With the rumour mill starting to pick up pace following the announcement of the Fuji Rock Festival 2013 lineup, the organisers behind Australia’s biggest and best winter music festival now have something a little more concrete for prospective festival-goers; their 2013 dates and location.
Taking place over over three days from Friday 26th to Sunday 28th July, the biggest news for Splendour In The Grass this year is that it will finally be moving to its long-planned permanent home at North Byron Parklands, and as they say in their press release “we’re ready to throw one massive housewarming party!”
Located 20 minutes north of Byron Bay, among 660 acres of rolling green hills and water-lined forests, the North Byron Parklands location is a picturesque and idyllic spot for one of Australia’s leading music festivals.
“It has been a long journey to get to this point. Seven years after we first found this idyllic piece of land, we’re so excited to finally move Splendour to its permanent home at North Byron Parklands,” said co-producers Jessica Ducrou and Paul Piticco.
Splendour returned to Byron for its 2012 edition, returning to Belongil Fields after temporarily moving to Woodfordia in Queensland in 2009, while it awaited approval from a planning commission for the North Byron festival site it purchased a few years back; a move that fellow festival promoter Peter Noble, of Byron Bay Bluesfest, spoke out against.“Seven years after we first found this idyllic piece of land, we’re so excited to finally move Splendour to its permanent home at North Byron Parklands.” – Splendour In The Grass
Now, the festival has received its long-awaited application and headed to its permanent location, which will also feature plenty of space for the all-important camping facilities. “Onsite camping has always been a high priority for us. It creates a real sense of community at the show,” add Ducrou and Piticco.
A new teaser video that announces the move to North Byron and the festival’s dates also features UK singer-songwriter sensation Jake Bugg’s ‘Lightning Bolt’ for its soundtrack, could this mean that Mr. Bugg is headed to the newly relocated event? or is it merely a coincidence that his surname is a nice little tie-in to the bee that’s floating around in the teaser video?
The 2013 lineup announcement is of course still some ways off, but already there’s been a few leaks for the bill, as well as a number of juicy rumours for the event.
Celebrated English four-piece Alt-J(∆) are headed back to Australia for their third visit within a year, playing three dates that line up suspiciously well with Splendour’s newly announced July dates.
On top of the Leeds quartet, there’s the acts recently announced for the Japanese Fuji Rock festival, and given previous year’s lineups have often overlapped with Splendour’s, we may even get the likes of Nine Inch Nails, Björk, and the XX out in Australia come July.
In amongst those headed to Fuji Rock is an act that further confirms them for a return to Splendour In The Grass this coming July, Icelandic folk collective Of Monsters And Men.
The group are blindingly popular in Australia, having scored the penultimate spot on Triple J’s Hottest 100 this year, scored a #1 ARIA album charts position with their debut My Head Is An Animal, and even wowed audiences with their appearance on the Laneway Festival this past February (*phew*). In fact Of Monsters And Men made their debut Australian visit with last year’s Splendour In The Grass and a 2013 appearance would make it two for two for the nu-folkies.
Singer Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir already confirmed an Australian tour for later this year, insinuating the possibility of a Splendour presence. “We’re gonna come back here in the winter time for you guys,” says Hilmarsdóttir.
Wavves is also highly likely for a Splendour lineup slot, with a tweet from the band confirming a visit to Japan and Australia in 2013, putting him in contention for Summersonic and Fuji Rock as well as Splendour.
very excited to go back to Japan/ Australia this year!!! details later
— WAVVES (@wavves) February 13, 2013
Meanwhile, The Polyphonic Spree’s Tim DeLaughter also spilled the beans over twitter that the cult-sized psychedelic pop ensemble would be heading to Australia for Splendour In The Grass 2013 this July, and then there’s the juicy – but iffy – rumour that Bob Dylan could be headlining the festival.
Either way, as Splendour makes its move to its new, permanent home at North Byron Parklands, there’s going to be plenty of great acts to help them christen their site.
Splendour In The Grass 2013 Dates & Location
Friday 26, Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 July
North Byron Parklands
