Melbourne’s Freeform Festival returned to the Sidney Myer Music Bowl on Saturday, 3rd October for its second annual instalment, transforming the iconic outdoor venue into a sprawling playground of underground electronic music. Across four stages, a stacked lineup of international and homegrown talent served up a genre-bending smorgasbord of house, techno, bass and left-field club sounds, with the likes of Richie Hawtin, Ben UFO, Avalon Emerson, Barry Can’t Swim and D.Dan on hand to keep the dancefloors moving.

But beyond the pulverising beats and mind-bending DJ sets, there was plenty of gloriously unexpected weirdness unfolding across the festival grounds. Music Feeds’ Mikey Cahill (AKA DJ Joey Lightbulb) was there to soak up the sonic mayhem, dodge the muddy patches and witness a few moments that definitely weren’t on the official set times. From techno transcendence to spontaneous card games and some deeply questionable personal anecdotes, here are the eight coolest things he saw and heard at Freeform Festival 2026.

1. Richie Hawtin at the Waveform Stage

Holy Fuckamole. The first time I saw the Canadian techno titan was when he was rocking a party at The Docklands (Two Tribes 2002 maybe?) and a guy who ended up stealing my girlfriend gave me the hot tip that Richie Hawtin’s Decks, Efx & 909 was the game-changing crossover CD I needed to hear. He wasn’t wrong. Just like back then, Hawtin played scintillating cuts and flipped between records like he was putting cutlery away. He’s absolutely still got it.
As for my ex, they had a bad break-up only a few months later. Fun fact: I DJed her wedding 10 years later when she hooked up with a work colleague. Sad fact: they’re now divorced. Silver lining: they have two great kids.

2. “That’s not Ned Bennett,” I hear someone utter, perplexed.

Correct. Neighbour Ned had plane issues. Thankfully no off-duty pilots had to bust into the cockpit, pull it out of a nosedive and save everyone’s lives.

Instead, Crown Ruler Artist Liaison, Sydney DJ and producer Mincy stuck the landing with a tight, pulverising set of hard techno and bass music, peaking with an Un-Shazamable remix of Benny Benassi’s Satisfaction. No wonder she’s just been signed to Niche Agency in the last week.

3. Ben UFO took over from a hyper-pop, super-fast set by Memphis LK and calmed the farm.

Anybody worried 5pm would feel too early forgot that man is always on time. The 40-years-young Benjamin Button figure is equal parts praying mantis and alien. Every time he built to a nasty crescendo of breaks, bass and all-round battery he half rubbed his hands together with understated glee. Maybe they should have cast a miniature version of him as Tom Cruise’s cat in DIGGER and the film wouldn’t have bombed.

UFO finished with The Cure’s 162bpm noir classic A Forest as shards of blue and white light, then swathes of orange cubed and darted across the screens — it felt like the dancefloor was hurtling through the outer reaches of space. “They don’t say he can mix oil and water for nothing,” quipped a mate.

4.  Detroit-born, Atlanta-based, Ash Lauryn

… who had the Garden Stage in the palm of her hands with a set of deep, soulful house and techno that culminated in a vicious edit of Kendrick Lamar’s DNA. “I got I got I got…”

5. Seeing a bunch of 20-something girls playing Snap on a speaker near the Garden Stage

… after the previous DJ played a chunky remix of The Jacksons’ Enjoy Yourself. The eye-hand coordination, the squeals of delight, this must become a festival staple.

6. Avalon Emerson playing a buzzsaw, acid-flecked remix of Fcukers’ if you wanna party, come over to my house.

Dressed in a red jumper, Emerson did the old left foot right foot hop on the spot, her blonde fringe flopped about as she punched the air like a funky Geography teacher who just stepped out of Berghain.

7. Smuggling in a flask of vodka for timely nips.

*Promise I won’t do it again.
*citation needed.

8. D.Dan!

Earlier in the day the lack of sun meant things didn’t quite click when we got to the Skylab stage, the grey against all that arc’tyrex and black meant the vibe hadn’t settled yet. We had left the Bowl Stage where Barry Can’t Swim was a little too sluggish (apart from Dance of the Crab) and not helped by a now-muddy Amphitheatre. We were hunting something with a bit more pinch, and the Korean-American was hitting the crowd with thrilling, sci-fi techno. He made it feel like the bass was coming from deep within the earth itself as he sent soundwaves up the deep, cavernous ramp that winds its way back at the rear of the stage like a scorpion’s tail. Arachnids 1 – Crustacean 0. 

Further Reading

Freeform Festival: A Fever Dream of Beats, Beyblades and Brilliance

Calvin Harris Announces First-Ever Australian Headline Tour For 2027

Tiësto Is Returning To Australia For An Exclusive Trance Set At Dreamstate 2027

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