Play on the Plains Set to Light Up the Southern Sky

After a year filled with fires, floods and a pandemic from hell, 2021 looks set to breathe some life back into live music and the festival scene and to kick it off, we're pleased to announce a new, all-ages music festival set to light up the big southern sky in Deniliquin on Sunday, 7 March 2021.

For the first time, the iconic Deni Ute Muster site will turn into a dancefloor when six of our shiniest young artists take the stage for the inaugural Play on the Plains.

With gates opening at 12 noon, licensed bars, food vans and free, on-site parking, Play on the Plains will be a fully COVID Safe event and comply with all current health department guidelines. The event will be fully cashless with RFID wristbands and top-up stations on site and the opportunity for online top-ups prior to the event. Once the festival is over, attendees can retrieve their unused funds online.

Tickets to the Play on the Plains 2021 are $100 plus booking fee and go on sale at 10.00am today (Monday, 18 January) through Oztix, with children under 13 free. Local bus company, Dyson Group, will be operating charter buses to and from Echuca/Moama, Mathoura, Hay, Cobram, Baroonga, Tocumwal and Finlay as well as a shuttle service to and from Deniliquin Town Centre. For bookings and further information, go to playontheplains.com.au or click here.

Headlining the 2021 Play on the Plains is Fremantle's own San Cisco. Initially whipped up in the wake of high school graduation, the four-piece indie pop group soon found themselves unwittingly defining hipster culture with the video for their breakout hit Awkward.

Fast forward to 2015 where San Cisco delivered their sophomore album Gracetown which debuted at #2 on the ARIA charts showcasing a new sound for the band and a more worldly approach to life; exploring the tyranny of love, displacement, homesickness, heartache and heartbreak, via disco, funk, soul and hip-hop undertones.

The group released their third album The Water in 2017 and embarked on an extensive world tour - playing 21 shows in 46 days across America, Europe and Australia.

2018 saw the band play their biggest tour to date in some of Australia's most iconic venues as well as the release of new single When I Dream coming in at #48 on Triple J's Hottest 100. The band recently released their 4th studio album, Between You & Me, which was immediately picked up by triple j as their Album of the Week.

Spacey Jane came to life in 2016 when mates Caleb and Kieran re-visited their teenage musical ambitions with Ashton and Meils joining through Uni friendships and the ball rolled on from there. Since their first show in Caleb's backyard, the band has shared the stage with the likes of Car Seat Headrest, Alex Lahey, British India and The Stems, along with festival appearances at Wave Rock Weekender, Gizzfest 2017 and Falls Downtown and the recently announced SOTA Festival, hitting Elizabeth Quay in June 2018.

Whilst their first release, No Way To Treat An Animal, was a collection of songs that had been in the band's set since their inception, follow-up EP releases In The Meantime, In the Slight and 2020's Sunlight album, represents a shift in the band's songwriting and production - sharper, cleaner and more mature. Drawing influence from The Smiths, Car Seat Headrest and Pavement, Spacey Jane are at their most refined and exciting and we're thrilled to welcome them to Play on the Plains.

Hailing from the suburbs of Sydney's South Coast, Ruby Fields is an Australian singer-songwriter who creates narratives that people feel a close connection to. Her use of simplistic but poignant lyrics in her work has garnered the attention of the international music industry and fans alike. Ruby Fields has sold out multiple national tours, performed to 20,000 people at Splendour In The Grass in 2019, toured the UK, performed a coveted Like A Version for triple j, and has been courted by labels in the US.

Brisbane quintet WAAX have been making lots of compelling noise of late - signing with Australian indie heavyweight Dew Process and featuring heavily on the nation's airwaves, they've been winning hearts and selling out national tours in the process.

Their latest album, Big Grief, debuted at #11 on the ARIA charts and was heralded by critics. Supporting the likes of big time internationals Wolf Alice, Fall Out Boy and Biffy Clyro, WAAX have also been making sizable waves on the festival circuit with standout sets at Splendour In The Grass, Falls Festival, Good Things and Unify Gathering, not to mention a growing collection of local music awards and it's clear to see the band's trajectory is on a stratospheric rise.

A Yorta Yorta man from Echuca, Benny Walker is the real deal and a star in the making. His killer voice and epic tales are mixed with a deep groove and passion for the land. Recent offerings SAVE and Oh No You Don't shot to No. 1 on the AMRAP charts; the latter earning him four NIMA 2016 nominations and the award for "Best Aboriginal Talent" at The Age Music Victoria Awards.

His 3rd and latest studio album, Chosen Line, was produced by Jan Skubiszewski and was Double J's Album of the Week on release. Benny's songs mix Blues and Roots with a contemporary guitar driven soul vibe and we look forward to welcoming this talented local to the Deni Play on the Plains stage.

Australian singer/songwriter Taylah King has recently emerged on the Melbourne music scene, experimenting with explosive performances involving live looping and showcasing her non-confinement to genre and style. Her upbringing in Deniliquin is responsible for her country and rock influences, thanks to the town's renowned country music festival - the Deni Ute Muster. With her interest in established female musicians including SZA, Tash Sultana, Mallrat and Lennon Stella, Taylah has developed a unique sound that blends acoustic soul with RnB infused pop beats. Writing from personal experience, King delves into feminist issues and implores the nature of one's mental state (following through the 'good and bad'). She is currently studying her Bachelor of Music in Melbourne at Australian Institute of Music.

Play on the Plains' General Manager, Vicky Lowry, said today: "Launching a new festival on the iconic Deni Ute Muster site has been a long-term vision. Play On The Plains will bring a new young genre of music to Deniliquin to be added to the long list of International and Australian artists to have graced our great stage. Play on the Plains will of course be complying with all COVID guidelines in place so tickets will be limited and fans should get in quick when they go on sale today to avoid disappointment".

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