There was such a crowd of people I did not recognise of all ages – mainly late teens to the late 20s – with smiles on their faces. The crowd grew excited as the line-up continued, predominantly buzzed by the performers at the alcohol and drug free event. I say ‘predominantly’ because judging by certain smells in the mosh some did make it through. But it was contained. And the atmosphere was all the better for the ban.

Alcohol did not define our enjoyment, although I must admit my adrenaline was also motivated by the privilege of being right in front of the stage to take pictures. I was “this close” (holding my long arms out as wide as possible) to Tash! Feel free to check out my pics of One Night Stand performances, although I’m sure you’ve probably seen plenty of fantastic shots on social media already.

Last night was necessary for my own morale living in the Isa. But I didn’t realise it until I woke up Sunday morning (who am I kidding? It was more like the afternoon). I genuinely felt there was no better place to absorb live music anywhere else in Australia right at that moment than at Tony White Oval. My friends and family who could not come from Brisbane, and Melbourne, and Perth, were jealous. 

And there were older, more established members of the community listening to these bands. “These guys are good!” one such representative said with surprise when watching San Cisco from the back. He enjoyed himself probably more than he expected he would. 

I know I’m being greedy when I say “can we make something like this happen again?” But how do we use this to our continuous advantage? I mean, Triple J will go to another remote community which deserves the light in the sun. And Triple J’s budget and resources will go to that event. But we sorely need a repeat event. We have the Music Shack, and it’s fantastic. If you want a bohemian vibe to experience in the Isa the shack is the closest to it. But I’m talking something much more larger scale. 

As I watched everyone having a good time a local musician said to me “This is how Isa Fest is supposed to be.” And he was right. 

In 2014 the mayor at the time, Tony McGrady, announced Isa Fest would run through government drought relief funding to bring the graziers and rural community members to Mount Isa so they could enjoy a night out. He told me that he could one day see it even bigger than the Tamworth Country Music Festival. It was a sales pitch, but also a goal.

Isa Fest is a great idea even if the music seemed to predominantly be limited to country music. It inspired and created bands such as BullDust, which this year headlined at Dirt N Dust after James Blundell, and gave more of an awareness of developing talent like the Mackenzie brothers. 

In three years the Isa Fest has had its challenges such as poor attendance, tension and politics within its committee, and decreased budget. A disproportionate amount of funding went to bring in large acts such as Kasey Chambers and The Wolverines as opposed to giving local acts higher incentive. 

Then in 2016 the third Isa Fest  was timed to be the same weekend of Croc Fest in McKinlay, which did neither event any favours but especially for the Isa Fest. And this year it was postponed after being closely timed with One Night Stand. 

I’m hoping that One Night Stand has provided a breath of inspiration, a goal, an aim of what the regular festival could become with enough support and variety of genres and local and national musicians.

As a 27-year-old consumer, I beg for the hungry, up and coming musicians no matter where they come from, as long as they enjoy what they do, like Tash Sultana. She had a cold and I was still feeding off her energy. 

And I want more!