While Peats Ridge Festival undergoes financial troubles following its financial collapse, with the MEAA stating that hundreds of musicians and crew were left unpaid for their services to the New Year’s event. But while it draws a close on the New South Wales event, up north, one of Queensland’s iconic landmarks is set to host a music festival that is already on track for success.
As previously reported, the Big Pineapple Music Festival will some of Australia’s finest rock bands heading to the Sunshine State this April to play the branew new music festival, featuring a large list of local talent across four stages, food stalls, markets, and all the usual festivities for the reasonably budget ticket price of $70.
That, along with major musical draw-cards Grinspoon, Birds of Tokyo, Regurgitator, and Hermitude, has meant the Big Pineapple Music Festival has already seen more than half of its allocated tickets selling out ahead of the April event, reports ABC News.
“It’s incredible, it’s something we haven’t seen,” says co-director Mark Pico of the demand for the festival. “The excitement that this one [event] is generating, from all around the country and New Zealand is super exciting.”
Ticket buyers, from as far as Adelaide, Perth, and Humpty Doo, have scooped up 75% of the total tickets already. The festival held a pre-sale and ‘early bird’ specials in early December for the event, which has certainly helped with selling a large portion of the festival’s allocation.
Organisers reason that the event’s onsite camping has helped draw the interstate crowd, and are hoping punters will stay on and spend money in the region after the event.“We just want to put on a special festival that everyone can afford and enjoy.” – Mark Pico, Big Pineapple Music Festival
“We’re hearing and seeing a happy vibe on Facebook and we hope they will stay around on the Sunshine Coast as well,” says Mr Pico. “We just want to put on a special festival that everyone can afford and enjoy.”
As well as camping facilities and the four music stages, the Big Pineapple complex – located an hour’s drive north of Brisbane, is also home to the “biggest all weather markets” in the state according to the festival website. Big Pineapple’s co-director also notes many of the bands’ enthusiasm for playing the event.
“We chose some of these bands that were iconic too, Regurgitator, they’re really excited about coming,” says Mr Pico. “It’s great with Grinspoon, they played on my first album,” says the musician/co-director, “so to grab them and put them on a festival is pretty exciting.”
Pico says he and his festival colleagues are looking at a successful debut, “I think it will sell out, considering it’s only been on sale for a month and half and we’ve already sold 75 per cent of the tickets.”
The Big Pineapple Music Festival is the latest in a string of new music festival announcements that have sprung up lately.
Last year saw the announcement that big names like Santana and Steve Miller Band are headed to Deniliquin in NSW for the brand new Deni Blues & Roots Festival this March, along with reports of community organisers in Warrnambool seeking consultation from a former organiser of the Tamworth Country Music Festival to help them put together a new annual music festival.
Geelong Mayor Keith Fagg is seeking support in eyeing a similar annual event in their seaside city, which would do wonders for Geelong’s burgeoning music scene, and earlier this month, local council in Airlie Beach talked extensively of a new three-day music festival headed to the Whitsunday Islands.
Over in New South Wales, the city of Port Macquarie took their love for the Fab Four to a whole new level, with the Beatlemania Festival, and then there’s news of the inaugural Ballarat Beat Rockabilly Festival, which is a mix of music, fashion shows, and a chance to show off vintage cars down the main street.
The Big Pineapple Music Festival 2013 Lineup
Birds of Tokyo
Grinspoon
Regurgitator
British India
The Black Seeds
Hermitude
Ash Grunwald
Oka
Kingswood
Chance Waters
Dialectrix
Stickey Fingers
Lyall Moloney
Cheap Fakes
Bobby Alu
Golden Sound
Mitch Davis & The Dawn Chorus
The Floating Bridges
Khan
Andy Dub (DJ Set)
Leisure Bandits
Roland West (DJ Set)
Draw Card
Landsoaken (DJ Set)
The Greenroom
Soula
+ MORE
The Big Pineapple Music Festival 2013 Dates & Tickets
Big Pineapple Complex, Nambour Connection Road
Sunshine Coast (1 Hour North Of Brisbane)
Saturday April 20th, 2013
Tickets available at: bigpineapplemusicfestival.com
