Fifteen Years, One River and a Very Good Line-Up

For 15 years, Riverboats Music Festival has kept things beautifully simple: one stage beneath the river red gums.

No timetable clashes, a few thousand music fans and the Murray rolling past in the background. In 2027, it returns to Echuca-Moama with The Cat Empire, The Waifs, Spiderbait, Troy Cassar-Daley, Fanny Lumsden, Floodlights and plenty more.

Set on Yorta Yorta Country on the banks of the Murray, Riverboats Music Festival has never tried to be the biggest festival in the country. That's part of its charm. You find a spot under the gums, settle in and let the music come to you.

Fifteen years on, that formula hasn't changed much. Riverboats remains proudly independent and regional at a time when putting on music festivals has rarely been tougher, and its anniversary line-up moves comfortably between rock & roll, country, folk, soul and hip-hop.

Friday opens with Milly Strange and Naarm rockers Floodlights, before Spiderbait close the night in a way that's unlikely to be particularly quiet. Saturday brings Fanny Lumsden, Kaitlin Keegan, Ella Thompson, Mulga Bore Hard Rock and Henry Wagons, before The Cat Empire return to Riverboats for the first time since 2014.

Sunday shifts gears with New Zealand-born songwriter Nadia Reid, Claire Anne Taylor and Frankston rock & rollers The Gnomes, followed by one of Australia's great country storytellers, Troy Cassar-Daley. Then The Waifs bring the anniversary weekend home — a band whose songs about roads, places and lives lived along the way feel particularly well suited to an evening beside the Murray.

RocKwiz favourite Brian Nankervis returns to steer things across all three days, while away from the main stage one of Riverboats' best traditions is back: intimate paddlesteamer shows aboard the 110-year-old PS Pevensey. The Herd, Felix Riebl, Pierce Brothers and others will perform as the old paddlesteamer makes its way down the Murray, with the small-capacity shows traditionally among the first tickets to disappear.

There's also Riverboats Yoga at the Port of Echuca for the first time on Saturday and Sunday mornings — which, depending on how Friday and Saturday nights go, could prove a very good idea.

Part of Riverboats' appeal has always been that the festival doesn't take over the entire weekend. Echuca-Moama's pubs, restaurants, cafes and accommodation are within easy reach, while unlimited pass-outs mean you can wander into town, grab a meal or a beer and make your way back to the music when you're ready.

It feels less like being trapped inside a festival site and more like a country weekend away with a very good soundtrack.
Three-day adult tickets are $260, with single-day and children's tickets also available. Tickets go on sale Thursday 8 October at 9am.

After 15 years, Riverboats doesn't need to reinvent itself. The river is still there, the red gums are still there and there's still one stage with no clashes.

Sometimes keeping things simple is exactly what makes them last.