Palm Tree Music Festival Review

Header Image supplied (@JAREDLEIBOWITZ Sydney Palm Tree Festival 2023)

I just had the most iconic weekend ever. Why, you might ask? Oh, because I was basically front row for The Chainsmokers... no big deal. 

That’s right — I got to fulfil my fantasy of attending a classic tropical EDM festival without having to travel overseas. Palm Tree Music Festival, launched in 2020 by Kygo and Myles Shear, made its return to Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne this year and it certainly lived up to my expectations.

From the moment I arrived, the vibes were high. Picture this: you’re at Sidney Myer Music Bowl, the sun is shining on a perfect Melbourne day, and there's that sweet pre-Christmas energy in the air. You can feel the buzz building as the crowd waits for the massive acts to take the stage. Chills. Literal chills.

Naarm/Melbourne DJ Darley kicked things off with a smooth start. Then it was time for American singer-songwriter Daya to take over and I was so ready for this. I’ve been a fan of hers for ages so hearing her live was a treat. She opened with one of my favourite tracks, ‘Insomnia’, before diving into a mashup of her 2015 hits Hide Away and Sit Still, Look Pretty (yep, the one from Pitch Perfect 3). She sounded amazing, especially considering she mentioned she was feeling under the weather!

Next up was Austin Millz, who took things up a notch with his groovy selection of house music. His set was full of TikTok remixes, including his viral take on Beyoncé’s ‘CUFF IT’ and Marshall Jefferson’s classic ‘Move Your Body’.

By the time Gryffin hit the stage, the place was filling up quickly. His mix of sentimental dance music had us all in our feels but in the best way possible. He brought out some massive bangers like ‘All You Need to Know’, ‘Woke Up in Love’, ‘Tie Me Down’ and a surprise performance of ‘Feel Good’ with Daya. Gryffin made it even more epic by rocking the electric guitar while pyrotechnics casually went off around him. It doesn’t get much better than that.

Or so I thought...

Enter Peking Duk. These guys know how to throw a party. Their set was an absolute blast, covering decades of music and keeping the crowd dancing non-stop. They were only called in a few days before to replace Alesso, who had to pull out due to health issues, but you’d never have known. Their energy was infectious and the classics like ‘Fire’ and ‘Stranger’ never disappoint. And of course, you can’t forget about Adam Hyde’s signature sway. 

Finally, it was time for The Chainsmokers. Alex Pall and Drew Taggart’s 100 minute set was giving college frat party energy, with plenty of dubstep bangers, crowd favourites like ‘Paris’ or ‘Closer’ plus quality tracks from artists like Calvin Harris and John Summit. ‘Roses’, ‘All We Know’ and ‘Don’t Let Me Down’ (featuring Daya again) really did it for me though. It’s always a strange feeling seeing an artist live for the first time as an adult when they’ve soundtracked your teenage years. Nonetheless, I really enjoyed myself.

One of the best things about this festival was that general admission ticket holders had access to both the lawn and the stalls. I didn’t know this at first, but it felt like such a luxury. I'd never experienced that kind of flexibility at this venue before, and it really added to the overall experience. It was the cherry on top of a fantastic Sunday.

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