By Tanya Steele
Belgrave is the site set for an alt-country music celebration and for its third year running host the End of the Line festival on Saturday 23 November.
People are invited from the hills and beyond to catch the train to Belgrave and catch some tunes from a bevy of bands in the day long festival.
Place-making Coordinator Jeremy said Belgrave was chosen by organisers because they thought it was a fantastic place to bring new audiences from down the line up into the township.
“To share the love of who we are and what we do, and get some new energy buzzing in our backyard, up in the hills with an incredible lineup of acts,” he said.
“It will be an amazing day all around, it’s going to be quite a great day for the hills.”
The Dandenong Ranges will host Slingers and The Fools will headline, with additional performances from Half Cut Hicks, rising country artist Madi Colville Walker, and young singer songwriter Terra Rouge, an alum of Garage Band 2023.
Presented by Always Live and Metro Trains – End of the Line is part of a series of free, family-friendly events being put on across Victoria and is supported by PBS 106.7FM.
Getting onboard for the fun, President of the Belgrave Traders Association Josh said the association is excited for the big day.
“We’ve supported it and have added a few things – we’re obviously happy to get involved as well, it will be held in the main street of town,” he said.
“All of the traders that are on board to provide services and offerings for the day.”
Josh said the well-known local band Half Cut Hicks should pull a big crowd.
“They’re really fun, they play foot stomping and bluegrass kind of stuff,” he said.
Joel from Half Cut Hicks said the band haven’t played this gig before but they are really excited to be part of it.
“We love playing family-friendly gigs—it’s always great to see kids getting into some great live music,” he said.
“Earlier this year, we played Summer Sounds and the Boolarra Folk Festival, both are family-friendly festivals with great vibes – so we’re hoping for the same atmosphere at End of the Line.”
The band have had a recent break from gigging over the winter to record a new album and Joel said they are all itching to get back on stage.
“It’ll be fantastic to share the stage with hitters like The Slingers and Terra Rouge,” he said.
“We’re planning to bang out a family-friendly “PG” set featuring our unique take on alt-country hillbilly punk shenanigans.”
Not to be confused with the End of the Line festival that was previously held in Belgrave on the last Saturday of November annually pre-covid, Josh and Jeremy said the name End of the Line was never officially trademarked.
“I think Belgrave may have coined the therm end of the line, the moniker was started by a couple of locals – many, many years later, now it’s been either affectionately respun or accidentally re-coined,” said Jeremy.
“It’s a great term and perfect for Belgrave,” he said.
Always Live is a state-wide celebration of contemporary live music and the largest of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere, bringing music experiences to Melbourne and across Victoria.
“It’s amazing to have been chosen and fantastic for the traders,” said Jeremy.
Jeremy said that being part of such a big series of events is a great for the community.
“We get to be a part of this sort of chain of electricity, which is amazing,” he said.
“It’s great for our local communities to see new acts. It’s incredible for new audiences to come and experience Belgrave as well.”
Joel said End of the Line is a fantastic concept.
“Hills folk should encourage their city-slicker friends to hop on a train and head out to Belgrave for a day of great music,” he said.
End of the Line is a free family event happening on 23 November at the Cnr Burwood Highway and Terrys Ave, Belgrave, on Wurundjeri Woiwurrung country.
