The acclaimed young singer/songwriter was among the pop and rock legends who took to the stage at the Botanic Gardens on Saturday for the inaugural outdoor festival.

It was described as a success by organisers, with an estimated crowd of 3200, and will go ahead next year.

Ms Anaid said she was “in heaven” playing for an appreciative crowd in such a beautiful venue.

“It’s perfect for families of every age, from the little kids all the way to the grandparents. There’s young and old on stage. Sometimes it’s better to have an eclectic mix. You get a bit more bang for your buck,” she said.

With her single, a cover of the 4 Non Blondes song “What’s Up?”, to be released on Friday and a new album due next month, Ms Anaid said Orange was on her list of places to visit again.

“When I tour in May I’d love to come back here,” she said.

Members of the crowd, who ranged in age from newborns to grandparents, praised the organisation of the event and the diverse line-up of musical acts.

“I heard the bands that were playing, and I really wanted to see The Whitlams. It seems to be really well organised,” Lincoln Glasby said.

Ashlee and Kel Marshell made the trip from Harden for the Garden Party.

“We came to Orange just for this. It’s nice. We really wanted to see Jimmy Barnes,” Ms Marshell said.

Local motels reported being booked out up to four weeks before the event.

Event manager Simon Rollin said an announcement was made at the end of the concert that it would happen again next year.

“The intention is that we’ll be attracting some of the biggest names in Aussie rock to Orange. We’d like to thank everyone for supporting it in its first year. Hopefully word will spread now that Orange has a serious music festival,” he said.

While organisers had hoped for a crowd of about 4000 people, Mr Rollin said they were encouraged by the Garden Party’s initial success.

“We’re still reasonably happy with the turnout we had. We feel as though we put on a pretty good show,” he said.

ellen.jones@ruralpress.co m