Pix by Matt Williams
As Vanessa Amorosi hit the stage under wide blue skies on the Mundi Mundi Plains, absolutely everybody cheered as she served up one of the standout moments of the third and final day of epic red dirt extravaganza, the Mundi Mundi Bash – outback Australia’s biggest live music event.
Over 14,000 music fans, campers, and adventure seekers gathered at the one-of-a-kind festival mainstage to experience Amorosi’s dynamic set that featured her biggest hits, including the anthemic Absolutely Everybody and the soul-stirring Shine. Her infectious energy and powerhouse vocals soared right across the sweeping plains as the crowd belted out the lyrics.
Cranking up the rock n roll dial after Amorosi was the Baby Animals. Known for their gritty, no-holds-barred rock sound, the band delivered a high-octane performance that had the crowd roaring with excitement. Frontwoman Suze DeMarchi commanded the stage with her fierce vocals and charismatic presence, leading the group through a set list packed with fan favourites like Early Warning and One Word.
Another all-round Aussie legend, Jon Stevens, delivered a performance that was equal parts nostalgic and electrifying with one of the most powerful voices in Australian music. Stevens brought decades of experience and a catalogue of timeless hits to the desert stage, performing classics from his days with Noiseworks and INXS, including crowd-pleasers like Touch and Take Me Back, which had the festival goers on their feet and dancing with the Tina Tribute Tribute continuing the high to close the night.
Earlier in the day festival goers were treated to an all-star line-up including Fanny Lumsden, Hayley Mary, Sarah McLeod and festival favourites Chocolate Starfish.
“This has been our biggest year yet, and we’re already looking ahead to the 2025 event. We know it’s a tough time in festivals, and we’ve certainly felt the pinch with rising costs and other pressures – but being out here with the incredible community of Bash patrons we’ve built, many of whom are repeat customers, is a real pinch myself moment. I am quite literally living the dream in running these amazing outback events,” said Festival owner and Managing Director of the Outback Music Festival Group, Greg Donovan.
It wasn’t just about the music, as off stage, world records were in sight as boot-scooting revellers decked out in fancy dress kicked up the dust in a bid for the world record attempts for the Largest ‘Nutbush City Limits’ Dance and Largest Gathering of Mad Max Characters in One Location, as well as a new record for the Most People Doing a Freeze Frame Dance. 6,248 festival-goers broke the Freeze Frame Dance world record, smashing the previous record of 2,754, set at the Birdsville Big Red Bash in July.
The Bashers also attempted to break the record for the most people doing the Nutbush Dance. While the bootscooters fell just shy of the existing record of 6,594 boot-scooters set at last year’s Mundi Mundi Bash, the 6,515 tickets sold for the event still raised an outstanding $97,725 for the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS).
The Nutbush was followed by an iconic gathering of Mad Max dress-up characters which saw 298 War Boys, Feral Kids, Dementus’, and Max Rockatanskys come together on the very site where the recently released Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga was filmed.
The third day of the festival also offered up loads of unique family-friendly activities including Doggie Dress Up Day where festival-goers paraded their pets in creative costumes. From doggos in dungarees to canines in crowns, the adorable canines added a playful touch to the event.
Other quirky things on offer were Dunny Door Painting, scenic helicopter rides, sunrise yoga sessions, camel rides and more.
The Mundi Mundi Bash is produced by the Outback Music Festival Group, which also stages the Birdsville Big Red Bash which took place in outback QLD in July.
