Located in one of Australia’s first wine growing districts, Langhorne Creek’s Lake Breeze Winery played host to Handpicked Festival for the third consecutive year.
The Breeze stage saw an array of Australian artists perform, including massive Brisbane duo The Veronicas and the iconic noughtie’s band Killing Heidi headlining.
The family friendly festival showcased some of the region’s best local produce and wine, as well as The Lane, a hub for local artisans and craft shops to display their goods throughout the day.
The Barrell Bar was in full swing showcasing the host Lake Breeze’s delicious wines, and an array of food trucks selling everything from hot potatoes, Mexican feasts and gourmet German Haus Baskets.
Local gourmet foods
As well as food trucks, stalls selling local produce like cheese, milk and relishes tempted our palates, and the decadent delights saw no shortage of people lining up for a taste.
Honorable mentions must go out to local South Australian musicians, Sasha March, Thom Lion and The Tamers and Tympano for their crowd-pleasing afternoon performances.
Adelaide band Jesse Davidson performed a melodic set, with their indie tunes perfectly accompanying a wine in hand.
The Potbelleez
Changing the scene, The Potbelleez dance tracks were enthusiastically lead by front man singer Ilan Kidron, who rocked a flower crown and got the crowd pumping with their energetic set.
First of the headlining three acts of the night, British India’s grungy vibes flowed throughout the Melbourne bands awesome set, including the frequently played Triple J track I Thought We Knew Each Other.
Following British India was Killing Heidi – back for their first tour in 10 years! There was no doubt among the crowd that Killing Heidi absolutely killed it (sorry) on stage. Ella and Jesse Hooper, accompanied by their band, performed everything from the classic hit songs that we all came to know and love from watching Rage, to their first song, an acoustic track influenced by Heidi’s love of trees. Although there were a few minor sound hiccups, their set did not disappoint and had everyone singing along word for word.
The Veronicas
Insert some weather technicalities, The Veronicas were fashionably late – but nevertheless arrived onstage, donned in beanies and sincerely apologetic for the issues, before giving a stellar set! Completely saturated in the rain and dancing and singing to their new song In My Blood together with the golden oldies including Untouched, my inner fourteen-year-old self was wholly satisfied. For those who did not embrace the rain, they missed an impressive performance given the circumstances.
Despite the windy weather and the late evening rain (which was somewhat unfortunate for those camping) Handpicked Festival once again proved to be a fun day out for the whole family.
There was no shortage of food and wine coupled with beautiful music in amongst deckchairs, picnic rugs and flower crowns galore. We look forward to seeing what next year brings!
