Hotter Than Hell, one of Australia’s best almost-regional nostalgic music festivals, returns this year with a stacked lineup of Australian and US rock, alt, and punk royalty playing some of their greatest albums in full – including Little Birdy playing 2004’s BigBigLove.
The WA band, fronted by Katy Steele, hasn’t been active since 2010. Their last album, Confetti, was released in 2009, so this is kind of a big deal.
Steele directed fans from her solo Facebook page to the band’s new official page, responding to one fan who said they already followed the band, “our old page got hacked – we can’t access it so this is new official one.”
Speaking of the tour, Steele said: “It’s been a long time since we played those youthful songs as a band so we are all excited by the idea of revisiting them. I also love the concept of us playing the record in its entirety. These shows should be so much fun!”
Other bands on the Hotter Than Hell 2024 lineup include headliners Regurgitator, US punk legends Less Than Jake (SA and QLD only) playing Hello Rockview in its entirety, Unwritten Law (WA and VIC only) playing their Black Album in full, and Jebediah playing Slightly Odway in full, plus Magic Dirt front woman Adalita (VIC only), The Bennies (SA and QLD only), and The Kickons (WA only).
Taking to social media to reveal the lineup, organisers commented: “Hotter Than Hell has crawled out of the depths of hell and is back to bring you some classic summer festival vibes like the good old days. For a monster 2024 edition with one stage, no clashes.”
Regurgitator, who have just completed a two month mostly sold-out tour of the country in support of their latest album, Invader — which almost immediately followed on from their ‘Unit 25′ tour — were looking forward to taking an extended break after their latest run of shows, but couldn’t resist the call.
Love Live Music?
Get the latest Live Music news, features, updates and giveaways straight to your inbox Learn more
“We were pretty set on taking a decent break after the high-paced energy of making our latest album, Invader,” the band said in a statement. “As we rolled along over this great land and saw how much you poured your hearts into enjoying our Invasive tour performances, the Hotter Than Hell folks reached out, wanting us to continue the momentum for another run of their festival dates at the end of the year. We took a deep breath and said, ‘What the hell’… let’s keep the heat on eleven.”
Already touring Australia in October, Less Than Jake also shared a statement. Drummer Matt Yonker said: “Can’t believe it’s been six years since we’ve partied with our friends down under! Way too long!
“Australia is one of our favourite places to play. Other than just being a beautiful place to visit, I’m always amazed at how attractive the people are down there, must be the water! We also all appreciate just how on point the coffee game is. No joke, you get an A+ on coffee consistency, I’m not sure I’ve ever had bad coffee there! Aussie audiences easily hang with the rest of the world. I think they may even be a touch crazier. And that’s a compliment, I’m really looking forward to the mayhem.”
Unwritten Law, who were due to play their biggest tour in Australia to date last year but postponed the tour, said: “With the last Hotter Than Hell being the last tour we did before the world shut down, it holds a special place in our hearts. We’re thrilled to come be a part of it again! We’ll be playing the Black album in full and that’s always been a good time.
“What’s not to love about Australia? Grab some twisties, get a pub feed, down a VB and have a surf! Honestly though, we love the people. It’s no joke that it’s our second home. We even have a full-blooded Aussie in our band now! We just feel so accepted in the culture, it’s a crazy thing to have that kind of connection to someplace that’s so far away from where we’re from. Music is magic.”
The first leg of the festival kicks off at Dunsborough Tavern in Dunsborough on Saturday, October 12th. The tour then heads to York on Lilydale in Mt Evelyn on Saturday, October 19th, Coopers Ale House in Gepps Cross on Saturday, October 26th and Kirwan Tavern in Townsville on Saturday, November 2nd. The final event takes place on Saturday, November 9th at Chardons Corner Hotel in Brisbane.
Tickets start from just $85.
Pre-sale kicks off at 11:30am local time on Monday, July 22nd. You can register here. General sale tickets go on sale from 11:30am local time on Wednesday, July 24th.
Hotter Than Hell Tour 2024
Saturday, 12th October | Dunsborough Tavern, Dunsborough WA
Featuring: Regurgitator, Unwritten Law (US), Jebediah, Little Birdy, The Kickons
Saturday, 19th October | York On Lilydale, Mt Evelyn VIC
Featuring: Regurgitator, Unwritten Law (US), Jebediah, Little Birdy, Adalita
Saturday 26th October | Coopers Alehouse, Gepps Cross SA
Featuring: Regurgitator, Less Than Jake (US), Jebediah, Little Birdy, The Bennies
Saturday 2nd November | Kirwan Tavern, Townsville QLD
Featuring: Regurgitator, Less Than Jake (US), Jebediah, Little Birdy, The Bennies
Sunday 3rd November | Chardons Corner Hotel, Brisbane QLD
Featuring: Regurgitator, Less Than Jake (US), Jebediah, Little Birdy, The Bennies
