Sets on the beach

In just under a week I'm picking up my little (ahem 20) brother from Perth airport, in just over a week I'm giving him a royal welcome to Perth by taking him to a beach party he won't ever forget...Sets on the beach.

Perth's most iconic beach party Sets on the beach,  is back on Sunday 6th December, sunshine, good tunes and great company makes for the perfect start of summer so get clicking over to Sets on the beach - Oz tix to grab one of the few remaining tickets. 


But if you need a little more persuading...

Sets on the beach is a series of boutique beach parties hosted along Perth's gorgeous coast throughout summer, with 17 sell out events over the 5 years you're guaranteed an incredible time. The start of summer part by Sets on the beach is to be held on the pristine white sands of Port Beach, North Fremantle. The event's split across two levels with three stages and boasts creative decor and inflatables galore- hello 1000 beach balls. 

Can you think of anything better than enjoying a few cold drinks and dancing past sunset on the beach? me either..

The soundtrack to Sets on the beach is being provided by an insane mix of homegrown and international talent including Bag Raiders (DJ set), CLN, Friend Within, Just a Gent, Matoma, Nicky Nightime, POOLCLVB, Torren Food, Wolf + Lamb...and a whole other heap of acts who are yet to be announced!

Now calling Los Angeles home, Jack Glass and Chris Stracey of Bag Raiders are back in Oz to bask in our summer after shows all over the United States, South America and Australasia this year. Fresh off the release of their latest single Waterfalls, the boys will be treating a world-class DJ set to you with plenty of new tunes and great vibes.

Brisbane-based DJ and producer CLN has made a name for himself over the last year with his debut EP Sideways and a handful of cracker remixes for the likes of ODESZA, Kilter and Crooked Colours. There is plenty in store for the young producer, whose latest EP Found has already garnered plenty of airplay — and now’s your chance to catch him in action.

Hailing all the way from Liverpool, Friend Within is one of the UK’s top up-and-comers to look out for, having released tracks on heavy-hitting labels including Dirty Bird and Disclosure’s own Method Records. The release of The Run EP will see him hit up cities all over England, the Netherlands, New Zealand and Australia as he makes his way to Sets on the Beach for his only Perth show.

Just A Gent is your everyday gentleman making not-so-everyday dance music — at the tender age of just 18, the NSW producer’s tunes have racked up over 10 million plays on Soundcloud alone, earning him a Producer of the Year Award nomination at the Stoney Roads Awards this year alongside the likes of Ta-Ku, What So Not, Rufus and more.

Killing it in 2015, Norwegian producer Matoma has been doling out monster remixes of the greatest hits from a range of genres including Will Smith, Jay Z, Tegan and Sara, Eminem, Enrique Iglesias and more — his explosive remix of The Notorious B.I.G’s Old Thing Back boasts over 14 million plays on Soundcloud and is set to be the ultimate tune for summer.

Joining the line-up is Sydney producer Nicky Night Time, fresh off the release of his brand new single Flowers ft. Nat Dunn, which shot to #1 on the ARIA dance charts. The former Van She producer and frontman will be bringing his signature sound to Sets on the Beach for his only Perth appearance before heading back over east for more killer shows.

From supporting some of Australia’s biggest DJs to headlining his very own tour, POOLCLVB has come a long way — known for his remixes of the likes of Motez, Mickey Kojack and Paces and killer originals such as Here You’re Mine ft. Erin Marshall and the brand new ARIA Club Chart-climber Move Me ft. Natalie Conway, be sure not to miss his only Perth set and the final instalment of his Move Me national tour.

With his first national tour, the release of 1, 2 Step and being named in the Top 25 Producers in Australia at the Stone Roads Awards under his belt, it’s no surprise Torren Foot has had one massive year. With releases on Mad Decent and prolific local labels Onelove, Sweat It Out!, Ministry of Sound (Hussle) and So Solid, the Melbourne-based producer’s work speaks for itself and is a must-see this December.

