So.... what is deliverance?

Deliverance is a limited ticket, invitational Arts and Bass Music gathering held in a venue fairly unique in Australia. Situated 135km inland from Grafton, in the great dividing range of Northern NSW, our site has a few features we think makes this a perfect long-term home for our event. Our ongoing mission is to create a long-term, community-focused, fun, creative outlet for cutting-edge music, art, and culture. We believe that when many creative minds are in one place, magic happens. Deliverance is intended to encourage this gathering of spirits, and through collaboration with other like-minded events which share similar ethics and goals, work toward a greater, global goodness.

THE RANT

(Ranty is, as ranty does - you can skip this if you're TLDR or don't care about what our ethos is)

Unlike most parties, we are a single stage event, believing that this brings a unity effect without audio-clash and allows for the entire party to be on the same wave together, while avoiding too much musical monoculture - because we like to hang out with our friends, and our friends like many different styles.

THE CONCEPT 


Deliverance began as a concept gathering, after the host (who was young and free and went to a lot of festivals) noticed something:

He got to know a ton of really nice people - who didn't seem to know each other.

This puzzled him for a bit, and then, he realised it was obvious - it's because we all just pass each other at the markets, on our way to whatever stage plays the pre-packaged genre we think we like best.

The result of this, is, bigger and bigger festivals with 3 or more sound-systems all battling each other for dominance, needing to get more and more people through the gate in order to cover all the bases and pay for expensive acts in each niche - and a splintering and dilution of what actually used to be fun.

On top of this, the whole idea of doing that in a natural setting, is, in the not-even-remotely-humble-opinon of Ranty - fucking insane.

"All you're going to achieve is annoying everyone within 20km, getting noise complaints, and guests are forced to either get cooked enough to stay within the range of their current flavour of music - or - spend half the festival wondering if their friends are having a better time elsewhere, rather than enjoying said music, or worst of all?

Enduring music hell as you try to sleep while multiple sound-sources have a pissing contest.

This is simply stupid. Screw that."

~Ranty McJangJang



So, your host came up with a cunning plan. Go back to the roots of what "doofin" was about. A shared experience. And taking inspiration from the house parties of the 80's and early 90's when everyone took along a mixtape that they'd painstakingly spent hours manually recording - in the hopes that tonight, your personal set of bangers would impress your mates with your ultimate selecta skills.

If you didn't like everyone elses mixtape, that was okay - because in an hour, another mixtape would be on and the style would change.

What literally nobody did, was go sulk in a bedroom with a renegade mixtape. You were there to socialise and make friends and have fun.

This is what Deliverance is about. Making friends. Hanging out. With just ONE sound-system going at any time. No renegades, no alternatives, you can either go chill in camp, or get amongst it.

This is actually a special thing though - it means you're no longer forced into the accepted rules of party flow. You don't have to worry about losing your d-floor to another stezza. For everyone who goes back to camp because they don't like what came on, there will be others come running - because - no matter where you are on site, you'll know what is playing, and i honestly WANT people to take breaks and rest and hydrate and eat and chill.

If this isn't your idea of a good time, that's okay. If you like a cosy, intimate gathering of like minded true-heads where everyone ends up knowing everyone else by Sunday - hey! Come say hi!

In fact, if you don't know someone already, you totally need to say hi, cos we're not a totally public event.

If your idea of festival fun is sneaking in and rolling camps or being a predator - hey - you might want to take a look at the name, then go watch the movie of the same name. That's the other advantage of small events, it makes it a lot harder to hide. I heard a rumour a secret society offers actual bounty's for people who aren't wearing a wristband - but that's probably just a rumour. Was that a banjo i heard? :p



WYTALIBA RISING - WHAT'S UP WITH THAT?

Deliverance is held on the Community of Wytaliba - a beautiful multiple occupancy about 60km east of Glen Innes, NSW.

On November 8th, 2019, our home was the victim of the very real effects of climate change - our once vibrant and diverse community was almost completely destroyed in the catastrophic bush fires which went on to sweep the east coast of Australia.

