Lookout Festival 2025: Celebrating the Australian Scene in Style
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Lookout Festival
Sandstone Point Hotel, Sandstone Point QLD
February 22nd, 2025
Lineup: Jet, Grinspoon, Spiderbait, The Veronicas, Jebediah, Magic Dirt
Is there anything better than a music festival on a hot sunny day in Queensland? Doubt it.
Over the weekend, the 2025 edition of last year's successful Lookout Festival rolled back into Sandstone Point Hotel, this time with an emphasis on the Australian music scene - and the turnout lapped up every second of it. Reminiscent of the days of Homebake, the all-class, all-Aussie lineup celebrated our alternative scene with a cast of bands and musicians well renown across the various generations in attendance. From the opening bars of Magic Dirt's leading lady Adalita and the soaring riffs of Jebediah, through to the frenzied moshing during Grinners and closing numbers of headliners Jet, we were taken back though the 90s/2000s glory years with throwbacks and singalongs a plenty - and it didn't matter which generation you were from, taking part was mandatory due to the overwhelming sense of pride for our national treasures.
Take for example The Veronicas - who we last saw commanding one of the most brutal Wall Of Deaths I've ever been in at Good Things Festival - stealing the show from the second they hit the stage, reminding us all who they were, and spending the next 50 minutes getting everyone belting out the words to classics such as 'Take Me On The Floor', 'Everything I'm Not', 'When It All Falls Apart', 'Hook Me Up', 'In My Blood' and 'Mother Mother', and making us all shake our butts to new tunes like 'Here To Dance' and 'Jungle' - the latter of which fit the seaside setting adjacent to Bribie Island perfectly.
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Both Jess and Lisa Origliasso captured the attention of onlookers for the vast majority of their set, which also featured ear-piercingly heavy screams from Jess, adding a brutal touch of heaviness to the rock-centric lineup. However, the real write home moment came with closing numbers '4ever' and the unofficial national anthem of Australia, 'Untouched', both of which received the biggest response with what appeared like the entire venue screaming along in unison.
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The Brisbane babes spoke about the importance of always supporting Australian music and how Lookout Fest featured a stack of heroes and fav acts they looked up to when they were starting out in the scene. The alt/pop duo also touched on how they've been in the music industry for 20 years; something neither of them took for granted, but from where we were standing in the crowd, they not only deserved their place alongside the greats of the industry, but have cemented themselves as a powerhouse act who continuously dominate lineups and prove the best things always come in the smallest packages.
Spiderbait remain total rockstars after all these years with the three-piece providing a harder set for the experienced moshers among us. Kram, Janet and Whit demanded the audience's attention with plenty of moments that got us off our phones and eyes glued tot he stage. As the trio performed crowd favs such as 'Buy Me A Pony', 'Fucking Awesome', 'Calypso' and 'Black Betty', the drunken/tipsy mob were in the palm of their hands; but the most memorable moment of the set came when Kram's teenage son Lonnie jumped in for his old man, absolutely destroying the guest spot behind the kit - much to the approval of everyone in attendance. The young lad receiving an uproar of cheer from the crowd and the festival staples left us well and truly warmed up for the madness that was about to follow.
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As the sun finally set over the venue's hills, the plethora of attendees had almost doubled since we last ventured out of the mosh area, but nothing could prepare us for the onslaught that Lismore's finest, Grinspoon, were about to unleash upon Lookout Fest. As Phil, Joe, Pat and Chris took their places, they immediately launched into one of the fastest and emotion-filled rollercoaster sets I've had the pleasure of witnessing from the awesome foursome.
Fun Fact: Grinspoon were the first band I ever saw live, at the Gold Coast Uni Bar in the mid-2000s, and their performance at this event could have rivalled the stamina they produced back in those years.
In between frontman Phil Jamieson racing around the stage like a rockstar with the zoomies, we were treated to an all-time set from the rockers including (but not limited to) newer track 'Unknown Pretenders' from their latest album whatever, whatever and amped up classics 'Hard Act To Follow', 'Just Ace', 'DCx3', 'Lost Control', '1000 Miles', and their always stellar 'Don't Change' INXS cover.
But it wasn't all just hard and fast throwbacks, for the slower set moments, the boys stripped it back and belted out 'Better Off Alone' and 'Chemical Heart' almost as if to allow the punters to catch their breath at various points throughout the night.
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Phil, an Aussie music supporter through and through shouted out to all the bands on the festival lineup and much like Kram and The Veronicas before him, highlighted the importance of supporting Australian bands and what's in our own backyard. A sentiment that was welcomed and celebrated all throughout the day by those up close to the stage. There's a lot of music festivals in Australia that puts the emphasis on internationals as the go-to drawcard, but when you've got the calibre of what was on offer today; it makes you wonder why more Aussies aren't given better/higher spots on said festivals, instead of being side-lined to smaller stages.
Grinspoon closed off their hour long set with mammoth performances of 'Champion' and 'More Than You Are' allowing us all one last chance to collectively lose our minds; and in doing so, lived up to the namesake of their Thrills Kills and Sunday Pills single 'Hard Act To Follow'.
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After throwing ourselves around for the better part of the afternoon, many of us were worn out by the time headliners Jet took to the stage. Whether it be lack of stamina, old age creeping in, or the band's slower tempo tracks... I, along with many others, made our way out of the festival sweating, beaten and bruised, yet fulfilled with the mini-big day out we experienced.
With Big Day Out and Homebake all but memories of a time long ago (it's been 20+ years guys, c'mon), Lookout Fest has the potential to revive a once loved national treasure that puts Australian bands front and centre so generations new and old can revel in the standout quality of musicians we have in our own backyards. Also, for the new breed of sober festival-goers like myself, despite the excessive rowdiness of a handful of tanked hooligans, the day was a completely enjoyable experience and a cost-effective way to enjoy live music and drive back home without the agonising need for a taxi or uber.
Well done Lookout Fest. Same time next year?
Review by Paul 'Browny' Brown @brownypaul
The festival run continues across Australia - tickets here