Rounding out this year’s incredible line-up are house music maestros Zev Eisenberg and Gadi Mizarhi of Wolf + Lamb. The Brooklyn-based duo have crafted a distinct niche and made a name for themselves as two of the most innovative and unique producers around since their beginnings in 2001. Fresh off the release of After We’re Gone, the duo’s phenomenal influence over the last decade is undeniable, and they’re set to bring their deep house delights to the stage at Sets on the Beach, guaranteeing to move hearts and not just feet.

So what are you waiting for? Head on over the Sets on the beach to find out more or go straight to Oz tix to grab your ticket before they sell out! 


Whats the best festival / gig you've ever been to? Have you been to Sets on the beach before?
xo


This post has been written in collaboration with sets on the beach, all views are my own.

Fremantle beer festival

If you read my post about Core Cider House or Perth's Urban Orchard you'll probably know I've got a sweet spot in my heart for a day out in the sunshine, sensibly enjoying alcoholic beverages. So when a group of my better half's work colleagues told us to ditch our weekend plans and head to Fremantle beer festival I couldn't really resist...

Celebrating the best Western Australia has to offer. 250+ beers & ciders on tap, gourmet food, comedy tent, family entertainment, live music & more.

Entering the gates we were handed a tasting glass and event guide each, I immediately hoped this would mean free tasters but alas they were $2 each. We took a stroll around before finding the already slightly piddled gang, we discussed a plan of attack wanting to make the most of the massive variety of booze on offer but after about 5 minutes shoved the plan and wondered from stall to stall.
  Not beer, but I'm going to talk about how incredible Custard&Co's original cider is anyway... It's incredible, and if you're that way inclined they had a apple & mango on tap too.

 Away from the alcohol Fremantle beer festival has live music all afternoon, a kids zone and masterclasses covering everything from beer oxidation to home brews.

At the back of the venue the live music stage made a perfect meeting place, and was luckily in shade for most of the day.



 Fremantle comedy club put on two shows a day with a mix of home brewed comedy and international artists including Mike Goldstein (USA), Luke Heggie (AUS) and Rory Lowe (UK), who is pictured above.

 

Drinks flowed well in to the evening  and the atmosphere was amazing- perhaps something to do with the glorious sunshine mixed with hours of drinking?

 You can find out more information about Fremantle beer festival via their website or Facebook. Tickets were $27 including booking fee which included tasting glass, programme, live music, comedy and masterclasses.  


Have you been to  a beer festival before? Did you enjoy it?

xo

Sydney opera house

I've saved this post till the end of my Sydney blog posts for a reason, I was absolutely blown away by Sydney opera house. Without a doubt, if you think of Sydney you'll think of the iconic opera house, but if you're anything like me you probably don't know all that much about it. We couldn't pass at the opportunity to have a guided tour inside and I made sure I got snap happy so you can all come too...

In 1955 an international competition was launched to design an iconic performance space in the heart of Sydney looking out over the gorgeous Sydney harbour. The criteria specified a large hall seating 3,000 and a small hall for 1,200 people, each to be designed for different uses, including full-scale operas, orchestral and choral concerts, mass meetings, lectures, ballet performances and other presentations. A total of 233 entries were submitted and the winning design was from Danish architect Jørn Utzon. 

There were problems from start to finish, the design simply wasn't possible and the costs soared, eventually leading to Utzon's resignation in 1966 before the building was completed, he returned to Denmark and never returned. The building was finally completed and opened by Queen Elizabeth in 1973, at a total cost of over $100 million dollars.

I won't go into too much more detail but the building is absolutely incredible and I would encourage anyone in or near Sydney to have a tour (and hear the full story about the design and building!)..

Did you know the opera house is covered in thousands of interlocking tiles? They're self cleaning thanks to the grooves between them, when it rains the water trickles down and theres drainage built in  to the floor.

