WA Day Festival – Jebediah, Little Birdy, Drapht, Voyager & more, 22-23 Nov 2025

WA Day Festival – Jebediah, Little Birdy, Drapht, Voyager & more, 22-23 Nov 2025
Burswood Park, Perth, Western Australia
Review & photography by Pete Gardner

Western Australia Day, the annual Public holiday for the state, celebrates the founding of the Swan River Colony in 1829 (much to the continuing annoyance of the people who already lived here) each year on the first Monday in June. Up until last year the annual concert showcasing the best of WA’s home grown talent was held on the preceding weekend, however, after the washout of the 2023 festival, when Amy Shark had her set pulled for fear of electrocuting the band as water poured through the tearing canopy onto the stage (which most believe was retribution from the weather gods for trying to bring in Non WA acts…) and the 2024 festival cancelled before it even began because of torrential rain (which again spared the organizers further embarrassment at their ill-conceived notion of hosting interstate acts, and thus thankfully sparing us all from Guy Sebastian), the festival has been moved to the far more stable climate of late November.

Although holding the festival the same weekend as The Ashes cricket test match being played in the stadium next door did cause some issues with parking. $45 to leave the car in the Casino’s multi story carpark is a bit steep for what is supposed to be a free family festival. At least the Australians thoroughly destroying the England side within two days meant those coming on Sunday did not have the same trouble finding a park.

Burswood Park itself was packed with funfair rides and stalls, food trucks and a Australian themed maze, where completing the maze meant finding ten Australian animals and answering questions such as what is WA’s state flower and was Nicole Kidman born in Australia (for the record she was born in Hawaii, but that’s not important right now). Correct answers went into a draw for a prize – I’ve had no phone call yet, but fingers are crossed…

The main event for us though is the music. Formerly called SOTA (State Of The Art) the WA Day concert has always been a showcase for the best in home grown talent, with such greats as Karnivool, John Butler and San Cisco headlining previous years.

With an all-West Aussie line up (the way it should always remain), curated by those wonderful folk at RTRFM, this year’s festival ran over two days with an eclectic line up of singer songwriters, rappers, Aus rock veterans and Australia’s Eurovision Superstars, Voyager.

Opening Day One’s proceedings is Ullah, an indie/folk singer songwriter and recently featured Triple J Unearthed Artist who played to the early small inquisitive crowd, with an energetic set including her singles If I Were A Fish and I Want It All.

First Nations Noongar artist and no stranger to the WA Festival stage Boox Kid brought his band to play an excellent set of cross-genre indie rock and electropop. The highlight of the set though was a song he dedicated to a friend who recently passed, singing in language, Boox Kid’s great voice carrying the emotion straight to the hearts of those listening.

Indie four-piece Smol Fish – also recently featured on Triple J’s Unearthed – showcased their playful sound with songs such Sad Girl Summer, and Get Over It. The laid-back indie sound was held together by the excellent work of drummer Cat Zoller giving a solid base to the lighter stripped back guitar and keyboards.

With proceedings well under way OrchXtra, a fusion of strings from the Perth Symphony
Orchestra and DJ, helmed by guitarist Steve Hensby and vocalist Mia Matthiessen, delivered a set of Aussie standards including Great Southern Land, and Black Fingernails, Red Wine, aided on Day One by the voice of actor and singer Lucy Durack, before the already full stage overflowed with a full contingent of bagpipes.

It is so good to see Voyager back on stage: after the triumph of their Eurovision performance in 2023 they were hit with Danny Estrin’s cancer diagnosis. Performing live once more after a hiatus for Danny to undergo treatment, the band were determined to enjoy themselves, especially as their set at the 2023 WA Day was cut short by the weather (though at least they got to play, which is more than Amy Shark managed…) A large crowd of Voyager fans also gathered to enjoy the show and were more than happy as the band ran over time to perform Promise to finish off the set.

In a changing of the guard, the Voyager crowd melted away to be replaced by a younger crowd eager to see South Summit, also no stranger to the WA Day festival, but now with solid chart success behind them. South Summit have matured as a band since I first saw them at WA Day back in 2021, delivering a solid set of indie rock and reggae, including a wonderful cover of Roxanne, confirming their solid reggae chops.

Veteran Perth hip hop artist Drapht headlined Saturday night, showcasing a set from across his 20-year career. Drapht delivered an energetic set and was joined on stage by guests Bitter Belief and Complete, all charging around the stage and leaping between the bass monitors, engaging his fans singing along to the hits. At the end of the set, it was great to see Drapht jumping into the pit to chat with fans and take a few selfies, rather than just disappearing off the stage.

Day 2 started well, with plenty of free public parking available following the wanton vandalism of the England batting order by the Aussie cricketers the day before. Obviously, the only losers being those holding tickets for day 3 of the test… This meant we arrived in plenty of time for a quick go on the dodgems and a visit to the bar before the first band.

Kicking off the show, Dolce Blue, a four piece from Kalamunda also featured on Triple J’s Unearthed, serenaded the early crowd, with vocalist Veronica Zurzolo evoking a Rita Hayworth silver screen vibe dressed in long black dress and white faux fur stole, as she crooned her indie pop vocals before shredding away on the electric guitar.

18-year-old singer songwriter Mariae Cassandra dominated the stage for her set, bringing along a troupe of fans cheering and singing along. I saw Mariae play at Hyperfest back in March, and in the intervening months her stagecraft has grown immensely, as she commanded the stage with her energy and really engaged her audience, making the effort after her set to meet and chat with her fans.

Noongar rapper Flewnt was another commanding presence, bringing another change in the crowd gathered in front of the stage, many making the trip to Burswood just to see Flewnt perform. With lyrics evoking his own lived experience and that of indigenous youth, he was joined on stage by his son Inkabee, who although only 13 shows all the rapping skills of his dad. The father/son duo have performed across the US, including a spot on last year’s Americas Got Talent, and after touring widely through Australia and regional WA, the Burswood crowd were fully appreciative of a welcome homecoming performance here in Boorloo.

Orchxtra returned to the stage for a second helping, helmed again by Steve Hensby, but this time joined by End of Fashion frontman Justin Burford leading the charge with Its A Long Way to the Top (if you Wanna Rock and Roll) with the bagpipe ensemble (apparently the same ensemble that a certain Mr Bon Scott used to play with…) invading the stage once again for the finale.

By now the crowd was growing for the two headline bands, and Little Birdy were greeted
enthusiastically by the crowd. The rain had been threatening through the afternoon, but after a couple of short showers had thankfully held off, the wind was decidedly picking up.

As Katy Steele made her way to the front of the stage, the tarp on the front had broken free in the wind, and billowed up, hiding the solid edge. Katy took one more step forward and vanished, falling five feet landing behind the bass monitor. Security rushed in and she emerged looking understandably shaken.

After a short break, no doubt for a quick check for concussion and broken bones, the band reappeared with Katy, obviously in pain, powering her way through the set playing and singing like a true professional refusing to let the crowd down. On Katy’s Facebook on Monday morning, she confirmed four broken ribs. That’s one hell of a rockstar performance!

The weekend was topped off with a stellar performance from Jedediah celebrating 30 years in the business with frontman Kevin Mitchell showing why the band is still at the top of its game in 2025, performing a string of hits to the delight of their very solid fanbase who had made their way to the barrier.

As the usual celebratory fireworks rang out the end of another WA Day weekend, It is easy to be cynical about any event sponsored by the State government, but this is a (mostly) well-run family event that showcases the best of Western Australian talent, so long may it continue.

Category: Live Reviews, Photo Galleries