Those who stuck it out were rewarded with sunshine on New Years Eve. Finally. If you crossed a kid at Christmas with Friday night drinks, you would almost have the same feeling as the one infecting what feels like the whole of the Otways… let the games begin.

1. Horns of Leroy

Horns at 11am wasn’t on anyone’s list of things to do but we all still got up and danced when instructed. Normal sized humans with gigantic instruments that made an even bigger sound kicked off New Years Eve in style with tracks like ‘yo mama can’t dance’ and a cover of ‘Sexual Healing.’

2. GL

The vocal skills of Ella, one half of electronic act GL, were a morning highlight. Clear and clean, spanning octaves with Mariah-style ease, it was the perfect accompaniment to the SUN. WHICH HAS RETURNED. Finally. Check out their tunes ‘What Happened To Us’ and ‘Grip’ for stellar summer sounds.

3. Kim Churchill

Let’s get something straight really quick… mostly for this writer’s benefit… Kim is a dude. He is a very talented, multiple instrument playing, Led Zeppelin and Bob Dylan covering, surfer hair dude. Good. Glad we chatted. His mix of genres and one-man-band setup put us all back on the Falls track – hot sun, good vibe, killer tunes and fun times. What storm?

4. Wolf Alice

Brit outfit Wolf Alice sound a bit like they’re from London… cause they are. Their indie rock-pop vibe suits the Australian summer, which is weird considering they basically live in North Pole esque weather all year round. Props.

5. Fishing

There’s only so much one can say about electronic acts – no matter how good they are – before the terminology gets wanky. Right? They’re all same same but completely different. So, Fishing did his thing and it was excellent. The blue, pained-looking man that appeared on his backdrop freaked us out for a bit there. The soundscape-y nature of his sound freed us up and allowed us to notice that, on the only sunny day of Falls, someone had gone around and snapped the pumps off half the sunscreen dispensers. Jerks.

6. Megan Washington

Not enough artists sing about feelings anymore. The beauty of Megan’s work is that she cares and you can tell. (It’s Megan now, PS. She picked her first name back up after launching her career known simply as Washington) She shares her life with her audience and its a win for us that she’s really, really good at it. A beautiful reminder that we’re all human before the mindless partying begins.

7. The between-set DJ guys & gals at the Valley Stage

These guys deserve our love and respect. There’s been no version of ‘Pony’ on repeat this year (as previous Falls attendees will remember) but the party tunes have been on high rotation between sets, keeping people dancing despite the weather’s opposition. Props to the one guy who clearly knows his crowd and pulls out classic 70’s tracks, R&B jewels like ‘Tipsy’ and THAT song from GTA4* along with a pleasing amount of MJ. Thanks, guy. Happy Falls. A friendly reprimand to the one who has played ‘As We Enter’ too early in the morning nearly every day. Enough already.

* You know the one, right?! No Sex for Ben? Come on guys.

8. Spiderbait

Can we talk about how and why Kram gets to count us into 2015? I mean, the guy is awesome… this is no dig at his privilege. But how do they decide that stuff? Some scissors paper rock deal? How does one get in on that?

Spiderbait, also. Let’s talk about them. 8 years in hiatus, and since then half the crowd had been born! Not quite, but you know. It’s good to see some solid Aussie rockers back on stage with a presence that commands respect from those who “kinda know that Black Betty song.”

9. Bluejuice

The end of a Bluejuice set always brings a small tug of sadness but more so when you know that you might never have that feeling again. This (now forever) 13-year-old band smashed puberty in the face here at Falls and we bid them adieu. Thanks for the memories Bluejuice – our hearts will go on.

10. HAPPY NEW YEAR! The midnight cheer is a noise worth numbering. We’re going hard then going home for very long shower. Falls Lorne and Kopparberg wish you a deeeeelightful 2015. Peace out.

Words by : Cheryl Garton