for her electrifying set. She’s been in the game for over 30 years. I was shocked to find that out as her ethereal, empowered, and effortlessly punk performance rocked the audience’s socks off—particularly with her performance of ‘This is Love’.

I held my good spot for dear life for Ireland’s Fontaines D.C. and their passionate post-punk as my knees shivered, partly because I dressed inappropriately for the storm overhead and hadn’t moved or sat down since Bahamadia. The audience was completely packed at this point—Fontaines D.C. was probably the most anticipated set of the weekend. Lead singer Grian Chatten emerged from the stage looking like a movie villain, wearing a long black trench coat and sunglasses as the opening of ‘Romance’ played. I don’t know what sinister schemes these boys were up to, but it certainly got my adrenaline pumping for the rest of the set.

They continued with ‘Jackie Down the Line’ and we all went crazy, jumping up and down, flailing our boots in the air as the rain poured. In terms of rock music for Gen Z, this band is arguably as good as The Strokes or The Beatles, in my opinion—true legends in the making, so it was surreal to see them perform.  Their hits ‘I Love You’, ‘Bug’ and ‘Starbuster’ were crowd favourites—their Irish post-punk flair is so addictive, dark and juicy. Much like Kneecap, Fontaines D.C. had me going, “I BLOODY LOVE THE IRISH!”

Robin S.’s 20-minute set after Fontaines D.C. was all I needed for a quick energy boost. Playing her hit ‘Show Me Love’ on a two-time loop and a quick choir rehearsal before leading “the biggest choir [she’d] ever taught” in scat-singing, she seemed to thank the audience as quickly as she came on stage. Forget your favourite one-hit-wonder artists playing a whole set only for the audience to be silent until the last song; I’m here to get straight to the point. I’m not mad about it either—quickly going in and out is all you need.

To finish off the night, 2manydjs’s experimental DJ set was the cherry on top of a fantastic day. I mean, it was fantastic literally—it transported me into some celestial, intergalactic world.  They incorporate futuristic dance-punk and fidget-house to create one of the trippiest, most euphoric DJ experiences out there. I was standing next to two astronauts carrying a big alien doof stick, so that made me get into the total make-believe of it.

I crawled back to my tent, bloody exhausted, but on cloud nine. There is a reason Golden Plains is so popular: they bring out the big guns every time.  Between Kneecap and Fontaines D.C., this year’s unmistakable Irish spirit may go down in the history books.

I was so happy I got to experience this for the first time this year, and I’d do it all over again in a heartbeat.