Rain and cold winds swept through Forbes over the weekend but that didn't deter music lovers from across western NSW and beyond making their way to the town for Vanfest.
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As well as Forbes, people came from Nyngan, Narromine, Dubbo, Orange, Blayney, Nevertire and Grenfell.
The music festival was first brought to life in 2014 to great success, but just three years later was washed out due to heavy storms.
Then in 2018 the festival was cancelled following a series of recommendations presented to Forbes Council out of an auditors report that was prepared after the 2017 wash-out.
So with grey skies looming over the city, organisers would of undoubtedly been worried they were going to have another cancellation.
But luckily the rain wasn't heavy and the show went on with musical acts such as Nyxen, Thundamentals and Golden Features taking to the stage for day one.
Day two saw and end to the rain and possibly a big sigh of relief.
As well as bike show The Crusty Demons keeping the large crowd entertained, there was plenty of music on offer from artists such as Eves Karyda, Methel Ethel, Mallrat, Broods and Pnau on the Saturday.
Australian hip hop group Thundamentals were a huge hit on day one. Singer Jesse said it was a lot of fun performing.
"The crowd was just super responsive and kind and warm and generous with their reaction to what we were doing. So I was super happy with how the set went myself," he said.
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Brendan explained that this was there first time to the central west and that it was amazing to see so many people in the crowd despite the cold weather.
"It started sleeting and they're just super people out here who don't feel the cold... It's wild. Much love Forbes," he said.
Morgan said it's great to see their music reach people in not only regional but isolated areas too.
"To be able to connect with them in the flesh has been really important for both them and us," he explained.
"(When) You go out to more regional places you realise how big Australia is and how many people there are living outside of those big cities," Jesse added.
This was singer Mallrat's first time to Forbes and she said it was nice being able to catch up with other artists backstage and see them play.
"It was really cool to see Ruel play. I haven't seen him play before... but he's doing so well and he's so talented. So for me that has been something special about Vanfest," she said.
Taylor Jurd
Hi, my name is Taylor Jurd. I am a journalist with Australian Community Media, I write for the Western Magazine and Wellington Times.
Hi, my name is Taylor Jurd. I am a journalist with Australian Community Media, I write for the Western Magazine and Wellington Times.
