Australia’s largest festival has surprised us all this week, and it’s only Monday. Announcing out of the blue that they would be dropping their lineup in a week, the festival sent media into a frenzy trying to figure out what was actually going on. After an image made the rounds on Twitter, (thanks to the AUReview) it became clear that instead of waiting until September to announce their lineup as they have done for countless years, they would announce it 6 months before the festival actually takes place.
After the questionable success of last year’s event, (which boasted a sensational lineup that unfortunately didn’t please punters) many veterans began to question the future of the festival, with some media outlets publishing features on how 2012 was the year that the festival died. If that is the case, Ken West and the C3 team must have passed their CPR course in flying colours because Big Day Out is back, bigger than ever and clearly wants to regain the throne for biggest festival in Australia, and possibly the biggest tour festival in the world.
Well then, a question on many people’s lips is what changes will actually be occurring to the festival now that the tour giant that is C3 Presents is involved. The changes at the moment are somewhat unclear, but there are a few noticeable ones so far. In case you haven’t noticed, the marketing campaign at the Big Day Out offices has seen a complete overhaul. Not willing to make the same mistake that was made last year, an increase in funding to social media has seen the festival slowly build up hype, posting historic photos of previous festival bands on their Facebook’s timeline. Although that has only had a minimal impact so far, there is one major contribution that C3 has made already: it’s pulling power.
For those that don’t know who or what C3 Presents is, they are a mammoth touring corporation who put on copious festivals and events annually, including the famed Lollapalooza and Austin City Limits, and they assisted on Metallica’s Orion Music Festival. This year alone, these three festivals pulled artists such as Red Hot Chili Peppers, Metallica, Black Sabbath, and The Black Keys. In 2007 Lollapalooza alone pulled a mammoth lineup of Daft Punk, Muse and Pearl Jam. This pulling power, combined with that of Ken West (which resulted in the 2008 Rage Against the Machine Australian tour) is a force that even Soundwave’s AJ Maddah should be slightly afraid of. This pulling power will surely result in possibly the biggest Big Day Out lineup we have ever seen. Yes, it could be better than 2000 and 2008.
Another bit of information that many punters will be stoked about is that the festival will return to both Perth and Adelaide in full. Unlike last year’s shock decision to downsize the festival in both cities, and cancel the New Zealand leg for good, the West will see this touring giant in its full outfit. However, there has been one noticeable downsize of this year’s festival: the ticket prices. Proudly declaring that tickets would be $165 “No fees, no kidding!” really does show that these festival kings are looking out for the people. In this current festival climate, a $165 price tag isn’t half bad, seeing as the popular Harvest Festival is $173.15 (including booking fee). Although Harvest’s promoters have justified the price hike as a result of the Carbon Tax, the Big Day Out staff have clearly decided to decrease their profits in order to give back to the people. Tickets will go on sale on Thursday, 19th July, but if you’re intelligent, be sure to hit up your closest General Pants on Monday, 16th July to get a souvenir ticket (just get it to secure your spot!)
Alright, so I have teased you long enough, and we all love a rumour, so here are the most likely artists for the 21st birthday of Big Day Out. After speaking to the kind folks at the Big Day Out offices, it was clear that they knew how to tease a festival head, telling me that “We do have approx 20 bands that have never played and most of them have new records!” With a massive winter of records coming up, that could mean anyone from Death Grips to The XX. Big Day Out also told the cats over at Tone Deaf that the lineup features “Two MONSTER headliners” and that four bands on the lineup have never toured Australia before. (Win)
Big Day Out 2013 Lineup:
Red Hot Chili Peppers (Only Australian Shows)
The Killers
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Vampire Weekend
Band of Horses
The Bloody Beetroots (Live)
Kaskade
Animal Collective
B.o.B
Sleigh Bells
Foals
Alabama Shakes
360
Crystal Castles
Pretty Lights
Off!
Grinspoon
Against Me
Gary Clarke Jr.
