When it comes to Australia’s take on the wild, wild west, nowhere is its spirit stronger than Perth – I mean, it is literally the most western capital city in the whole country – so it tracks that WA is the unofficial home of “cowboy-core”.
For any Aussie cowboy worth their lasso, The Muster is like a second Christmas: a celebration of country music and culture at its finest, with a full-scale rodeo and music festival taking over Claremont Showground. 2024’s edition of The Muster will go down this Saturday (April 13), and tickets have been flying out the gates – head here to grab yours before they’re totally sold out.
This year’s Muster marks the second to be held in Perth, following its debut last May with performances from the likes of Lee Kernaghan and Kasey Chambers. As announced back in January, this year’s live music program will be headlined by Morgan Evans, sharing the stage with fellow Aussie legends like Travis Collins, Beccy Cole, Lane Pittman, Sara Berki and Emily Joy (among others).
In a press release, Evans said of his excitement for The Muster: “I finished my last Australian tour in Perth and the shows were awesome, so when the invite to come down and play The Muster came through, I said yes immediately. I'm excited to be a part of The Muster, the lineup is great with a really strong Australian country artists and I'm really looking forward to returning to Perth.”
Equally enormous will be The Muster’s competition circuit rodeo, featuring some 190 riders showcasing their
skills in bull-riding, barrel-racing, breakaway, novice bulls, bareback and saddle bronc. Among those taking the floor will be the prestigious Cash Kestel and Coby McCarthy – who represented Australia at the 2023 World Mini Bulls competition in Texas – as well as Australia's only female pickup rider, Amanda Oversby, and WA’s own Isaac Leclair.
“My favourite part of the rodeo,” McCarthy said in his own statement, “is the crowd and the amount of people that want to show up to watch and just have fun. Any rodeo in a highly populated place makes it just ten times better. I’m excited to show off my skills to everybody.”
Elsewhere at The Muster, punters can look forward to getting amongst the action with whip-cracking workshops, opportunities to pet and snap selfies with the cattle, a full suite of carnival rides, and plenty of exciting installations. Head here for more info on everything going down at the event.