EXCLUSIVE: It’s Nice To Be Alive as Ball Park Music prepare to headline Busselton’s Out of the Woods festival

Only days away from the one of WA’s largest music festivals in over two years, held right in the heart of the South West, headline act Ball Park Music sat down with the South Western Times to share how they are preparing to bring their joyous indie anthems to the stage. Out of the Woods Festival is set to take over Busselton Foreshore for two days from April 23 and 24, with major Australian and international headline acts including Angus and Julia Stone, Hermitude, The Jungle Giants, Grinspoon and Ball Park Music. And the five-piece band Ball Park Music are no novices to the Australian festival scene, after first forming in 2008 and repeatedly finding themselves on the ARIA Music charts, the band continues to draw in huge crowds through every festival circuit and record tours. Releasing one of their most popular tracks It’s Nice to Be Alive more than a decade a go, Ball Park Music have helped define the Australian indie pop music landscape. Preparing to take stage as one of the headlining acts on Sunday’s line-up with a couple of new records from their upcoming album Weirder & Weirder, lead vocalist and guitarist Sam Cromack told the South Western Times the chance to play live again feels almost like a dream. “The last couple of years have been particularly difficult and we have remained pretty realistic about what the industry has looked like, but we are loving every show we are doing at the moment and it still feels like a miracle we get to play so we can’t wait,” he said. “I still can’t believe that we are one of the headlining acts, we did a separate show (earlier this month) too and it doesn’t really hit me until we get to the dressing rooms and see the running order of the day and are like ‘Oh wow, we are last’,” he laughed. “It is pretty surreal sometimes, I don’t think it will ever sink in.” Following the band’s highly successful self-titled album in 2020, OOTW audiences will get a sneak peek into two new records of their seventh studio album, including the album’s first single Sunscreen which came in at No.21 in this year’s ABC Triple J Hottest 100 countdown and debuted at No.2 on the ARIA Album charts. “We have two new songs in the set that are from the new record which we are so excited to play,” Sam said. “Sunscreen came out last year so I think we are finally getting the hang of playing it. It always takes a while to get used to playing something new and settle into place, but it’s starting to feel really good.” “We are also playing our brand new single, Stars In My Eyes which we have only payed it twice so far but I am just looking for placed to play it live to find my feet with it.” “We are doing a pretty good job but I’m excited to get better and see the crowds reaction to it, because that’s also one of the best parts.” Ball Park Music were meant to grace WA last year for the annual Hot Dub Wine Machine festival. However, because of ongoing border restrictions placed by the State Government, the Brisbane gang was forced to cancel their residency on the festival’s set list. “Missing out on Wine Machine was especially crushing, we were really looking forward to that event after what was such a tough year,” Sam said. “I just remember it was such a rollercoaster of emotions and it came right down the the eleventh hour and it just wasn’t meant to be, and we were pretty broken-hearted.” Only days away from the festival, Ball Park are prepped and ready to leave Brisbane and rendezvous with the South West and celebrate some of Australia’s best music. “We are so keen to finally get into WA, it’s been a while so we are stoked,” he said. “Our keyboard player Paul Furness plays keys for Miiesha, and seeing her live will be probably at the top of our sets we are keen to watch. “ “Paul has played for her for a while, but we haven’t had a chance to see them play together yet and seeing him play will be quite novel to us.” Out of the Woods is just the start for Ball Park Music’s massive plans for 2022, giving the group a chance to wiggle around on stage before releasing the new record and taking it on tour. “The record comes out at the start of June, so everything we are doing now is gearing up for its release and the tour,” Sam said. “The weeks are pretty busy at the moment, we are working on merch designs and rehearsals and a billion things to organise. It is so much fun though, it’s a very different creative mode to making a record and I’ve hardly touched a guitar or piano to write a song. “It’s been a lot of fun to play shows and just have some fun with our music while we do all the heavy preparation.” Ball Park Music will take on the stage at Out of the Woods on Sunday with their set kicking off at 7.15pm on the Paddock Stage.