Australia’s iconic rock festival, Homebake has announced a 2013 return to celebrate it’s “massive 18th birthday” planned for December 7th this year.In a recent Facebook post announcing the date, organisers of the festival have urged fans to “put it in diaries” in anticipation for the celebration of the “past, present and future” of the festival.
The 2013 festival will follow on from the success of 2012’s ‘Global Edition’ of Homebake headlined by Blondie, which was the first time an international act headlined the normally all-Australian festival. Fronted by Debbie Harry, the 70s punk-pop band joined last year’s huge line-up featuring New Zealand born pop songstress Kimbra, Sam Sparro, Something For Kate, Hilltop Hoods and Jinja Safari.
As our Tone Deaf reviewer reported, 2012’s Homebake was a success with a stellar lineup with Perth psychedelic rockers Tame Impala a definite highlight, saying that “they steal the show.”
“Debbie Harry makes it clear she is, was and always will be the Queen of Punk,” our reviewer noted of the headliners. “From the moment she opens her mouth, the decision to end the day with Blondie proved to be a winner.”
Blondie received positive reviews, with most fans agreeing the international spin on a festival that normally ventures as far as New Zealand for recruiting bands was the right decision.Following on from the success of 2012’s ‘Global Edition’ of Homebake headlined by Blondie, which was the first time an international act headlined the normally all-Australian festival.
Homebake’s run as one of Australia’s most loved music festivals began in Byron Bay in January 1996. The original lineup featuring all Australian rock bands consisted of Silverchair, Magic Dirt, Powderfinger, You Am I as well as the original Triple J Unearthed band, Grinspoon. 15,000 people attended and danced in the rain to what has become a day to remember in Australia music history.
Growing steadily each year in number of attendees and acts, the festival has continued to showcase predominately Australian rock bands with the likes of The Living End, Something for Kate and Eskimo Joe featuring across the festival’s 18 year span.
The year of 1998 marked the first time the festival hit the road along the East Coast of Australia, stopping in Melbourne, Gold Coast and Sydney to delight music fans. The festival expanded to support not only music, but film in 2002. It’s 15th birthday in 2009 brought Jet, Tim Finn, and Powderfinger to celebrate the day as well as a Channel V producing a video tracing Homebake’s history.
Given the success of Homebake’s addition of Blondie in 2012, the speculation grows for the decisions for 2013. Will they continue with a sequel to the ‘Global Edition’ and add more international acts? Or will Homebake go back to its original roots in 2013 with an all Australian lineup?
With the festival’s lineup normally announced in July, music fans have a few more months to wait, filled with suspense and lineup rumours for what is anticipated to be an even bigger lineup for Homebake’s 18th birthday bash.
