DRIFT
Part pool party, part live music event and part dreamscape.
Sat
3
Sat 3 Oct 1:00 PM
Tobruk Memorial Baths
General Admission
October
Important: The event times for DRIFT have changed since the printed festival program was published. DRIFT will now run from 1:00pm–6:00pm. Please refer to the event listing for the most up-to-date event information.
Featuring Hermitude, Drifting Clouds, Benjamin Walsh and Mie Nakazawa from Haiku Hands
Forget everything you think a concert should be.
As the sun sets, Tobruk Memorial Pool transforms into a floating playground of music, art and pure tropical energy. Drift beneath the changing sky as a genre-bending soundtrack unfolds around you.
Featuring the unmistakable sounds of Hermitude, the soaring spectacle of Drifting Clouds and the infectious rhythms of Benjamin Walsh and Mie Nakazawa, DRIFT blends live performance, immersive art and poolside celebration into one unforgettable experience.
Expect shimmering lights, euphoric beats and hundreds of people moving together in and around the water. Part pool party, part live music event and part dreamscape, DRIFT is unlike anything you’ve experienced before.
Come for the music. Stay for the magic.
Only at NAFA. Only in North Queensland. One extraordinary night.
Content/ Trigger Warnings:
18+ onlyARTIST BIOS
Hermitude
It’s difficult to find a duo that has defined Australian music as much as Hermitude.Across the last two decades, Hermitude – consisting of Gusto and Dubs, both from the Blue Mountains, 2 hours west of Sydney – have consistently kept evolution and experimentation at the forefront of their craft, paving new directions amongst the electronic and hip-hop spaces that have kept them ahead of the curve.
Award-winning multi-instrumentalists, Hermitude have quietly become one the most consistent and world class electronic acts from Australia. First signing to Elefant Traks in the 2000s, the pair have marked out a sonic footprint that is defined by their hip-hop roots and electronic soundscapes, before expanding and pairing with Nettwerk Records internationally. Their 2012 album, Hyperparadise won the Australian Music Prize and would see its title track hit the ARIA Charts and its Flume remix went multi-platinum. Their follow-up album, Dark Night Sweet Light debuted at #1 on the ARIA Charts, with single “The Buzz” firmly placing them on the world map with 100s of millions of streams and platinum records. Their 6th album Pollyanarchy again reflected the duo’s development as they became a global force doing headline tours and festivals across Europe, Asia and North America, from Governors Ball to Reading to Splendour in the Grass.
Drifting Clouds
Northeast Arnhem Land’s emerging indie-electronic group Drifting Clouds blend 80s-inspired synth-pop and coastal grooves with traditional Songlines and storytelling. The band has performed at leading cultural festivals including Meredith Music Festival, Yabun Festival, Party in the Paddock and St Kilda Festival. They have also supported Cut Copy and recently announced their headline show at the Sydney Opera House as part of Vivid Sydney.Benjamin Walsh
World renowned Australian percussionist Ben Walsh has spent twenty-five years at the forefront of innovative music. From founding high-energy junk percussion trio Pablo Percusso, to electronic fusion act The Bird, to six years touring with taiko group TaikOz, including a performance with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Ben has constantly pushed rhythmic boundaries across genres and continents.As solo artist "Sound of Human," his one-man shows earned major acclaim, winning Best Musical Act at Adelaide and Melbourne Fringe and a Sydney Opera House commission. His international spectacle The Tom Tom Crew toured globally for seven years, playing New York, London, Paris, Berlin and beyond.
LINKS: WEBSITE | BANDCAMP | LINKTREE
Mie Nakazawa
Mie Nakazawa operates in the space between chaos and connection.A DJ, musician, and multidisciplinary creative from Sydney, her practice spans music, performance, fashion, and visual storytelling, informed by a lifelong fascination with experimentation, self-expression, and collective joy.
Known for her work with Haiku Hands and recently supporting Hermitude on their national tour, Mie's DJ sets are guided by feeling rather than genre—moving through electronic, club, bass, and left-field sounds with a playful sense of unpredictability. Equal parts euphoric and curious, her selections are designed for dancefloors that want to be surprised.
Expect driving rhythms, unexpected discoveries, and moments of release woven into a set that celebrates connection, freedom, and the transformative power of getting lost in music together.
