Reunited for their 10th anniversary, The Postal Service have been popping up on festival bills all over the world. Locked in for America’s Coachella in April, Barcelona’s Primavera Sound in May, and Chicago’s Lollapalooza in August, fans had hoped the two-piece would add Australia to their list of destinations and make it down for a festival.

Though an appearance at July’s Splendour In The Grass was recently ruled out, rumours (and hopes) turned to a possible slot at Harvest Festival in November. Now, Ben Gibbard and Jimmy Tamborello have dashed those dreams too, possibly ruling out a trip to Australia altogether.

In response to a Gibbard fan on Twitter, Harvest promoter AJ Maddah confirmed that he had approached The Postal Service to book them for an Australian visit for the November festival as part of their decadal celebrations:

Maddah’s clarification that the band said no to “Australia in general,” follows on from Tamborello telling Triple J that a tour down under was off the cards.

“Sadly I don’t think we’re gonna make it there”, Tamborello told Triple J’s Richard Kingsmill in a recent interview. ”We have a pretty small window of time where this is possible and I haven’t heard anything about any dates there. It’s sad we don’t have any more time to do more of the world. I’ve never been to Australia!” Though an appearance at July’s Splendour In The Grass was recently ruled out, rumours (and hopes) turned to a possible slot at Harvest Festival in November

Given that it’s nearly eight months away, it may seem pre-emptive to be discussing the 2013 lineup for Harvest, but one band that looks like a strong contender in lieu of Postal Service’s absence is Scottish rock band Franz Ferdinand, last on Australian shores for Future Music Festival 2010.

Headed to the Chilean leg of Lollapalooza 2013, the band revealed they would be returning to Australia for a tour this November, as FasterLouder reports, off the back of a recently completed studio album, their first since 2009’s Tonight: Franz Ferdinand, even debuting four new songs during their Lollapalooza Chile set.

A November visit lines up nicely with Harvest Festival, for what will be its third outing this November, and puts Franz Ferdinand straight to the top of the rumour mill.

If all this talk has whet your Harvest lineup appetite, then look no further than AJ Maddah’s Twitter feed to satiate your rumour hunger further. The man with possibly the busiest thumbs in the country is quick to respond to his followers enquiring about potential visiting acts and is quite open in his statements, with Maddah telling a follower on March 30 that they “have about 8 bands locked in for Harvest.”

Based solely on Twitter conversations, Irish troubadour Damien Rice “would be great for Harvest 2013” and Ghost Inside will “be here soon enough” says Maddah. A suggestion of Philly rockers Me Without You to come back to our shores prompted Maddah to “invite them to Harvest right away!” and he also told a user he would consider inviting Jack White too. Even though the likelihood of The Cure playing at Splendour in the Grass is slim due to tight schedules, they’re also on Maddah’s wishlist for Harvest.

Speaking of rumours, names are now circulating for the return of the Vans Warped Tour to our shores.

Following on from the announcement that Maddah will help bring back the punk tour to Australia this December in association with founder Kevin Lyman. The Harvest boss and Vans Warped Tour main man bringing the tour to (so far) six coastal shows, including Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, and regional areas.

Unfortunately, whoever Maddah brings out for the tour, you’ll only have one chance to see them, as he tweeted on Friday that there wouldn’t be any sideshows for Vans Warped Tour 2013. Taking into consideration that it’s the first time the tour has come to Australia in over a decade, he justified it in writing:

Determined to distinguish the tour from his other festival concern, Soundwave, he has previously said, “Warped is about mayhem & DIY punk rock spirit. [Soundwave] is about delivering a slick & orchestrated day of performances.”

In response to the question of pop punk bands The Story So Far or Man Overboard playing the tour, he emphatically tweeted, “that’s uncanny. I just emailed Man O less than a minute ago!”

Punk rockers 28 Days – who are heading out on a national tour in April/May – are also keen for a return to the Warped Tour, stating on their Facebook page; “So the Warped tour is coming back to Australia. Hopefully its stays true to its roots and remains a punk rock festival and hopefully a bit more of a local feel.”

The Melbourne outfit toured with the festival back in 2002 alongside The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, MXPX, Pennywise, The Vandals and Eskimo Joe.

Maddah is probably considering 28 Days’ invitation if his previous comments citing that the Warped lineup would feature “lots of locals” are anything to go by:

The lineup for South America’s Warped Festival for 2013 could give fans a hint of who to expect at December’s shows. With names like The Used, Memphis May Fire, Reel Big Fish and Black Veil Brides gracing the South American earth in July/August this year, there is possibility that we could be enjoying these acts in our very own backyard come December.

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