The festival was first held in 2014 on Phillip Island, just south of Melbourne.[7][8] From 2015 through 2019 it was held at Lardner Park, Warragul, east of Melbourne. In 2020 the festival was not held due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[9] In 2021 the festival was held at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl in Melbourne city, then in 2022 moved to Barunah Plains Homestead, about 1.5 hours drive west of Melbourne, where it has been held annually since. The Barunah Plains site encompasses a 100,000 square metre natural amphitheatre, from which the festival can be staged.[10]
Attire
Many people who attend BTV are referred to as the 'Naarmy Army', with attendees dressing in 'Naarmcore' style clothes. Naarmcore is a fashion trend that combines the Aboriginal name for Melbourne, Naarm, with the "normcore" style.[11] It became popular on TikTok and is characterized by clothing like puffer jackets, cargo pants, hiking boots, and beanies.
Popular clothing items worn at BTV include scarves, bleached hats, jorts, baggy shirts, and carabiners around one's pants.
Controversies
Festivalgoers in the 2022-23 edition of BTV were forced to wait upwards of eight hours in their cars in 37-degree heat, as the festival's traffic management plan came under scrutiny.[12]
^Welby, Augustus (11 December 2019). "How Beyond The Valley moves with the times without losing its roots". Beat Magazine. Retrieved 27 October 2020. BTV has never been a minor festival – 2014's inaugural event included international headliners MØ, AlunaGeorge and Danny Brown plus Allday, Pond and Peking Duk
^John, Brandon (2 October 2017). "The story behind the meteoric rise of Beyond the Valley". The Brag Media. Retrieved 10 November 2020. Beyond the Valley – a name that already feels like an established brand in the Australian music scene, and one of the mainstays of our yearly festival calendar.
^Rychter, Tacey (30 December 2014). "Beyond the Valley 2014". Broadsheet. Retrieved 27 October 2020. ...Phillip Island's brand new summer festival.
