A HITCH TO THE STICKS FESTIVAL – NOVEMBER 2019
“Not so much a ticket, but a portal to the greatest weekend of my life!”– Punter
The world-first festival sensation A Hitch To The Sticks (AHTTS) returns in 2019 with a huge reveal for the Wangaratta community and wider regions.
Earlier this year, Rural City of Wangaratta announced they were searching for an event to fill in for this year’s Wangaratta Jazz Festival’s calendar event while their committee gears up for the beloved festival’s 30th Anniversary in 2020. It can now be revealed that A Hitch To The Sticks is their frontrunner from 6 stellar submissions.
A Hitch To The Sticks was born when Wangaratta-bred Australian rock legend/co-festival director Dallas Frasca joined forces with her business partner Renee Delahunty. The pair’s mission? To bring city and regional punters together for a celebration of live music that embraces regional history, local artists and produce, indigenous culture and unique event spaces while utilising Wangaratta’s spectacular country landscape as its backdrop.
A world-first concept, AHTTS ran two enormously successful events across North East Victoria in 2018 with music lovers treated to exclusive performances by renowned Australian and international headliners including, but not limited to, Whitfield Crane (Ugly Kid Joe), Kate Ceberano, Jebediah, Killing Heidi and Tim Rogers (You Am I). The March incarnation of A Hitch To The Sticks attracted a staggering 4,600 music fans to events, injecting over $392,000 into the local economy.
As part of A Hitch To The Sticks’ ongoing commitment to reinvigorating the North East Victorian live music scene, The Rodeo Grounds (behind the Showgrounds) will be activated as a brand new live music location for the region and will be host to one of the three, huge family-friendly events that’s set to take place over the Melbourne Cup weekend as a part of the program.
Frasca says: “Renee and I knew how special The Rodeo Grounds as soon as we entered the gates – surrounded by big trees, and green grass, hugged by the mighty Ovens River and the Bulawa Trail to lead you there – we knew it was the perfect place to host one of the biggest live music events Wangaratta has ever seen! We believe the community will love and embrace this space as their own, and we cannot wait to reveal the incredible line-up we have curated. We can guarantee that there’s something in it for everyone.”
Among A Hitch To The Sticks 2019’s headline acts there will be a strong contingent of local North East Victorian musicians as well as opportunities for up-and-coming local artists and businesses to be involved.
AHTTS festival is also offering an opportunity for local businesses from the Wangaratta region to apply to be a part of the program in 2019. If your business offers something unique and ‘out of the box’ – and has the capacity to host 50 VIP, A Hitch To The Sticks VIP bus ticket holders then AHTTS wants you to host one of the secret gigs over the weekend. Do you own a hairdressing salon, horse stable, backyard shed, burger place, venue, exhibition space or underground cellar? Yep, they could all work! We’re keen to repurpose spaces to ensure our VIP humans experience what the locals can offer and maybe even a surprise superstar might appear in your unconventional setting.
For locals wishing to experience A Hitch To The Sticks 2019, weekend and individual event passes will be available for purchase very soon. But what you really want is to be one of only 50 bus ticket holders/VIP Humans.
With Dallas as your host, VIP passengers will be treated to a three-day musical bus safari, which takes off from (and returns to) the Melbourne CBD and includes exclusive access to six events that will be held at secret locations (celebrity hitchhikers, singalongs and maybe even the adventure of your life) as well as all three public events. Be quick, because this VIP experience always sells out! Early Bird Tickets on sale April 12th.
And while we’d love to tell you everything that’s in store for the VIP bus ticket holders, we simply can’t out of respect for the tradition of the road: what happens on tour, stays on tour.
20+ acts, 3 public events, 6 secret events, 3 days, 1 bus