We lost around 60 out of 80 homes, and our community is still in recovery from this life-changing event.

Diehard NSW - November 2019 Fires before and after


Initially, there was a ton of help offered, especially from all our friends in the events industry - unfortunately, covid lockdowns and 2 years of hell on earth put a damper on much of the planned rebuilding of homes - many locals are still unable to return - because we literally don't have places for them to live.

In the past, Deliverance was just a birthday party for the host, but with it's rebirth, i hope to draw positive energy and hope into my home community, and remind people that we exist - but even more importantly, this edition is about reconnecting with all that positive energy so we can gather future troops for future events focused on building community - in very real terms.

I am proud of my home and I love all the whacky, loveable weirdo's who I share this unique space with. While Deliverance has never actually made an actual profit, my focus this year is simple - prove it can be a viable and positive event for my home, and a gateway to great things by attracting creative minds and problem solvers - "can-do" people. That is what this invitational is about. This is why the format is the way it is.

Eventually? Your money will be no good here - while money is nice, energy is even better. Watch this space. And thank you for your support.

We ask all guests to remember this, first and foremost - this isn't just some party site to leave your trash - this is a permanent home to a diverse bunch of real people - not all of whom enjoy parties, or even this one in particular. Please respect that and act accordingly, and you'll have a great time and meet some of the legends who live here - without their patience, support and understanding, this wouldn't be happening.


MUSIC AND STUFF LIKE THAT

What to expect: Get with the program

Deliverance begins around 10am Friday 8th - with a proper welcome to country by elders from both local tribes, a smoking ceremony, and we are led in a proper lore lesson to set the vibe of the event - this was and incredible start to last year so i totally recommend being there if you want to be on the same wave as Deliverance Crew!

The music program for Deliverance 2024 will start around 12pm Friday 8th. Our main stage is outdoor, with the stage/booth tucked under a big woolshed, with a kid's playground just behind it - "the cheer garden"

Because we care about the well being of our guests who may have driven a long way, friday night's outdoor program will close around midnight Friday night - and keep the energy focused for crew who want to party on, by moving to our indoor club venue - don't sweat it, it's only a 10 metre walk to our cosy open plan farmouse.

This condenses the party while letting those who wish to, get a little respite rather than burn out on the first night - we don't encourage excess consumption and we feel a party is so much better when everyone is on the same wave.

We shut down the house session around 4am - because... God has massive elbows and when you're in nature, you really should try hearing the local "dawn chorus" performed by our team of highly talented local fauna. It's pretty damn spesh!

Mainstage then restarts just before lunchtime (hey. have breakfast, join the morning Yoga sesh, grab a coffee, meet the locals)

we will also have a fun kids activities program, workshops, and there are (guided) bushwalks available.

The outdoor stage kicks on until dusk Sunday with a crazy and eclectic mix of music you love, music you've ignored your whole festival life, some surprises, and possibly one of those welcome things featuring some sort of impromptu stand-up-comedy ranting from your host - though, he tends to be so yay'd out by Saturday that this might be in sign language.

Unlike other festivals, you don't have to worry about missing this sacred moment because there isn't another stage you can sneak off to and avoid doing prayer-hands with the rest of us. Just kidding. You can probably just bring earplugs or something or gaze in awe at the magnificence of the inside of your eyelids.

There is a rumour that there is some sort of kick on session in a secret nearby venue on Sunday evening where we wind down to some relaxing jazz music, or was it an accoustic drum circle? I have no idea, i've never been to this thing. You probably have a better idea than i do.

Our Flow is pretty different to most other parties - this definitely doesn't follow regular "doof" formats (it's NOT a doof) - we actively discourage music programing that is attractive to the cooked, preferring to mix it up and ensure our guests have a great time without burning out.

