During the final hour of one of the final sets of Strawberry Fields 2019, the skies opened and the drought-ravaged New South Wales bush copped an absolute drenching. Wax'o Paradiso were playing on The Beach stage, which, previously covered in swimmers and sunlight, was now a sea of rain jackets and matted hair. The duo busted out Santa Esmerelda's disco version of "House Of The Rising Sun"—all ten minutes of it—complete with horns screaming and flamenco guitar noodling. People went mad. The drama of the moment felt surreal and totally euphoric.

These kinds of pure-joy moments are a regular occurrence at Strawberry Fields, a festival that, after 11 years, is easily one of Australia's best. It showcased everything from the banging fury of Helena Hauff and the snarling electro of Roza Terenzi to hands-in-the-air house and disco, live funk and soul, and moody minimal. The crowd seemed open and adventurous while upholding the festival's friendly, rough-and-tumble spirit. Once again, on the banks of the Murray River, thousands of music fans gathered for three days of dancing—and it was bloody great.

As you approach the festival site, which sits near the rural NSW town of Tocumwal, the impact of the ongoing drought—as well as some stunning Australian scenery—creeps into view. You could also spot ravers loading up on booze at nearby shops. (Strawberry Fields is BYOB.)

Thanks to the bone-dry conditions, dust is a persistent presence onsite.

The stages and set pieces are directly inspired by the bush surroundings, as well as nodding to the festival's psytrance origins.

The Beach stage is a major highlight. A tin-roofed, treehouse-style shack looks out onto the Murray River, where people swim and splash the day away. The opening afternoon saw a buzzing crowd gather in the sweltering heat to see Animals Dancing and Young Marco. When it got too hot, people cooled off however they could.

As twilight approached, Eris Drew and Octo Octa went back-to-back on the Wildlands main stage, drumming up a raucous, first-night energy.

Things got darker and harder into the night. Derrick May made way for Helena Hauff, who thrashed it out for her debut Australian set.

On day two, milder temperatures made easing into things a relative breeze, though the sun still beamed down hard.

Weary dancers kicked their boots off to chat and recharge in the shade of Mirage Motel.

Down by the water, the occasional DJ supergroup of Moxie, Peach, Saoirse and Shanti Celeste launched into a relentlessly fun six-hour set that provoked ecstatic hugs both on stage and across the dance floor.

Roi Perez paved the way for another high-energy evening, setting Roza Terenzi up for one of the weekend's best sets over at the Deep Jungle stage.

For local treasure CC:DISCO, who grew up just down the road from Tocumwal, Strawberry Fields holds special significance. Along with Raphaël Top-Secret, she rose to the occasion and elevated the crowd's spirits to new highs. They were joined on stage by intergalactic dancers with disco-ball helmets—and CC's dad, Harold.

Back at Deep Jungle, on the other side of the site, Wata Igarashi closed with a heavy dose of techno hypnosis.

Sunday, the first day of summer, was unusually cold and grey. Leon Vynehall and Gerd Janson cranked the thermostat accordingly at Wildlands.

The rain started midway through Wax'o Paradiso's closing set at The Beach. Some sought refuge. Most, though, soaked up every minute of those final, golden moments.

We've compiled a YouTube playlist with some of our favourite tracks from Strawberry Fields 2019. Check it out here.

Resident Advisor hosted The Beach all weekend at Strawberry Fields 2019.