COVID-19 restrictions meant the October festival could not go ahead in its usual format at Wingham Showground.

An attempt was made to revive the festival in a smaller 'Down the Street' format, but that, too, ended up on the scrap heap.

Instead, the Akoostik team, in partnership with Taree based Pluto Entertainment, gave birth to 'Akoostik Streaming', which took place over two nights on October 16 and 17.

From 4pm Friday and 4.30pm Saturday, music and interviews were streamed live onto devices and into loungerooms not only to audiences in our region, but Australia wide and internationally.

With more than 8000 views so far, comments on the videos came from all over the place, including people in lockdown in Melbourne, Canada, an American living in China, and someone cruising the English Channel.

The Akoostik crew were buzzing on their traditional morning tea and debrief at Bent on Food the day after the Festival concluded.

Not least adding to their jubilation was that they had no packing and cleaning up to do at the Showground this year.

"We drove home at 10.30 on Saturday night, and we were like, 'wow', it's 10.30, and we're leaving, and there's nothing to do!" Akoostik organiser, Donna Ballard said.

"It feels like you've had a bit of fairy floss.

"You put it in your mouth and it's there, but then it's gone.

"And it's like 'oh, but we didn't have to do anything, it's just done!' and you're left with no wear or tear on your body, no bruises or exhaustion."

As big a relief as that was for the crew, by far the biggest highlight was just being able to see live music again.

"It was just that amazing - it kind of restores your soul somehow seeing live music.

"Just being there in that little crowd to watch it - we felt so spoilt, I guess. It just made us realise we've just got to get back to that live music format. It's essential."

Artists, too, commented on how thrilling it was for them to be back performing on a stage in front of a live audience (albeit very small). Another common comment was how professional the Pluto Entertainment set up is.

Not having two stages this year presented a challenge - how to fill the time between sets as the artists set up? This was solved by local NBN News reporter, Lara Coffee using her interview skills over both nights to interview organisers, artists and businesses who traditionally support the Festival in the 'chat lounge', augmented by videos showcasing our area and local artists.

And it was all done on a tiny budget. Donna said it could not have gone ahead without sponsorship from MidCoast Council, which paid for the artists.

"Otherwise we couldn't have done it. I didn't want to charge people when it's been such a crappy year. And we didn't want to be chasing sponsorship money from other businesses because they've all had a tough time," Donna said.

Whether Akoostik will return in it's usual format next year is anyone's guess at this stage.

"We don't know what it's going to be like next year. But (Akoostik Streaming) has been so good to give us enthusiasm again and give us a belief that we can pull stuff off with not much but a bit of string," Donna said.

Both night's videos are available to watch on the Wingham Akoostik Festival and Pluto Inclusive Entertainment's Facebook pages.

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