And as seasoned festival goers know, only a combination of these boxes is ever ticked.

Those in attendance at this year's Lower Belford bush bash, Pigsty In July, should consider themselves very lucky.

The Dashville team behind the event have had lots of practice, not just with previous Pigstys but also their annual three-day Gum Ball festival and last year's tribute to the Rolling Stones, Dashville On Main Street.

The combination of elements worked perfectly, from the eclectic but high-energy mix of musical genres to the affordable alcohol prices, short queues and raging bonfires that warmed punters when the sun set.

The Harry's Schnitzels and Mrs Piggy's Wheels vans were a welcome addition, as was the Murray's Brewery bar.

And the incredible roast pork was a welcome return.

The rotation of boutique beers at The Bird Bath bar, like Stone & Wood and Newcastle brewery Grainfed's Sneaky One, an easy to drink summer ale, tended to cleanse the palette.

Patrons embraced Pigsty's second-hand formal dress code and were soon on their feet dancing to the festival's musical line-up.

Newcastle four-piece The Delta Lions kicked off the festivities with their dirty, catchy brand of rock 'n' roll, bashing out new tunes like Mac & Laura plus a cover of The Zutons' hit Valerie.

The Lairs then delved deep into the '50s for a set of old-school rock 'n' roll and rhythm and blues, performing hugely entertaining renditions of Slim Gaillard's Potato Chips and Billy Ward and The Dominoes' Sixty Minute Man, before closing with Elvis Presley's Viva Las Vegas.

The Firemen kept the rock alive with a set of anthemic originals, and got the crowd to their feet with a cover of Dragon's Rain.

Adelaide punk rockers Grenadiers turned the volume up with a tight and abrasive set, proving that the Pigsty were crowd were happy to get to their feet and dance to any genre presented to them.

Sydney's dub-infused rock group Bootleg Rascal kept good vibes flowing, perfectly suited to festivals like Pigsty.

Chris Russell's Chicken Walk proved the highlight of the day.

Russell's raw and dirty blues guitar and vocals were smoking hot, and he had many guitarists in the crowd studying his thumb-driven finger-picking.

Accompanied by Dave Folley on drums, the lean musician closed with a monstrous and racy nine-minute re-imagining of the classic Catfish Blues.

Melbourne power pop legends Icecream Hands, in a rare live appearance, put a smile on everyone's face with their giant hooks and Chuck Jenkins and Art Larizza's vocal harmonies.

The addition of You Am I's Davey Lane on lead guitar and backing vocals added to the joy of their performance, with tracks like Dodgy and Nipple sounding as fresh as the day they were released.

Local supergroup Dashville Progress Society, featuring members of Magpie Diaries, The Firemen, The Dennis Boys Band, The Lairs, Pow Wow and soloist Dave Wells, drew a big crowd to the stage for their set of party covers.

With about 20 people on stage, DPS rocked out classics like Weezer's El Scorcho, Queen's Under Pressure, Aretha Franklin's Rock Steady, The Black Keys' Gold On The Ceiling and Don Henley's Boys of Summer.

Grand Junction Hotel publicans Ben and Liss Quinn beautifully channelled Iggy Pop and Kate Pierson on the duet Candy.

L-Fresh The Lion brought hip-hop to Pigsty In July, sending out a message of peace and love through his lyrics gleaned from growing up in Western Sydney.

The rapper's vocalist, the pint-sized Mirrah, stole the show with her powerful vocals and crowd interactions.

It was hard not to be buoyed by her infectious personality.

Tropical Zombie overcame some technical difficulties to deliver tropical pop vibes, with tracks like Laced in the Water proving hard not to dance to.

Definitely a band to keep an ear out for.

Pigsty In July came to a close with a huge set from Pow Wow, who faithfully recreate the funk magic of James Brown.

The reasons why the band were chosen to bring the festival to a close were immediately apparent, with live versions of Get Up and Shirley Bassey's History Repeating bringing the house down.

As the music finished and punters departed to their tents and buses, they may have been struggling to think of a better way to spend a winter's day.