Festival-goers at Australia’s Beyond The Valley got more than they bargained for when Dom Dolla and Rüfüs Du Sol — two heavyweights of electronic music — shared the stage for the very first time.
During a secret set last Thursday (Dec. 30), Dom worked the wheels of steel while the lads from Rüfüs Du Sol (Tyrone Lindqvist, Jon George and James Hunt) joined in the fun and tweaked nobs to a remix of their Surrender cut “Make It Happen.”
Nick Greco, co-founder of independent Melbourne-based festival and live events specialist Untitled Group, organizer of BTV, captured the moment from the sidelines.
Born in Manila, raised in outback Northern Australia, Dom Dolla (real name Dominic Matheson) is the reigning ARIA Awards champion for best dance/electronic release, winning the category last November with his MK collaboration “Rhyme Dust” (Area 10/Big On Blue/Sony Music UK), one of his six nominations.
Dolla has never missed a BTV, having now played at all eight editions, including the most recent, 2023 show which ran Dec. 28-Jan. 1. The previous year, Dom nabbed international headlines when he brought Nelly Furtado to the stage for a performance of “Say It Right.”
With the release of Surrender in 2021, Rüfüs du Sol (previously known as Rufus) spread their wings as a stadium act. The album went straight to No. 1 on the ARIA Chart, their third leader. In the U.S., the Sydneysiders headlined multiple dates at Banc of California Stadium in Los Angeles; the LP peaked at No. 2 on Billboard’s Top Dance/Electronic Albums Chart; and earned the trio a Grammy Award, with “Alive” scooping best dance album and best dance recording.
With a bill featuring RÜFÜS DU SOL, Dom Dolla, Peggy Gou, Central Cee, FERG, Destroy Lonely, Mall Grab, DMA’S, G Flip, Channel Tres, The Jungle Giants, the multi-day BTV was a sellout, shifting 35,000 tickets, reps say.
Untitled Group’s suite of brands includes Pitch Music & Arts, Wildlands, Grapevine Gathering, Ability Fest and more.