The new two-day format Soundwave is set to kick off simultaneously in Melbourne and Adelaide next February but the hard and heavy festival’s boss has alerted fans that the Adelaide powers that be are attempting to block the event’s return.

AJ Maddah took to Twitter overnight to tell his more than 41,000 followers that Adelaide City Council (ACC) were “trying to get rid of #SW15,” after the ACC added Soundwave to a council forum page asking for input from locals about the festival’s new weekend-long format.

Over on Adelaide Council’s ‘Your Say’ website, the council notes that it has received Soundwave’s application for the use of Bonython Park/Tulya Wardli on Saturday 21 February and Sunday 22 February 2015, but notes “before we can grant a temporary event lease over the Park Lands, we are required to consult with you to gather your feedback on the lease proposal.”

As Music Feeds points out, Maddah has urged Soundwave fans to “show your support in a respectful manner” by taking part in Adelaide Council’s forum and sending statements of support for the event, which has been held annually at Adelaide’s Bonython Park grounds since 2008.

“It would be sad to lose Adelaide, my fav SW,” Maddah commented to a Twitterer who filed their support for the festival, while telling others looking to contact Adelaide council to “Please make sure that you state your Adelaide address. If you travel to Adel SW from out of town please state that clearly.”

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Soundwave ran into trouble with Adelaide Council earlier this year when it was forced to forfeit its $10,000 bond after Soundwave 2014 was found to be in breach of local noise restrictions. Council monitoring found that at least one stage had exceeded the volume limit of 110 decibels for over 70% of the festival’s duration.

In related news, the Soundwave 2015 lineup rumour mill continues to spin at a furious pace ahead of the official announcement landing in August.

Maddah has previously stated that Soundwave 2015 has “four headiners”, with agit-rockers Rise Against strongly rumoured to be on the top of the bill, while the Soundwave Boss has shot down speculation that Smashing Pumpkins and a reunited Disturbed could be headlining.

Bands that are confirmed for Soundwave 2015 include Melbourne hardcore outfit Confession and crowdfunding record-holders Ne Obliviscaris, while Fear Factory are also a likely booking for the bill. Two bands that pulled out of Soundwave this year – Stone Temple Pilots and Newsted – may also make the bill. Maddah saying the former is a “maybe” and that he’d “love to have” the latter. 

Other rumoured bands include Lamb Of God, Social Distortion, Against Me!, Opeth, Papa Roach, Marilyn Manson, and Anvil. More ‘maybes’ according to Maddah’s twitter, include Melvins, Dream Theater,Dragonforce, Flogging Molly, The Pretty Reckless, Asking Alexandria, Motionless In White, Bayside, Four Year Strong, Yellowcard, New Found Glory, Machine Head and Chimaira, Royal Blood and DZ Deathrays.

Soundwave 2015 Dates

Soundwave 2015 First Weekend
Saturday 21st and Sunday 22nd February, 2015
Adelaide – Bonython Park
Melbourne – Flemington Racecourse

Soundwave 2015 Second Weekend
Saturday 28th Feb and Sunday 1st March
Sydney – Olympic Park
Brisbane – RNA Showgrounds

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