Groovin' the Moo organisers encouraged a sell-out Canberra crowd to "party safe" after two suspected drug overdoses at the music festival's first gig in NSW at the weekend.
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Two teenagers were treated for drug-related conditions at the Maitland concert on Saturday, just hours before two people were hospitalised for overdoses after they collapsed at Sydney's Midnight Mafia dance party.
Groovin' the Moo organisers were contacted but declined to comment on the incidents. A message on the event's Facebook page on Sunday morning told music fans to look after each other and "party safe".
An ACT Policing spokeswoman said the force had a high-visibility presence and police encouraged concert-goers to plan ahead and drink responsibly.
Police made five drug seizures and arrested two people; one for intoxication and disorderly behaviour and another for assaulting a security guard after being asked to leave the festival.
Thousands of festival-goers - dressed in cow onesies, denim overalls and one man as a taco - poured through the gates amid a heavy security presence to let their hair down and kick up the dust on the University of Canberra ovals from mid-morning Sunday.
The line-up raged into the night and included local acts SAFIA and Vallis Alps, and other Australian artists The Rubens, British India, Boy & Bear, Illy, Alison Wonderland and Boo Seeka.
This year's international artists were from the United States and included MS MR, Mutemath, Odesza, Twenty One Pilots and rappers Danny Brown and Vic Mensa.
The sell-out crowd at the concert - the seventh staged in the ACT - bucked a national trend that has seen popular music festivals Big Day Out, Homebake, Harvest, SoulFest and Future Music Festival cancelled in recent years.
Reveller Timothy Davison, 22, of Macquarie, said the appeal of the event was two-fold, with a stellar musical line-up and a public holiday the next day to nurse any sore heads.
Waihanea Kelly, 17, who travelled from Byron Bay, said while she was aware of the dangers of drugs at music festivals, "the world is unsafe and we're just here to enjoy the music".
"I'm just excited to be here. The vibe at Groovin' the Moo's really beautiful," she said.
Seven people have died after allegedly overdosing on drugs at music festivals across Australia this year.
The deaths in part sparked a controversial proposal for a pill-testing trial at music festivals, led by prominent Canberra emergency medicine specialist Dr David Caldicott.
That plan gained support from leading drug and rehabilitation experts, but was rejected by NSW Premier Mike Baird.
Greens Minister Shane Rattenbury backed the trial as he agitated for a major overhaul of the nation's drug policy to prioritise health outcomes over law enforcement - but his support is unlikely to be matched by the ACT government.
Groovin' the Moo, which describes itself as Australia's only regional touring music festival, will next travel to Oakbank, near Adelaide, as part of six events held at regional centres in April and May.
