There’s a reason why rock’s defining moments have happened in a field, somewhere. Hendrix at Woodstock, Zeppelin at Knebworth, Dylan at Newport – music played in the open air to thousands on a summer’s evening just has a sense of occasion to it.

Our weekend, while in no way as momentous, was the closest we could get – the inaugural Golden Plains event, held on a farm two hours northwest of Melbourne, Australia.

The last warmth of the summer (well, almost – we’ll explain later), thousands of shirtless people camping in a field and a select but catholic roster of musicians formed the classic foundation on which every great music festival has been built over the past three decades. Can you imagine if it snowed at Woodstock, 200 people went, and Neil Diamond headlined? Exactly. There’s a formula, and it never fails.
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