Nicky Romero
Morgan Page
Logo
Every Time I Die
Delta Spirit
Childish Gambino
Me
Hunting Grounds
Jeff The Brotherhood
Death Grips
Adventure Club
Jagwar Ma
House vs Hurricane
Avalanche City
Helena
Toucan
Nina Las Vegas
Sampology (DJ/AV Show)
Big Day Out 2013 Rumours + Long Shots
Possible Headliners
Red Hot Chilli Peppers
AC/DC
Blur
The Throne (Jay Z + Kanye West)
The Prodigy
The Killers
Kings of Leon
Deadmau5
Metallica
Pearl Jam
Arctic Monkeys
Arcade Fire
The Chemical Brothers
The Strokes
Depeche Mode
Duran Duran
Possible Internationals
Childish Gambino
Sleigh Bells
Franz Ferdinand
The Bloody Beetroots (Death Crew 77)
The Weeknd
Silversun Pickups
Japandroids
AWOLNATION
Alabama Shakes
Cee Lo Green
Vampire Weekend
Phoenix
Spoon
Grouplove
The Bloody Beetroots (DJ Set)
Groove Armada (DJ Set)
Public Image Limited.
The View
Scars on Broadway
Feed Me
The Enemy
A$AP Rocky
Frank Ocean
The Hives
Massive Attack
The Darkness
Oberhofer
Lupe Fiasco
The XX
Queens of the Stone Age
Chase & Status
The Decemberists
Crystal Castles
Dropkick Murphys
Alesso
Bullet for My Valentine
Simian Mobile Disco
Los Campesinos!
Sufjan Stevens
NOFX
Skrillex
M83
Animal Collective
Underworld
Yeasayer
Mac Miller
MSTRKRFT
Two Door Cinema Club
Roots Manuva
No Doubt
Madness
Editors
Azealia Banks
Fun.
Madeon
Cat Power
The Gaslight Anthem
Atari Teenage Riot
Kaskade
The Fratellis
Biffy Clyro
The Knocks
The Ting Tings
The Big Pink
Possible Locals
Empire of the Sun
Grinspoon
360
Cut Copy
Parachute Youth
Ladyhawke
Evermore
Eskimo Joe
The Vines
Avalanche City
Kids of 88
Big Scary
Owl Eyes
Something With Numbers
Hungry Kids Of Hungary
Gyroscope
Yacht CLub DJ’s
Whitley
The Temper Trap
Matt Corby
Grinspoon
Van She
Ladyhawke
Children Collide
Dead Letter Circus
British India
Funkoars
Xavier Rudd
Lisa Mitchell
Urthboy
DZ Deathrays
Cloud Nothings
Jonathan Boulet
Bleeding Knees Club
Bondi Hipsters
Bag Raiders
Sampology
Loon Lake
Illy
Hunting Grounds
Sures
Ajax
House Vs Hurricane
BeXta
Big Day Out will be touring the nation mid-January starting in Sydney and weaving its way across the country. With the lineup announced next week, and tickets on sale only days after, this surprise announcement has caught many people (and their bank accounts) off guard, however, January 2013 will see one of the greatest festival spectacles this country has seen. Your move Soundwave.
Big Day Out 2013 Dates And Venues
Friday 18 January – Sydney – Showgrounds
Sunday 20 January – Gold Coast – Parklands
Friday 25 January – Adelaide – Showground
Saturday 26 January – Melbourne – Flemington Racecourse
Monday 28 January – Perth – Claremont Showgrounds
Ticket Information
Tickets: $165 – No extra fees
General Big Day Out on sale times (Thursday 19th July – All local time)
Sydney – 7.00pm
Gold Coast -8.00pm Gold Coast
Perth – 8.00pm Perth
Melbourne – 9.00pm Melbourne
Adelaide – 9.30pm Adelaide
General Pants Stores Pre-Sale Information: (Monday 16th July)
NSW
Pitt Street Mall – 8am
Bondi Junction – 8am
Wollongong – 8am
Parramatta – 9am
Kotara – 9am
Warringah Mall – 9am
Miranda – 9am
VIC
Bourke St – 8am
Melbourne Central – 9am
Chadstone – 9am
Chapel St – 8am
QLD
Albert St (Brisbane) – 8am
Robina (Gold Coast) – 9am
SA
Rundle St – 8am
WA
Murray St – 8am
