In September 2024, Untitled Group was facing a monumental task. Their premier techno festival Pitch Music and Arts was yet to announce it’s 2025 dates following the cancellation of their 7th edition.
The money lost was in the millions and spelt trouble for organisers, staff and local towns of Ararat and Moyston who, in turn, would receive an economic injection of $397 million dollar if it was to go ahead.
After careful consideration, Untitled decided to pull the trigger and go all in, officially announcing their 8th edition of Pitch Music and Arts.
The team called in all their favours, jamming international juggernauts such as 999999999’s, FJAAK, Funk Tribu and Pagassi into the line-up whilst also booking Australia’s own DJ royalty such as Ollie Lishman, 6 sense and Ned Bennet.
But with bushfires pushing into the Grampians state forest over the Christmas period, VIC emergency issued a warning for the area surrounding Pitch. With tickets on final release, it put both organisers and punters at a standstill.
It looked like Pitch was cursed, another edition set to be cancelled due dangerous conditions.
But after organisers considered the possibilities, spoke to experts and worked with locals, the 8th edition received the green light.
The festival then changed its mission. Now, it was about more than just bringing music down under, it was about helping a community get back on its feet.
It created a vibe that no other music festival may ever match.
The crowd was bumper to bumper with everyone having the time of their lives.
Festival goers were happy that their favourite festival had created a chance for locals to rebuild following the bushfires.
This is Pitch Music and Arts 2025.
Journey/location
Located in the Grampians state forest just outside of Moyston Victoria, Pitch brings the sense of the “bush doof” to life. The ranging gumtrees combined with flat plains allows attendees to be entranced under the outstanding Australian landscape.
After the ten minute drive from Moyston, festival goers arrived at a campsite with five distinct coloured areas. With each area having their own vibe and facilities it definitely separated it from other multi-day festival experiences.
My group of mates managed to get a spot at the top corner of Green campsite, a five minute walk to the festival site, making it easy to go back to our camp to get food or extra drinks.
Pitch’s campsite gathered a sea of gazebos, tables, tents and other amenities, creating a sort of “glamping” experience. There were showers, water stations and help stations throughout the campsites too. However, although the water stations and help stations were a welcome addition, the shower situation needed to be improved with wait times being over 30 minutes.
As mentioned in PITCH Music & Arts Festival there was a considerable amount of dust at the location. The dry and hot landscape kicked up heavy amounts through the day and night.
Weather was also above 30 degrees all four days, but it was extremely unpredictable with heavy winds and unexpected rain on the third day.
The weather was so unpredictable that following the last set of the festival at 9pm there was flash flooding, gale force winds and lightning. Thankfully my friends and I left at 8.30pm, missing the storm. We found out later through social media that the camp grounds had been destroyed.
The weather did supply a challenge, but to be honest it added to the excitement throughout the 4 days.
First impressions
My first impression of Pitch Music and Arts is hard to put into words. The festival organisers and team created an environment that felt very present. The focus on hard-hitting techno and art complementing the festival’s music created a culture you had to be there to experience. This surreal environment trumped any festival experience by far, and with my next four days being guided by who plays when and at what stage, I felt excited.
What also caught my attention was the use of “doof sticks” and “doof carts”. This is where punter utilised objects or pictures are put on top of sticks to express themselves, adding lights and other inclusions to individualise each one. It acted as a sort of representation of each group and at night turned into a visual addition to stage lighting.
“Doof carts” are carts that attendees made and brought onto the festival grounds. Usually on wheels these carts carried Eskys, tables or umbrellas onto the dancefloor which resulted in an extra bit of individualisation, and jealously for people who didn’t have one.
The stages utilisation of shading created an awesome visual experience once I stepped foot into the festival. As the lights reflected off carefully placed tarps, it resulted in a reality bending vibe at night. This combined with art and lighting around the festival grounds added to its scale.
Stages
Pitch ONE
Pitch Black
Residential Advisor
Pitch ONE
Main Stage of Pitch Music and Arts
Designed by Henry Howson and Ambrose Zacharakis, with audio handled by Purple Audio, Funktion-One, and LX. Pitch ONE increased its cathedral like set up this year compared to previous iterations, resulting in an audio/sensory overload that gave those big acts the extra bang!
Standout acts:
- Job Jobse (NL)
- Anetha (FR)
- Surf 2 Glory (DE)
- Funk Tribu (CO)
- South Star (GER)
Pitch Black
New and improved showcase stage:
Designed by Studio John Fish and audio handled by Purple Audio using Funktion-One and lighting achieved through Focused Entertainment. Pitch Black was a standout addition to this year’s festival, transforming at night into a disco-esc club that provided an unforgettable setup that was constantly packed.
Standout acts:
- Ollie Lishman (Aus)
- Yasmin (IRE)
- Pegassi (BE)
- Different (DE)
- Ned Bennet (Aus)
Resident Advisor
Experimental music stage pulling huge acts:
Designed by studio John Fish who also did the lighting and visual with audio handled by Vero Funktion-One sound systems, The Resident Advisor stage used a watchtower to project changing images onto a red orb, complementing the range of techno to house music.
Standout acts:
- 999999999 (IT)
- Trym (FR)
- FJAAK (DE)
- Gabber Eleganza (IT)
- Funk Assault (CH/IT)
Alternative experiences
Pitch had a range of alternative experiences this year with three secret stages showcasing emerging and local talent from Australia. It allowed punters a chance to vary their experience and create lasting memories away from the main stage.
Club Sierra
A space crafted for the community, celebrating the energy, inclusivity and creativity of local talent. It allowed punters moving from the main stages to recharge and listen to some underground tunes.
