The Big Day Out is returning from its 2015 gap year with an all-new look and an all-new name. Big Day Out stakeholders Live Nation have today announced the return, of sorts, of Australia’s most beloved music festival, joining forces with the organisers behind now-defunct Aussie urban festival Supafest to spearhead a huge new touring festival, set to make its debut in 2016.
The newly formed team has announced the first slew of headlining acts for the festival, which they’ve creatively titled BAEfest, in a statement released via SnapChat this morning.
Big Day Out has been on ice since it was sold off to US promoters C3 Presents last year. While its return is no doubt a joy to the hundreds of thousands of people who have experienced the wonders of a sweltering Australia Day in the concrete surrounds of Homebush, partnering with Supafest — which disappeared after three years of attempting to bring hip hop and urban acts to Australia — is a controversial move.
The event’s organisers stressed the need for a partnership in bringing back the BDO:
“In a heavily saturated market, bloated with niche and boutique brands, it makes sense for larger festivals to join forces to make sure we can secure the one or two headline acts for which everyone will pay top dollar. Big Day Out and Supafest are working together to refresh the BDO brand with BAEfest and ensure this country’s most beloved festival continues into the future for the next generation of Twitter-savvy teens.”
Promoter AJ Maddah, who sold his stake in Big Day Out to C3 Presents last year, has found his way back in to the organisation (presumably for the sum of $1) and has helped Supafest organisers, now operating as Karma Productions, pull together a “funky fresh lineup” headed up by some of music’s biggest names.
BAEfest’s hip-hop oriented lineup will be headed by the likes of P. Diddy, Missy Elliot, T.I. & DMX, Flo Rida and Blur, with several more of “the world’s hottest urban and R&B acts” set to be announced in the coming months.
BAEfest 2016 will tour to Sydney, Perth and Darwin for synchronised two-day events taking place on Saturday 13th and Sunday, 14th February 2016, with artists travelling between cities via the Ghan and Indian Pacific trains. Tickets are set to be very, very expensive. More details soon.
UPDATE 01/04/15 8:22am: P. Diddy has cancelled his BAEfest appearance. More to come.
UPDATE 01/04/15 9:06am: Missy Elliot has “withdrawn” (not cancelled) from the BAEfest lineup, under speculation she had never confirmed her place on the festival to begin with. More soon.
UPDATE 01/04/15 9:40am: T.I. and DMX have both pulled out of BAEfest’s debut event, citing contractual issues with promoters. But we may have already found their replacement. Melbourne’s favourite “progressive/extreme metal” band Ne Obliviscaris have announced they’re “going urban” with their next album and are offering to fill the spot. Stay tuned.
@musicfeeds it's ok, we're going urban next album so we can fill in and headline instead 😉
— Ne Obliviscaris (@NeObliviscaris3) March 31, 2015
UPDATE 01/04/15 10:40am:: Aussie act Ne Obliviscaris have been confirmed as the replacement for P Diddy, Missy Elliot, T.I. and DMX, and will now headline the BAEfest bill. Performing under their new “urban” moniker, Xen and the Prog Diddys, the band have just announced that they will also be joined on stage by none other than Snoop Dogg for the duration of their performance.
@musicfeeds and we are excited to announce that @SnoopDogg will be joining us on stage for our whole set!
— Ne Obliviscaris (@NeObliviscaris3) March 31, 2015
UPDATE 01/04/15 10:41am: Snoop Dogg has cancelled his BAEfest appearance.
UPDATE 01/04/15 11:30am: Blur has pulled out of BAEfest, citing “constantly shifting goalposts and challenging conditions”. “For the past three hours, we’ve been wondering why the fuck we’re even on this bill,” said guitarist Graham Coxon. “Seriously, is this some kind of joke?”
UPDATE 01/04/15 11:42am: Flo Rida has dropped off the lineup, claiming SnapChat was not an appropriate way to announce his involvement in the festival. That leaves Xen and the Prog Diddys, sans Snoop Dogg, as the only act on the lineup.
UPDATE 01/04/15 11:52am: Despite a swell of interest from Ne Obliviscaris fans, BAEfest 2016 has been officially cancelled. “While we intend to bring back the festival in future years, we can confirm there will not be a BAEfest in 2016,” say promoters C3 Presents. “Honestly, it was a shit name anyway,” says C3 owners Live Nation. “What even is a bae?”
UPDATE 01/04/15 12:01pm: Happy April Fools Day, readers!
