While the rest of Australia continues to battle new cases of COVID-19, Western Australia has been able to savour a new sense of freedom for the past few months with restrictions easing up. One privilege in particular has been the return of live music – which I, for one, won’t be taking for granted again.

With the current state calling for a celebration, Castaway Festival had decided to take things into its own hands by hosting Perth’s first major post-restrictions concert. Having postponed their beachside festival from March to December, this was another one of their welcome events – and one that was well-planned to go ahead, especially with Phase 5 delayed till August.

Either way, spirits were naturally high for the occasion, considering the concert was of such a huge calibre. For weeks, we’d all been looking forward to seeing local legends such as Crooked Colours, Slumberjack, ShockOne, Reija Lee and Tina Says take to the stage.

Thousands flocked to HBF Stadium on Saturday night, with many taking the chance to get dressed up despite the chilly weather. First up on the unashamedly all Western Australian lineup was the up-and-rising producer/DJ Tina Says, who’s no stranger to the festival circuit. Getting the party started, she commanded the crowd effortlessly with her head-bopping mixes and of course, her recent singles ‘Elevate’ and ‘Limbo’.

Appearing in matching white jumpsuits, Crooked Colours played next – but not without getting everyone to firstly make some noise for our coveted state premier, Mark McGowan. Clearly happy to be back at it, they jumped straight into their live performance with full force. With a flashing, multi-coloured light show and favourites like ‘I Hope You Get It’ and ‘Do It Like You’ sending everyone into a trance-like dance. With a slower piece like ‘Flow’ to round off their set, Crooked Colours set the tone for more to come.

At this point, everyone had let loose, seeing as they hadn’t had the chance to in months. Out of isolation and into our hearts, Slumberjack entered with a series of psychedelic, nature-themed and even church-inspired stage visuals. The globe-conquering duo excitedly introduced their brand new single, ‘Surrender’, before bringing out Sydnee Carter for ‘Afraid, Unafraid’. Lending her vocals for the track ‘Hide and Seek’, she’d easily gotten everyone dancing in the dark upon the first chorus. To say the three picked up the pace of night would be an absolute understatement.

Undeniably, Perth-born music producer, ShockOne, has also burst onto the scene and grown in popularity in recent years. His live performance at WA Unlocked only solidified his standings as one of WA’s best. His mastery of genres such as DnB, dubstep and electro house was on full display as he seamlessly jumped through a variety of electrifying mixes, leaving the crowd reeling for more.

Some of his more recent songs like ‘Dying Light’, ‘Pray for Me’, ‘A Dark Machine’ and ’Til Dawn’ completely drew in and captivated the audience. But it was the subtle touches, such as the stunning vocals from his sister Reija Lee and the homage paid to his roots – in remixing ‘Tarantula’ and ‘The Island Pt. 2 (Dusk)’ from Pendulum – that had the atmosphere reaching a whole other level of energy, with mosh pits aplenty. His high-energy remixes of ‘Blinded By The Light’ and ‘Heads Will Roll’ as well as ‘Better’ by What So Not were also received with much vigour.

Needless to say, it was an incredible pleasure to see WA come alive again – and kudos to the organisers for putting together such a successful event. It was well worth the wait to be reminded of how uplifting live music really is.