Redneck Muster Madness!!

Rednecks hit Gympie Muster 2019!

To say we were excited when we got the news that we were headed to Gympie this year would be the understatement of the century! Forgive the cliche, but to tell the truth we really were #keenasmustered to get our Redneck on at one of Australia's biggest Music Festivals and a bucket list gig for us to say the least!

“Forgive the cliche, but to tell the truth we really were #keenasmustered!”

Day 1...

An early start on Thurdsay got us moving on our way to our first Gympie Muster, Johnny, Gouldy (Darren Gould - Guitarist), and Dave (John's brother in-law) all squeezed Gouldy's Triton and Jared & Jess in the van loaded up with all the camping gear!

In usual fashion Jared was the last one to leave Tamworth, but not worried by the clock knowing full well Johnny would need at least 2 servo stops by the time we hit the border so there was plenty of time for making up ground... As expected there was no going past a Black Mountain Truckers Breakfast (lamb chops and all) for the big boy so needless to say it took no time to catch up!

With the QLD border long gone in our rear view mirrors we rolled into Stanthorpe for a quick bite and grog stop (all the necessities haha). Eskys fully stocked with beverages of the frothy kind, along with a few little extra treats, pringles, twiggy sticks and the like... and... Smoky Bacon infused Whiskey!! (which later turned out to be a VERY bad choice!)

After a long day behind the wheel Jared & Jess arrived at the Gympie Muster Grounds, the boys still an hour away due to somebody's navigational skills leading them on a scenic route via Brisbane... not mentioning any names... John...

Luckily Rob and Janice had arrived a day early (classic Rob) and had our camp site all mapped out. Camp was made and we were finally ready to settle in to the muster life for the next 4 days.

Day 2...

Friday was spent mainly chilling out at camp before we headed over to catch some of the action on Main Stage... Kasey Chambers was Fantastic as always, followed buy the one and only Hayseed Dixie whom we were keen as to see live for the first time!

With our ears ringing from what could only be described as the loudest banjo we've ever heard in our lives! We cruised on back to camp Redneck to clean up and get ready to head on in to the Crow Bar for our very first Muster Gig! We arrived backstage and already the Viper Creek Band had the crowd well and truly ROCKING!!! The vibe was electric, and we were pumped to hit the stage! Before we knew it our intro tape was playing and we were off and racing!

The Crow Bar crowd definitely did not disappoint, and they sure showed us what all the fuss was about! They were AMAZING! We headed back to camp on a high, chomping at the bit for our next gig in 2 days time...

- The vibe was electric, and we were pumped to hit the stage! -

Day 3...

Saturday was our day to really make the most of our Gympie experience and soak up all the sights and sounds around the Muster... as well as get stuck into some Redneck Shenanigans... which is always to be expected. We spent the morning checkin out the talent (both kinds) of which there was plenty to be seen...

Naturally our travels led us once again toward the array of food vans, where a new love affair soon sparked between Jared, John and a couple of deep fried jam-doughnut delicacies (ok more than a couple), however that soon fell on it's ear when they quickly ran out due to VERY popular demand, and the boys were forced to move on...

We retired back to camp for an afternoon beer & BBQ session, only for John to find that his freshly chilled case of Corona Throwdowns had already been thrown down for breakfast by the rest of us haha, hey when in Rome right?

Gouldie decided to show everyone his expertise in the finer arts of hair styling and promptly set about giving John the works, showcasing his unique skills with alternative tools of the trade, aka the humble cordless vacuum... some mothers do have em...

Again, Main Stage was on our to-see list and yet again did not disappoint with The Mclymonts putting on one of the tightest band performances we've seen! Meanwhile we split up as half of us simply couldnt miss Rene`e Geyer, and for good reason! WOW!!!

...Gouldie showed everyone his expertise in the finer arts of hair styling...

Day 4...

Sunday began like the rest... wake up, eat brekkie, dodge the Magpie on the way to the showers!!! That little bastard had made it his daily mission to terrorise anyone who made the journey from our end of the campsite toward the showers, and by now had his eye in for sure!

...With a good morning's rest behind us we set out for some retail therapy, and gave the Ariat stall a good nudge...

The arvo brought around our 2nd gig in the Crow Bar... again we were super impressed with the atmosphere in the room, although crowds were a little thinner this time round, expectedly so however given Tex Perkins was rockin the Jim Beam Blues Bar and the Muster Finale show was on main stage we knew we were up against some stiff competition... having said that, the crowd we did have were making up for their slim numbers in enthusiasm and were showing us some muster love!

We had them in full voice as we played our rendition of the Elvin Bishop classic "Fooled Around And Fell In Love", although unbeknownst to us at the time, a fine choice of song for the moment as the PA fell silent, shortly followed by the whole Crow Bar falling into darkness and complete silence... all but for Rob holding down the beat and that crowd singing along to what would have to be the longest rendition of "Fooled Around" ever played... After what seemed like an eternity of us and the crowd repeating that one line over and over again, and Rob in need of a salt cube for his Kick leg cramping, the stage crew gave us the message that it would be a while before we would be up and running again... the timing couldnt have been worse, with Main Stage finishing up and punters making the trek across to rock the final night away in the Crow Bar, a dark, silent Crow Bar!

Refusing to let the moment slip away without a fight, Jared made the call to fly backstage and commandeer an acoustic guitar, of which belonged to Kaylee Stewart of Kaylens-Rain... (Thankyou Kaylee!) and set about taking matters into his own hands, heading back out on the Crow Bar stage and giving the crowd what they had come to see... some god dam music! The crowd responded by lighting the stage with their phones and sinking their teeth into a good old fashioned singalong!

People making their way down were intrigued by the sound of the growing Crow Bar choir and before we knew it the room was filling up and the atmosphere again began to rise just in time for the amps, lights and PA to one by one fire up again and the boys took the stage once more to what was now a packed bar! And we had them in the palm of our hands! We played out the remainder of our set and man did we have a BALL!

Huge thanks to Peter and the Crew from the Crow Bar for treating us like absolute Rockstars! You guys are awesome!!!

...A post gig feed of Fish & Chips and our first Muster had all but come to an end...

Day 5...

Before we knew it, Monday had rolled around and it was time to pull up stumps and head for home... with a swag full of good times under our belts and a yearning to return again next year we each set off on our trip home...

Thanks to Everyone who was involved in our 2019 Gympie Muster Journey!

Hope to catch you on the next one...

Over & Out