Bec Sandridge takes us through Stanwell Park

Bec Sandridge is immediately captivating. From her electrifying live performances (this is probably an understatement) to her peculiar blend of pop, punk and more, she is quickly becoming an act very worthy of her growing hype. Signed to tastemaker label Farmer & The Owl, she is getting ahead by being herself, and we can't get enough.

Having just wrapped up a few dates in Sydney, Melbourne and her hometown of Wollongong (including selling out a show or two), she is now setting her sights on the many performances at Brisbane's BIGSOUND, as well as appearances at King Street Crawl and Yours & Owls.

Her latest single, 'You're A Fucking Joke' is infectious, dramatic, and over-the-top in all the right ways. Putting her attention-grabbing voice on full display, Sandridge plays with sounds in intriguing ways to create something no one else is doing. She's refreshing, and we're becoming a little obsessed. So, to feed that obsession, we asked Bec to give us a tour of where she's from. Read on to go for a stroll through Stanwell Park, NSW!

The ice-cream van on Bald Hill!

Welcome to Stanwell Park – the wee village which I grew up in / still live in. Seeing as it’s your first time here, we should have a special breakfast at the infamous ice cream van on top of Bald Hill (I hope you’re not lactose in tolerant). Bald Hill looks over the whole of Stanwell Park (yep, that’s it, all of it, just there). I usually get the choc-top with a flake and sprinkles (or two flakes if I’m feeling extra fancy), but you might be a plain vanilla ice-cream kinda gal and I respect that decision also. The photo below was taken by my manager Greg. He’s a budding iPhone photographer…

Glow Worm Tunnel, Helensburgh

Next, we’ll hit the glow-worm tunnel. It’s in Helensburgh which is about a two minute drive up Bald Hill and then you skoot downhill near the train station. Not many people go here in fear that it’s haunted. It was built in the 1880s and there is without a doubt, a lot of spooky ghost stories fluttering about on this one! (I am a massive chicken, so I need to be in the middle of the pack if we’re going in a gang). A man named Robert was hit by a steam train and chopped into two here… Which is morbid + rather graphic… But all the grim stories aside, once you finish wetting your pants in fear, you can walk in about twenty metres and look up (in awe) at all of the tiny little glow worms above your head. Tis truly magical! Make sure you wear your nastiest joggers and jeans though, because it’s very muddy.

Helensburg Newsagency

After such a high stress activity, we should probably try our luck at my parent’s shitty/great Newsagency. Let’s grab a $2 scratchie for the road. We’ll probably be greeted by my Mum’s annoying/yappy dog, Pearl (an icon of Helensburgh). Which will be cute also…

Darkes Forest

To end the adventure, I’m taking you back to an old work place. Hello world, this is the true-me-ridge. Darkes Forest is the bees knees. At Glenbernie Orchard you can grab a bucket, pick apples, nectarines and raspberries off the tree and take it home. They make their own cider and honey. And sometimes there’s even an apple pie bake off… We’ll be taking all of these things in our rucksacks and then heading to the riding ranch. Yes, I used to be a saddle club girl, in Year 6. I re-emphasise, in year six, I swear. We’ll hopefully get a not-too-cranky-a-horse and ride off into the sunset, and fall in love…

You can catch Bec Sandridge at BIGSOUND, King Street Crawl and Yours & Owls Festival.

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Image credit: Happy