Groovin the Moo organisers are excited to bring the regional music festival back to Bendigo for the first time since 2019.
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Like so many other events, the festival was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
After a nervous start to the tour last weekend in Maitland and Canberra last weekend, the shortened tour will arrive in Bendigo on Saturday for its third and final show.
GTM promoter Stephen Halpin said a successful first weekend had lifted the spirits of both artists and crew.
"Everyone was a bit anxious and nervous for Maitland after three years of things stopping and starting, and trying to make ends meet," he said.
"The realisation we were actually going to do a festival was really fantastic. So everyone working on the festival were relieved to play in front of big crowd again.
"It brought a lot of optimism in our team and the bands that played. Bands like Hilltop Hoods and Peking Duk were standouts and drew the biggest crowds and Lime Cordiale, Mashd N Kutcher and Masked Wolf also went well."
"Hopefully the whole industry has turned a corner and this is the first step in a long road to whatever normal is."
While this year's GTM Bendigo is not a sold out event, Mr Halpin said he is still expecting a crowd of about 15,000 at the Prince of Wales Showgrounds.
"The mood has changed," he said. "It takes a while to change behaviours and after two or three years of not going out, people are taking a bit to warm up to big crowds again.
"We didn't expect (Bendigo) to sell out but we are going to have about 16,000 people there which is a good crowd.
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"We always expected this to be a 'get back first' step and next year we will back to a full tour including international artists.
"In the meantime, it is just great to be back in Bendigo. We are looking forward to being back at one of our favourite tour stops."
The relaxation of COVID-19 restrictions in Victoria means GTM patrons won't notice a major difference to how the festival operated when it was last here in 2019.
"We are encouraging people to use QR codes, it's hard to wear masks but we are careful with artists in the back of house," he said.
"They turn up, play their sets and leave again to minimise the risk. Touch wood, no one has picked it up and we will have the full line-up for Bendigo."
Mr Halpins aid the event will be fully staffed but that it was challenging to easily find staff members.
"All industries are struggling to find people to work," he said. "It's a flow-on from the backpackers and others who work the casual jobs.
"A lot of people have left the industry but in saying that, last week was a really joyous experience and Saturday in Bendigo will be a really great day. We are happy to be back."
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