“We had her [name] written on our wall in the office,” says Christian Serrao, director of Beyond The Valley, about a certain elusive Canadian pop superstar. “We were manifesting with our team [how] we were going to book her.”

Sorcery, wishful thinking or just canny booking, the manifestation came true: Nelly Furtado has agreed to headline the return of Beyond The Valley. But it came down to the wire.

“She actually confirmed the night before the line-up was announced,” says Serrao. “This is the first performance for her in Australia for twenty years. I cannot be more excited for her performance on New Year’s.”

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The rest of the 2022 iteration of the regional Victoria music festival is equally stacked, with scheduled performances from Diplo, Confidence Man, Denzel Curry and a bunch more. Serrao is remaining hush on all the details, but this year’s upsized festival will feature a bigger stage with some special design features.

“I’m not going to reveal too much about it because it’s always a surprise,” says Serrao. “But we’re doubling the size of the stage this year because of the size of the crowd. We’ve also redesigned our dance tent stage - it’s bigger, longer, wider. Our LED screens we had in the past are going to be featured again, but again, bigger.”

The concept of a bigger return for Beyond The Valley has been years in the making – a time that spans both a global pandemic and a shift from its traditional home in Lardner Park, Gippsland, to a new site at Barunah Plains, about an hour’s drive west of Geelong.

“Chaotic is probably the main word for the last couple of years,” says Serrao. “We've grown up and so has the festival with us. It’s a new chapter as we return as a traditional camping festival while embracing a very new site at Barunah Plains. It means a lot to us as a team to host the best festival experience possible."

The new site at Barunah Plains is hefty, set on a 100,000sqm natural amphitheatre and nearly doubling the site capacity. “At Lardner Park we had 280 acres and our new site is 660 acres,” says Serrao. “In terms of size, it’s bigger than the Coachella site.”

The expansion also means more room for off-stage shenanigans. Beyond the main stage line-up, this year’s festival will see the return of the Beach Club, which this year will feature pools within the stage’s line of sight, as well as the diminutive Schmall Klub.

“It’s accessed by the back of a portaloo toilet and we will not be revealing where it’s located,” says Serrao. “It’s completely up to you to find out where it is.” You’ll also find a stage dedicated to live podcast recordings like Dylan Alcott’s Listenable, drag bingo from Poof Doof, a market and a whole lot more.

Beyond The Valley tickets are on sale now. If you don't have New Year's Eve plans yet, you can also grab a single day pass. See more information and the full line-up.

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