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Yours & Owls

Yours & Owls
at UOW

The Yours and Owls (Y&O) Festival is a two-day annual music festival that has been running for almost ten years. Adam Smith, Ben Tillman and Balunn Thomson, proud UOW Alumni, are the brains behind Yours and Owls. In 2023 the festival moved to a new home at our Wollongong campus.

Holding the Y&O Festival at UOW reflects UOW's support and commitment to the Wollongong community.

We provided a logical solution to host the 2023 festival due to the size of the grounds, existing infrastructure, and transport options, as well as being a community meeting place and anchor institution in the region. This was a perfect opportunity to showcase our beautiful campus, serve as an added layer to the student experience, and increase future student awareness of UOW.

The 2023 festival, held over the weekend of October 14-15, attracted around 15,000 fans each day. Fans, artists, the media, NSW police and organisers all gave positive reviews to the UOW's debut as the host venue of the Your and Owls music festival.

UOW has a long association with the gents behind the Y&O Festival.

While they are all proud UOW alumni, they have also been regular entertainment bookers at UOW for the past 10 years. The Y&O team are passionate about and committed to sustainability, and are sustainably conscious when planning their events and festivals. 

Discover the inspiring backstory behind the Y&O Festival

Professor Patricia Davidson, second from left, with the team from Yours and Owls, Adam Smith, Ben Tillman and Balunn Jones. They are standing at an Oval at UOW. Photo: Mark Newsham.

Performer and crowd scenes from the 2023 Yours & Owls Festival at UOW

Want to know more?

  • For any event specific questions, please head to the Y&O FAQs.
  • If you are a UOW staff member, and have questions about operations or logistics, email yoursandowls-ops@uow.edu.au.
  • If you are a UOW student, and want to find out more, visit AskUOW