Words by Sam Elliott and Matilda Elliott.

Following on from an incredible time back in 2022 at the Luliepalooza Festival, we knew we had to come back for another helping of Lulie Tavern’s annual street party packed with incredible tunes, food, skate demos and even an inflatable bucking bull to ride. 

Sheepishly making our way into the festival a lot later than we had hoped, following on from a couple of big nights that included, but were not limited to, a giant conga line, Sam crowdsurfing with one dude holding her up the majority of the time, ultimately becoming his parrot on his shoulder, dancing on stage with Bad // Dreams and fearing for our eardrums once the tracks at The Tote started. Us Sydney-siders aren’t accustomed to the late nights and pure fun that the early AM hours can provide in Naarm, Melbourne. 

After having a deep discussion with one of our mates who we were staying with, about maintaining boundaries at work and not falling too hard into the mundanities of life, refuelling for a big day, and deciding that walking to the festival that was kilometres away was a good idea, we finally made it into the gates.  

We were greeted by the heavenly sounds of Sunfruits, who accentuated the vibe this festival exuded; harmony, togetherness, wholesome, yet unbridled fun in a rock n’ roll setting. 

Next, we were welcomed with open arms by the sacred act The Riff Raff, who played a multitude of hits from the back of a truck trailer. The Riff Raff is a classic rock cover band with one of the most enthusiastic frontmen we have seen in a long time. We couldn’t help but grin like giddy menaces the whole set. 

A huge highlight of the whole festival for us had to be the one and only Leroy Macqueen. Originally falling in love with their unique voice and performance prowess with their equally as mystifying partner Cat in the Gooch Palms, we are always super amped to get to see Leroy play live. 

Leroy played their first set with a full band, which we found to be mesmerising. Leroy belted ballads and sauntered across the stage like they had been born there, a true pop star with a unique country twang. Stopping between songs to greet, amp up and connect with the audience, we were transported to such a fun place. “Who else here is queer?” Leroy exclaimed to the crowd, before telling a story of feeling uncomfortable to be fully themself growing up in Newcastle in an area that wasn’t so accepting of people who are different and don’t fit certain moulds. This led to Leroy playing their track, Stepping Out, which had us covered in goosebumps from head to toe. Only Leroy Macqueen can use their voice and lyrics to create such meaningful, complex and lyrically intense songs, only to be the most bright, endearing and bubbly personality on stage, finishing the set with an Elvis cover that had us all yearning for more. We were left feeling incredibly uplifted. We implore you to check out Leroy next time they are playing near you. 

Following on from Leroy, we were introduced to Full Flower Moon Band. Based in Meanjin, the group were genuinely hard to put into words a unique blend of rock and pop that transcends basic and flows heavily into the conceptual and contemplative side of music. We were warned of this by our friend, who said they have to be seen to be believed. The band are effortlessly cool and comes with an element of fun that is so addictive. We already cannot stop jiving to a live recording of their set by spook.cam in which the band play their track You Know The Mayor. Definitely keep your eyes set on Full Flower Moon Band, we genuinely can’t wait to see them again and hurt our necks from bopping up and down the entire set. 

Between sets, we found ourselves jiving incredibly hard to the pop bops of House of Cheese DJs. Not only did they have dance moves that could be rival to our queen Britany, but, their enthusiasm and good vibes had a hoard of people moving and shaking and flowing in ways previously thought to be impossible. 

Later on in the evening, we had our Gadigal icons showing this festival what was up, C.O.F.F.I.N. Embarrassingly, we hadn't seen the band of merry men play in a bit over two years and boy had they come a long way since we last saw them, and they were incredible then, so you can only imagine how good they sounded at the festival.

Starting the set with their track White Dog, they acknowledged the country the festival took place in and flagged that Australia is the only country without a treaty for its First Nations people, that sovereignty that was never ceded. This was an incredible start to their set and one that left an impact.

Not only are they insane musicians, they are just good blokes. With a raucous sound and crazy beats, you're going to get a bit of a rough-and-tumble crowd. C.O.F.F.I.N made sure that everyone knew that dickhead behaviour would simply not be tolerated and that everyone should feel safe and should enjoy themselves. They also flagged that anyone feeling crushed could jump onto the stage with them and slip to the side safely or crowd surf, leading to the most people we've seen crowd surf in the duration of a singular set. 

Adding to what we could describe as a set we will remember for years to come, the band brought out Ambrose of The Murlocs, whom they had said they had spoken with three minutes before the set asking if he would play the harmonica with them. Which he did and fit seamlessly into the set. 

Finally, we had The Murlocs send away Lulipalooza 2023, playing what they described as “Their last live set for a while.” We danced and remained entranced by the iconic band hanging on their jolty sound mixed with seamless ribbon-like playing. 

Of course Rolling On was played last and we belted the tune like they were mates at the pub doing karaoke. The song is so special and almost evokes a sleeper hold on us when it is played. 

As the cheers began to slow down after a phenomenal finish to the day the crowd then dispersed to yonder pubs (including the incredible Lulies Tavern) to continue their fun times. We left that weekend with full hearts and even more excitement as to when we would get to visit Naarm again and all its wonders.