Pitch Precinct
Designed by Kayzar and hosted by some of the country’s most dynamic and forward-thinking crews and collectives, this hidden hub was located just outside of the festival grounds near the campsites.
Pitch Pavilion
A hybrid habitat designed to explore and interact with tangible artworks, this area allowed punters to unwind with contemporary performances and immerse themselves in sonic landscapes and visual work.
Stores/food
Pitch had a huge food area for their 8th edition, addressing every craving following a long night of music. Some of the most popular stores included a boost-juice stand, gozleme, slovaki and dumplings. Open from 9:00 A.M. – 5:00 A.M. each day, it allowed a constant way to recharge and refuel before heading back to the stages.
Pitch also had pop-up stores from heavy hitters in fashion and style that organisers hand selected. Many stores leaned into the “Naarm core” style popular with the people of Pitch, giving shoppers the option to purchase sunglasses, masks, pashminas, shirts, shoes and hats. The most popular store was SE7EN clothing who served up top notch hats/shirts for ravers.
Music
One of the stand out draws for me from this festival was the music.
The festival’s focus on using techno, trance, hard-groove, UKG and house music sent dancefloors into a frenzy. When compared to many other festivals I have attended, the energy was bar none with each set utilising one of these styles to perfection.
Pitch’s reputation has allowed it to draw on many international artists over the years and this was no exception in their 8th edition.
If anyone was to try and break into this genre of music or festival, here are my 5 picks of songs by artists at Pitch 2025:
Flashback by Pegassi
2 THA 3 by Ollie Lishman
A little closer by Different
Miss you by Southstar
Flight FM by Joy Orbison
Art
The art of Pitch is what makes the festival in my opinion. The use of lighting and other worldly structures showcased the talent of the artists who put their heart and soul into these pieces, resulting in the reality-bending style that Pitch wanted to achieve.
Artists/lighting designers for the Pitch 2025 edition
- Georgia Treloar
- Sam Hayes
- Adnate
- Tetrik
- Melissa Gilbert (FFERINGS)
Vibe
Pitch produces a festival experience like no other, as mentioned in PITCH Music & Arts Festival the people are what made the festival. The openness, mate-ship and camaraderie between each attendee creates a vibe that added immensely to the Pitch experience.
There was also a present sense of escapism, both for me personally but for others I spoke to. For those four days many people only wanted to focus on Pitch, with the lack of mobile phone communication limiting distractions that took them away from the experience.
Expression was also a huge factor to the vibe of Pitch. With many leaning into the trends of festival it resulted in revellers donning outfits in the style of “Naarm core”. People also wore pashminas for sun protection and having other small things like fans and camelbacks for a way to keep cool.
For this edition, the festival also had an uplifting and euphoric vibe due to the festival’s commitment to proceed following the bushfires in surrounding areas. Whether it was a casual conversations or through speaking with people running the festival, everyone had positive things to say about how important this event was for the region and its mission to give back to the community.
There was also increased excitement this edition due to the cancellation of the 2024 edition.
People of Pitch
Throughout my time at the festival I wanted to branch out and speak to the people of Pitch, to understand how important this edition of the festival was. I managed to talk to some staff of Untitled Group, who later joined my friends and I at one of the festival sets following their rostered shift. I also spoke to some local boys who lived near the town of Ararat about how they were affected personally from the bushfires.
Codi and Angus: Staff under Untitled group
I met Codi and Angus entering the festival on the first day. Both of them were working the entrance scanning tickets and helping everyone they could. Working under Untiled group as casual employees they have been huge fans of techno for a few years now, considering this a dream job. After some back and forth at the entrance they decided to join my group for one of the sets on day 3, showing how down to earth these boys are:
Codi
“This is my third year working under Untitled, and honestly its a dream come true. My love for techno has landed me an awesome job and I would love nothing more than to share it with every mad lad entering the festival.”
Angus
“This year is already shaping up to be so good like the people who were waiting for the gates to open at 10am today were so excited. I’m even excited to give back to the community but to have an uninterrupted and more organised (compared to 2024 edition) doof”.
Dan and Jared: Local boys from Ararat
Dan and Jared live in the local town of Ararat. After having to evacuate their houses before Christmas, they were not too sure if they were going to see their homes again. Once they got the all clear from the fire services to return home, they later found out they had friends from school lose something close to them. After the 2025 edition got the go ahead, they grabbed their tickets and were excited to get amongst it.
Dan
“Pitch is huge for the surrounding towns, it brings in so much business to our town and the fact that we almost didn’t get it (Pitch 2025) this year would have destroyed the town after such a huge hit.”
Jared
“This is my 3rd Pitch, after last years cancellation, the vibes are so much higher, like everyone is here to forget and listen to some filthily techno, like how do I put it into words, like, everyone’s going to the local community BBQ at the food stalls wanting to help get some money to those affected.”
Closing thoughts
Pitch Music and Arts has every right to cement itself as the premier techno festival in Australia. The combination of organisation, location, audio, visual, music and vibe puts the festival well above any average going experience. The popularity of festivals sky-rocketing over the past couple of years can only spell good things, as many newcomers will experience a festival that may never be topped. Although the dust is plenty, weather unpredictable and that horrible shower situation, these are compromises that many look past when heading into the Grampians.
I also feel this year’s focus on helping a community get back onto its feet coupled with its double down approach after last year’s disaster pushed a notion of excitement and happiness. One of which that may not ever be replicated moving forward.
Pitch Music and Arts should be on any festival-goers bucket list, or any music enthusiast.
Photos by David Cass