Australian’s This Never Happened Festival Implements Phone Ban on the Dancefloor

A brand new three-day festival, This Never Happened, spearheaded by American producer Lane 8, is urging attendees to disconnect from their phones while on the dancefloor.

This Never Happened will be making its debut in Australia next month, taking place from July 14 to 16 across three locations: Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane.

Upon entry, the melodic house label will provide attendees with stickers to cover their phone cameras, discouraging the use of phones for taking photos and videos during the event.

Attendees are informed well in advance about the phone ban, as it has become a regular feature at every This Never Happened event and festival.

The headline acts for the three-day event, co-organized by Untitled Group, include Le Youth, Paris, and Sultan + Shepard, who are among the prominent artists signed to the This Never Happened label.

Event promoter Pia Del Mastro shared her thoughts, saying, “Live music was still amazing long before we were recording it to share online.”

“It takes labels and artists like this to take us back a decade and remind us how things used to be,” she added. “The fans understand and appreciate it.”

“People have become accustomed to seeing footage on Instagram where everyone is doing the same thing, and it doesn’t look very appealing,” Del Mastro further explained.

The phone-free policy has been a regular feature at Lane 8’s events for several years and was initially implemented after the first This Never Happened show in San Francisco in 2016.

Untitled Group’s website emphasizes the phone and photo-free environment of the event, stating, “Experience The Moment, Don’t Record It, This Never Happened.”