Splendour In The Grass is just over a week away and though the three-day music festival has the playing times are set, the camping changes made, and locked in its extracurricular features, there’s one piece of the puzzle that’s yet to fall into place: the identity of the “Mystery Band”.

The true identity of who will be playing between The Rubens and Passion Pit on the main stage on the final night of Splendour has remained a secret ever since the 77+ strong lineup was first revealed in April, the major clue being the use of a triangle as a substitute in advertising for the Splendour lineup, listing a ‘MYSTERY B∆ND’.

While the likes of CHVRCHES and even the long-dormant return of The Avalanches were thrown about as possibilities, it may be a single smiley face emoticon that has given the game away, instantly putting English alt-pop quartet Alt-J back in as the most likely act to be the last-minute Splendour additions, according to FasterLouder.

In April, Alt-J drummer Thom Green dispelled rumours of their addition to the Splendour line-up in a single frowning response to a fan’s one-word query on Twitter.


But in a sneak role reversal, FasterLouder points out that the frown has been turned upside down when Green took part in one of reddit’s community AMA (Ask Me Anything) sessions yesterday, post under the handle ‘_Winters’. When asked if the drummer had anything in common with a reddit user with the handle ‘splendourmysteryband’, Green replied with a positive:

Alt-J have been the most likely candidates for the MYSTERY B∆ND since announcing they’d be playing a three-date Australian headline tour in July that mysteriously coincides with the dates for Splendour. The Mercury-winning Leeds quartet play in Perth on Saturday 27th July in Perth with their next gig not until the Tuesday 30th at Melbourne’s Festival Hall, leaving a Splendour shaped hole in their tour schedule to potentially play the Sunday night slot.

This will be Alt-J’s third visit to Australia in less than a year, first playing Sydney and Melbourne in October 2012 off the back of their debut album An Awesome Wave, before returning in February this year as part of the Laneway Festival.

So has a couple of keystrokes really confirmed the evasive Splendour mystery? All will be revealed when The Rubens depart the stage on Sunday 28th July, and Mystery Band or no, there’s plenty to get excited about in the lineup for the Byron Bay festival. Including Exclusive headliners, Mumford & Sons, The National, and TV On The Radio, as well as the likes of Frank Ocean, Klaxons, Laura Marling,Babyshambles, The Polyphonic Spree performing Rocky Horror Picture Show, You Am I, The Drones, Empire Of The Sun, Bernard Fanning – the list goes on, so best brush up on those playing times.

Get unlimited access to the coverage that shapes our culture.
to Rolling Stone magazine
to Rolling Stone magazine