Festival Review
SplendourXR
Ambitiously transporting punters to the Parklands… and a whole new world.
Instead of piling into a van on the way to Byron Bay, this year we rolled out of bed and straight into the lounge room for the biggest weekend plans a Melburnian has had all year. Eager for the 60+ hours of curated content from the team at Splendour, we logged into the world of SplendourXR; beer in hand and ready for anything. As the direct result from $1.5 million in funding from the RISE government initiative, the experience developed by Sansar captured everything you could imagine at a weekend festival. We selected our avatar and walked through the gates of the festival and towards our first act of the day.
SplendourXR showcased an incredible mix of Australian and International talent, so we found ourselves a little spoilt for choice. Wondering whether to stick to the acts we knew and loved, or to venture out on a quest of self discovery in the hope of having a new favourite band at the end of the weekend, SplendourXR allowed us the chance to choose both. We took any opportunity we could to wander around aimlessly between sets to get the full festival experience. When we weren’t at the Amphitheatre, Mixup Stage or the GW McLennan stage watching acts, it was great to wander around and explore all that was on offer at SplendourXR, from the Global Village to the Tipi Forest, and even the Smirnoff Seltzer ‘The Wilds’. We even dropped by Forum Comedy to watch some pre-recorded shows filmed recently in Melbourne, from Australia’s favourite comedians.
One of the best things about attending an online music festival is that there were less set clashes than usual, and instead of getting our steps in rushing between stages, we were able to leisurely enjoy each artist and take in the entire experience. It was amazing that every set throughout the weekend interpreted the assignment of preparing for a VR festival differently, and the interesting creative decisions that accompanied each artists live set.