OPCON presents MSFest 2010 Launceston Saturday February 6

2010 has, once again, been hailed an outstanding success, with police, security, and St Johns ambulance crews all agreeing with event management that, despite a sellout crowd, festival goers were generally well behaved, with a happy, relaxed attitude present throughout the entire day.

Despite a stormy lead up to the event Tassie proved the old saying, "If you don't like the weather, wait 5 minutes." , and turned it on for the tourists, with clouds clearing to deliver a picture perfect 24C day. 

The energy of the crowd was palpable as they spilled into the main arena and punters were well and truly fired up by 1.40p.m when ARIA Award winning, Jessica Mauboy, hit the stage. It was abundantly clear that this was who many of the younger fans had come to see. But as the sultry soulstress launched into the chart- buster, 'Dressed for Success', many an older punter was lured into singing along.

Short Stack were out to prove that first impressions last as they exploded onto the msfest main stage for their first visit to Tasmania. The boys were met by a barrage of screaming girls as they launched into their hit single, 'Shimmy A Go Go', but quick thinking security managed to keep them from boiling over with the aid of expertly wielded garden hoses.

In front of the main stage was no place for the faint hearted as Parkway Drive got hardcore and heavy, causing a frenzy of fist pumping and head banging with pockets of energetic slam dancing forming in the mosh pit. Front man, Winston McCall, commanded the stage with his intimidating vocals, channeling a voice from a much scarier place.

Kate Miller Heidke was nothing less than perfect as she took the crowd on a journey with her hooky, experimental style. The quirky, but unashamedly pop performance interspersed with spine tingling operatic vocals brought a whole new dimension to the stage that left the punters wondering what could possibly be next.

Members of the VIP Red Diamond Lounge were coaxed from their comfy seats to line the fence and join in the spirited singalong sparked by the unmistakable "Hey Boys And Girls"  being belted out by Evermore.

As the sun began to set, heavy rock favourites,  Karnivool, kept temperatures high as they tested the fortitude of audio equipment and front row punters alike amping things up to a whole new level. Punters were hoisted shoulder high and bounced in unison as intense bass man, Jono was true to his word "turning it up" and "playing it loud".

Well before they exploded onto the main stage, scorching-hot, hip-hop act Bliss N Eso  were already out mixing it up with the fans signing autographs with a seemingly endless line of punters. And the fans were not left disappointed as the boys took the stage and delivered an exhilarating performance which was beamed out across the park on the massive, high definition LED screens

As the festival hit fever pitch, and the clear night's sky was filled with the pastel colours of glow sticks in the thousands, punters were spoilt for choice, with massive rock act Eskimo Joe wrapping up what was a day to top all days, on the main stage, while funky trio, Sneaky Sound System, whipped the Ministry of Sound Dance Stage into a final frenzy.

And as the final performers left the stage and the speakers fell silent for the first time in 13 hours, 13000 elated, but visibly exhausted festival goers extinguished their light sabers and obligingly made their way home.

But rest assured, even as the last of festival goers passed back through the gates, festival organisers, band mangers and agents were already in busy discussions, collaborating on what hot acts to bring down to Tassie next year to make Tasmania's biggest, most epic, one day music festival even bigger. So sleep tight and bring on msfest 2011.