Many Riddims - One Tribe - One Stezza

Deliverance aims to showcase diverse, futuristic and unique styles of electronic music, in all the beauty of the Australian outdoors. Our primary guests are those who create art or music themselves, who are into interesting sound design, exploration, collaboration, and the sharing of concepts and ideas through sonic, visual, and other means.

We don't favour any musical genre over another and plan to always bring you a broad range of amazing contemporary sounds, but (please note) we are a LOW PSyTRANCE event, as a rule. You can get that anywhere, anytime, here, it's a token dawn sesh Sunday - it's NOT a doof.

In each of our 'micro-scenes' here in Australia, there are scores of brilliant, creative people. We are all into tons of different musical styles and a variety of other expressive/art styles.  As with past years, Deliverance remains a single-stage event in the hope that having all you amazing people in the same space, for the entire event, will once again create something unforgettable for us all to share.

THE ART BIT - Installation Crews Take note

Because the site has permanent occupation, the art we create together can have a long-term focus: That is - we as a community, can work together on installations and constructions which both shape the event, and the community that hosts it, in a positive way. Working collectively under open source principles, we have an opportunity to build projects which are long-term in both goal and realisation - the energy we put into this space will remain safe, be added to by others, and be maintained - meaning it becomes possible to collectively create art that can be functional and beautiful over successive years.

To put this another way - It is our wish that those who attend begin to feel a connection to the space. As things progress, we hope to create natural spaces such as camping groves which each crew will feel direct involvement in - through things as big as landscaping the area in which you camp, to adding your own natural art, installations, vegetation, etc. The venue won't be rezoned, closed, or sold from under us - ever. If - we as a community, in alliance with the permanent host community - consider this venue as a place to be respected and loved, we create a self-sustaining paradise in which we can play together and return to.

Consider this your invitation to be more than just a passive consumer - we welcome co-creation and innovation. This is a party created by loving friends, aimed at friends and friends we don't yet know.

For all those who are conscious of their environment, who like good tunes and want to make beautiful things, and who understand that it's the people you share with who truly make a good party - We'd love to party with you!

The kind of people we like:

Who came in the past? You did. As good a crew of freaks and good spirits as anyone could hope to hang with.

Hopefully, you dug the other peeps. Met some. Met up with old friends. Saw some sights. Had a boogie. Mingled. Brainstormed. Ready to do that again? Great.

Once again, there will be a limit - though we're working towards creating more flat ground, we want to grow this nice and slow. A large part of our ticket sales this year will be put towards landscaping and venue improvements as well as rebuilding assets lost in the last 9 years, and a percentage goes directly to the host community for improvements to the space which you get to share during this event. - slowly but surely, we move forward together.

So what now?

We, the home crew, welcome you back, to join with us in moulding this space, helping it grow, and building awesome things together that won't be torn down a few days later. On our part, Deliverance crew have grown, learned, gained experience and we are ready and excited to be doing it all again.f

Now, the ball is in all of our collective courts - we as a whole, can make this something truly epic. if you buy a ticket for entertainment's sake, cheers. If you become a co-creator though, bless you! You are truly one of us. It took a lot to get this space opened to newcomers - it's up to us now. Anything is possible in harmony.

The last couple of years have been insane for the entire world. The community of Wytaliba – who host Deliverance – already went through our very own apocalypse-by-fire on November 8th, 2019. Close to two-thirds of our beautiful community lost homes. Nature took a beating and we were left in a barren wasteland, completely cut off from outside help. Then the rest of the east coast followed. A few months after that, the rest of you out in the world suffered the isolation we'd been feeling.  The world seems to be getting just a little darker lately – it's ongoing, and it's tough for everyone – we understand that – and no one has been harder hit than the events industry. So we understand the risks involved in throwing parties in the current age. But... it is our hope, that those of you who've been before, will return to catch up with us, and with so many of your dear friends – because.... if things really are getting worse... well fuck. We need to get together at least once more – for last drinks and a boogie.   <3 to the tribes.

"never cut a long story short."

~Ranty McJangJang~