Batemans Bay's octane-fuelled rock'n'roll festival Crank It Up scores 2023 NSW Tourism Award

What started out as salsa lessons turned into rock'n'roll, as the dance instructor realised the vintage style was becoming increasingly popular amongst Batemans Bay dancers.

In the words of Leisa, the change of genre was "just meant to be".

They enjoyed their lessons so much that they quickly fell deep into the world of rock'n'roll.

It wasn't long before they had mastered the art of rock'n'roll dancing.

They started up the Batemans Bay Rock N Rollers and began teaching rock'n'roll dancing and introducing others to the vibrant and nostalgic style.

After visiting major rock'n'roll festivals like Chromefest and Cooly Rocks On, they started planning Batemans Bay's very own festival, Crank It Up.

After five years and five disheartening event cancellations due to bushfires and the COVID-19 pandemic, their labour of love was celebrated on the state's stage on November 8.

Crank It Up is now an award-winning festival after scoring the Tourism Star Judges' Award at the 2023 NSW Tourism Awards in Sydney.

Ms Tague said any finalist could have won the award that night, including the 20-year-old Tumbafest and the renowned Bathurst Winter Festival.

"We were given the award because of our resilience and determination to do something for our community following the fires, and stick to it."

Rock'n'roll is polka dots, vintage hot rods, rockabilly pinup frocks, plenty of leather, a nostalgic nod to early rock'n'roll music and a whole lot of fun.

Leisa and Chris wanted Crank It Up to celebrate all of that, while also injecting money on the tourism-dependent economy in Batemans Bay.

It was at Chromefest, a sprawling rock'n'roll festival on the Central Coast of NSW that the duo realised there was a "travelling market" for rock'n'roll fans who were more than happy to travel hours, even days, across the country for a good time.

"Initially, we were just going to do a small event at the Batemans Bay Soldiers Club," Ms Tague said.

Unfortunately, the event was scheduled for December 31, 2019 - the same day fires tore through the Eurobodalla shire.

In May 2020, they decided to bring Crank It Up to the Batemans Bay Foreshore, but were forced to cancel due to COVID-19 restrictions. The event was cancelled again in October 2020, September 2021 and February 2022.

"Have you ever seen the movie Groundhog Day?" Ms Tague said.

"We started to lose track of what we canceled what we re-booked, but keeping focused on the event gave us something to do."

At the time, Leisa and Chris were living in a shed after losing their home in the bushfires.

"That stuff can really consume you, but we were too busy to think about it.

"Every time it cancelled, we just became more determined."

Ms Tague said by the time the inaugural festival happened in November 2022, it was a mature, well-organised event which attracted hundreds of people to the South Coast over two days.

Between November 17 and 19, the Batemans Bay Foreshore will again "rock" to life as 160 vintage cars, two dancefloors and plenty of keen dancers get their groove on.

Ms Tague said the secret to rock'n'roll's success is the music.

"You could go anywhere - if you put on a Jerry Lee Lewis song or Elvis song, people will get up and dance. It just makes people feel happy.

"Everybody loves early rock'n'roll music."

Put on your blue suede shoes and head to Crank It Up between Friday, November 17 and Sunday, November 19. Learn more at crankitupbatemansbay.com.