The Australian: Will we ever have fun like this?

By Geordie Gray

Most of us, except for those with lax parents, were too young to experience Big Day Out. The music festival that defined live music in Australia has remained a mythical institution. A psychedelic vision of havoc and freewheeling fun. We’ve devoured photos of sloppy and sweaty crowds, cooking under the sun, totally at liberty from their phones; and have watched blink-182’s 2000 headlining slot so may times we can recite the stage banter verbatim.

Photographer Sophie Howarth experienced it all. Her latest exhibition, Homage to the Chicks, is a collection of 126 photographs from her time as a live music photographer in the 1990s and 2000s. The National Art School graduate was the official photographer for the Big Day Out; she’s shot legends like Patti Smith, PJ Harvey, Bikini Kill and Soundgarden; worked alongside record labels, and toured with bands.