INTO THE MOSH 128: PITCH MUSIC & ARTS FESTIVAL
By Alex Tarran.
Back for another year at the Grampians dancing in the dust, and dare I say it was the best Pitch yet.
This year featured a newly added rock pool, the pavilion, art installations, and of course three new and improved stage designs.
The crowd at Pitch all seemed to be there for the right reasons - everyone wanted to let loose, have a boogie, and escape reality.
Highlight Sets 2026. Graphic by Alex Tarraran. Photos sourced Resident Advisor
The lineup was stacked with over 60 international and local artists, blessing our ears with world-class progressive techno, UKG, bass, and everything in between. Compared to previous years, the overall sound felt lighter and groovier with many DJs spinning tracks from the 90s and early 2000s.
Girls Don’t Sync, Bella Claxton, Yasmin Gardezi, Sam Alfred, WOLTERS, Benwal, The Trip, Ewan McVicar, Kyle Starkey, Faster Horses and Job Jobse, were some of my highlight sets from the weekend.
A strong Aussie presence ran through the lineup, including Alfred, WOLTERS, STÜM, and the last minute addition of Bella Claxton.
A lot of sets leaned into leftfield, hypnotic tech and progressive tech, pushing boundaries and creating fresh remixes. DJs layered elements of the tracks as they transitioned between songs, with gradual build ups and satisfying drops.
The Melodic 90s and 2000s tracks shone through, with some of my all time favourites…
Top Nostalgic Tracks 90-200’s. Graphic by Alex Tarraran
Bitter Sweet Symphony: Faster Horses closing set at Pitch One, slow dancing with my friends and feeling so grateful for everything.
On a Night like This, Kylie Minogue: Picture this - Closing song of Pitch, Job Jobse playing at Pitch One, 15-minutes overtime, the sun setting over the grampians, bubbles in the air, surrounded by all your favourite people.
Stage Design
The architecture of the stages themselves was impressive and clearly a lot of effort had been put into mastering not only the aesthetics, but the optimal AV systems that would ensure the best possible sound quality and visuals with the lighting. This year there seemed to be minimal-no audio hiccups, with high sound quality of sets and smooth transitions between sets - some sets almost felt like the DJs had preplanned the transitions.
Pitch One
Back with a brutalist-style concrete architecture, accompanied by fabric shade stretched across the dance floor, it sought to “create a threshold where light, sound, and bodies gather within a constructed void” - Designers Alterplace.
The minimalist design and neutral colours of the open stage enabled it to be purely shaped by the sound and visuals of each set.
Daytime sets felt dystopian, with the monolithic structure revealed, smoke in the air, and the rugged mountain backdrop to the west. Transitioning from day to night sets in this space felt like a completely different space, as the dark ambient lighting deepened the structure, presenting a void with more depth.
Pitch Black
Inspired by Berlin’s iconic underground and historic amphitheaters, Pitch Black did not disappoint. Some called it the ‘MCG’ or the ‘Colosseum’ - the crowd filled the insides, surrounded by a dual-level scaffold balcony overlooking the dance floor.
It was a 360° experience standing in the centre of the mosh - sound coming from every direction and lasers cutting across the Moyston night sky.
For the most part we were able to have a fulfilling experience across all three stages, with reasonable crowd control. The openness of Pitch One meant that the crowd could circle around the outskirts of the fabric shade. However Pitch Black was a more intimate space surrounded by the scaffolding parameter. Whilst this enhanced the experience for those inside, it was not able to accommodate the thousands of attendees.
RA Stage
The Studio Raito stage designers brought a new structural design to RA 2026.
Light-radiating towers, featuring cascading translucent tape, created a raw, fluid space.
Although a part of me was reminiscing last year’s giant red-orb - something that I think will always have a place in my heart.
Food Trucks
Like any other Untitled event, the food truck selection was immaculate. Anything your heart desired - from the infamous Community BBQ to crispy Chicken Schnitty, to fresh acai bowls - there was something to satisfy every craving.
Boost gets a special shout out for the inclusion of a “Pitch Crush” to its menu.
Banana, passionfruit, strawberries, mango, coconut water, sorbet & ice… Waking up in a stinking hot tent on Monday morning in 30° heat after 3 days of dancing, this smoothie revived me.
Rock pool
The introduction of a rock pool this year was by far one of the best decisions.
Having a dip in the reservoir was the perfect way to cool off on the final 30-degrees day. After getting our boost, my friends and I bee-lined straight for the Rock pool, which was popping off.
They even had wellness activities on offer at the pool, including massages (ranging from 10-40mins), and Red-Light Therapy. These services could be tailored between relaxation, remedial, and osteopathic body work sessions, providing a chance for recovery from the festival.
Art
Three featured artworks this year - Chocolate Goblin by Travis Ficarra, Axis by Luke George and Phaenomen and SEEP by House of Vnholy and Marcus Whale.
Each contributing to the theme of “building and re-building worlds,” by transcending space and time.
Chocolate Goblin by Travis Ficarra, Photo by Vidya.
Ficarra’s iconic Chocolate Goblin, was impossible to miss against the natural horizon of the Grampians. The three- metre-tall glossy sculpture represented the liberation felt at a music festival, escaping reality.
Whilst these pieces were impressive, it felt like there was less focus on the quantity of art pieces this year, with a greater focus on the music.
The Pavillion
The program mixed daytime creative workshops and talks with evening performances and live sets.
Over the weekend, activities included UnitePlayPerform sessions like clay play, colour bomb, kinship, bead-making and movement workshops, along with Pitch Talks before the space shifted into live sets, and collaborative performances running into the early morning.
We caught up with artists backstage to play Would You Rather and the answers did not disappoint.
Featuring Benwal, this one gets surprisingly chaotic.
From the dance floor to the questions - we caught up with Benwal at Pitch Music & Arts Festival for a quick Q&A in the middle of the madness.
Alex and Mikalah Watego, who has been redefining Australia's underground electronic music scene played a quick game of Would You Rather, and also joined us for a Q&A.