Sadly we weren't allowed to take photos inside the concert halls, due to them being set up for performances that evening, but they were just as architecturally beautiful as the rest of the building.

Hand up who loves Sydney!

And sadly that concluded our little trip to Sydney, from there it was a relaxed day before heading on the flight back to Perth! 

We had a total blast, and are so glad we booked our mini trip to Sydney, but we definitely felt like we were home back in Perth- I just love how laid back and spacious our city is in comparison! 

Have you been to Sydney before or is it on your bucket list?

xo

night noodle markets

I was pretty excited to hear the night noodle markets were on whilst we were in Sydney , sadly they're all finished now, but lucky you- you can live the wonder vicariously through me!

Sydney's night noodle markets are a foodie dream, filling Hyde Park each year as part of good food month there's an incredible mix of Asian food from a mix of top local chefs and smaller restaurants. The vibe is incredible, bustling with people elbows out to get the best boa, music, lights everywhere and the occasional dancing dog.

Whilst the queues may look long (some wiggle all over the place and round the corner) they clear quickly, none the less- if you want to make the most of your time arrive eaaaarly!

We both ordered from the Eat the chicken stall, Dan had the chicken pad thai and I had the veggie pineapple fried rice- which was incredible especially teamed with a drizzle of chilli sauce!

Care of instagram I'd found out about Whisky Sugar, who were serving up whisky cocktails and whisky cookies. I really don't like whisky, but Dan loves it so I gave in and we wondered over, I am so glad we did because, whilst the cocktails still weren't really my thing, the whisky cookies were absolutely incredible- so good intact I'm going to try and make my own to share the recipe! 

If you can handle the crowds, and you're in town at the right time, you definitely need to head down to the Sydney night noodle markets.



What's your favourite asian food? xo

whale watching, views, buses and bondi

Knowing we were short on time in Sydney we decided to make Monday jam packed with activities...

We started the morning by heading to Starbucks (which, despite all the amazing indie coffee shops, I really miss in Perth), grabbed some coffees and then walked straight over to jump on the whale watching cruise.

I was lucky enough to go whale watching in New Zealand a few years ago, but it's pretty high on Dan's bucket list. I had everything crossed that we'd see some whales, and see some we did, within about 10 minutes of leaving Sydney harbour we found some calfs and their mumma..

We had just under three hours on the water, which was definitely long enough to find the whales and watch them for some time. I just wish I'd had a zoom lens with me- and that the boat wasn't so rocky so the images were a bit sharper. If you're prone to motion sickness I would highly recommend having a packet of sickness tablets in your bag, we went on a 'calm' day and it was non stop rocking!

We were back in Circular quay just after lunch time so jumped on the hop on hop off bus for a tour of the city and world famous Bondi beach! 

From the city it was a short 30 minutes to Bondi beach, on the way we'd decided to hire surfboards and spend the afternoon sipping juice on the beach between playing in the surf...

Unfortunately (as I'm sure you can tell from the photos) the weather turned nasty, and just after we took these photos the heavens opened! Our plan of an afternoon on the beach were ruined, so we head back on the bus to the city.

Once we were back we head to the Sydney tower eye, which is located on top of Westfield, lucky for us the weather came back on our side and the sun came out just as we arrived. I love watching busy cities from above so knew I wanted to do this as soon as we booked our flights. After getting tickets you walk through some hallways filled with facts about building the tower before going into a short 4d movie about Sydney, from there a quick security check (which I thought was really weird, especially as the security guard barely looked in my bag) before hopping in the elevator and whizzing up to the viewing deck...

We sat in the window ledge watching the city rush beneath us, for me it's almost a euphoric feeling, being so high up away from all the hustle and bustle- anyone else? We stayed there long enough to watch the sun start to set but realised the sky was too clear for a beautiful sunset so head back to our hotel after a while.

Have you been to Sydney before? What activities / adventures did you have?

xo