The Northern Hemisphere summer festival season is over which is bad news for them but good news for us. As the temperatures drop there, artists will begin to make the trip to Australia to soak up the sunshine and some of the best festivals in the world.
This year, we’re being blessed with a host of big-name, international artists. Many of them have already proved themselves at some of the biggest festivals in the world from Glastonbury to Coachella. Here’s a run through the artists who impressed this year and are also heading to Australia.
Lizzo
Playing FOMO Festival.
It’s been the year of Lizzo and unsurprisingly she’s been winning over worldwide crowds. When she played Coachella back in April, ‘Truth Hurts’ was yet to become a global hit. Still, she packed out the entire tent and had everyone screaming out lyrics to her freshly released record Cuz I Love You. Her show is loud and proud serving everything from hearty singalongs (‘Jerome’) to middle-finger moments (‘Truth Hurts’). She arrives at FOMO now as one of the biggest artists in the world.
See Lizzo’s Coachella setlist.
Ella Mai
Playing Origin Fields Festival.
Ella Mai broke through in the US last year with her sleeper hit ‘Boo’d Up’ and then capitalised on it with her self-titled debut record. It’s difficult to bring mid-tempo R&B to big festival stages but Mai’s Coachella set proved that she has an allure that’s impossible to ignore. She slinks her voice effortlessly around slick cuts like ‘Trip’ and ‘Shot Clock’ while standing front-and-centre. Australian festival crowds are typically there to turn up but much like SZA at Splendour this year, Mai just might have the charm to bring the tempo down a notch.
See Ella Mai’s Coachella setlist.
Janet Jackson
Playing RNB Fridays Live.
It’s been a busy year for one of the most iconic R&B performers of all time. She’s held down a Vegas residency while also touring and playing huge festivals like Glastonbury. She started playing festivals last year and the results have been pretty spectacular. This year’s Glasto set saw her bring a full production to the farm delivering an hour of slick dancing and crisp vocals. It’s a career-spanning set too moving through everything from ‘Control’ to ‘All For You’. This is no nostalgia tour. Jackson is still at the top of her game.
See Janet Jackson’s Glastonbury setlist.
Charli XCX
Playing Laneway Festival.
If you’re yet to party with Charli, you’re missing out. After supporting Taylor Swift on a worldwide tour last year, the British cult pop star decided to focus in on herself this year in the lead up to the released of her third album Charli. She hit the European festival circuit this year with a club-inspired set that went hard from start to finish. At Primavera, she brought out Christine & The Queens to debut ‘Gone’ while also remixing Spice Girls’ ‘Wannabe’ and rolling out ‘I Love It’. It’s just Charli on-stage and she’s the ultimate hypeman, never letting the party die. Conserve your energy for her set at Laneway Festival.
See Charli XCX’s Pitchfork Music Festival setlist.
The 1975
Playing Laneway Festival.
Joining Charli atop the Laneway bill is The 1975 who are on top of their game right now. They dropped their third album A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships last year to rave reviews and have upped their game when it comes to their spectacular live show. Matty Healy proved himself to be one of the best frontmen around with their landmark Coachella set and then he went even harder headlining Reading & Leeds in England. With their next album Notes On A Conditional Form on the way, it’s likely that their Laneway set will be even greater than what they’ve been delivering this year.
See The 1975’s Reading Festival setlist.
Rico Nasty
Playing FOMO Festival.
Rico Nasty fuses punk, emo and rap and she’s found herself taking over festival stages this year at everything from the hip-hop giant Rolling Loud to the diverse Coachella. Complete with dancers and in-your-face visuals, her set is one of the most accomplished rap sets on the circuit at the moment. ‘Countin’ Up’ absolutely blew up the Coachella stage this year, forcing the crowd to open up death circles like they were at a punk show.
See Rico Nasty’s Coachella setlist.
Carly Rae Jepsen
Playing SandTunes.
A Carly Rae Jepsen Australian tour is long overdue so fans were naturally elated when fresh festival SandTunes bagged her for their inaugural event. Australian festivals have often shied away from pop but Jepsen has been proving she’s got plenty to offer throughout the year. With a fresh new album Dedicated in toe, she’s serving a disco-inspired set that’s a pure joy from start to finish. During her set a Barcelona’s Primavera Festival earlier this year, ‘Call Me Maybe’ faded into the background as more recent cuts like ‘Party For One’ and ‘Runaway With Me’ rose to the top. She’s got a full band behind her and, yes, she’s still accepting swords during ‘Cut To The Feeling’. If you know, you know.
See Carly Rae Jepsen’s Primavera setlist.
Tyler The Creator
Playing Field Day, Origin Fields and Beyond The Valley.
An Australian visit from Tyler The Creator has been a long time coming but he’s finally been booked on a host of big festivals this summer. He’s currently touring his new album IGOR but he’s made a handful of festival appearances just to prove he still knows how to turn a crowd all the way up. Donning his now-iconic blonde wig, his Governors Ball set in New York earlier this year introduced us to a new era. He danced through funky moments like ‘I Think’ and got loose for the raucous ‘Ain’t Got Time’. His setlist mostly makes room for IGOR cuts but there’s still a handful of classics from the vault in there.
See Tyler The Creator’s Governors Ball setlist.
Travis Scott
Playing SandTunes.
Travis Scott is arguably the biggest name in hip-hop right now and it should come as no surprise that his festival sets this year have drawn huge crowds. His Rolling Loud Miami set this year felt like a victory lap of sorts after nabbing his first number-one single with ‘Sicko Mode’. You’ve truly never seen a crowd go wilder than when the beat switched on that song in Miami. By the time Rolling Loud New York rolled around, he had another number one with ‘Highest In The Room’ and once again, anarchy ensued. So much so that he suffered a knee injury. Scott holds nothing back on stage and his SandTunes set is going to be bonkers.
See Travis Scott’s Rolling Loud NYC setlist.
Vampire Weekend
Playing Falls Festival.
Last time Vampire Weekend played in Australia they were yet to release their fourth album Father Of The Bride. That record has finally dropped and tracks like ‘This Life’ and ‘Harmony Hall’ are slotting very nicely into the live set. Ezra Koenig is a father now and their Glastonbury set felt like one of the most mature they’ve ever delivered. From ‘A Punk’ to ‘Diane Young’, they have a pretty stellar back catalogue and there’s a quiet confidence to the band now like they’ve got nothing left to prove. The Vampire Weekend festival set is one of the most effortlessly enjoyable hours of music going around right now.
