Apart from Splendour In The Grass providing some major festival action this July, music festivals tend to go through a pretty lean period during the winter months, which in turn means that speculation towards the end of year run-up to summer has already begun kicking into gear, including November’s Harvest and the Australian return of the Vans Warped Tour this December.
Both music events that are being handled by promoter AJ Maddah, who’s own serial tweeting has led to a surfeit of first-hand information about his upcoming festivals. Now, echoing revealing the dates and locations of the Vans Warped Tour, Maddah has revealed the dates for his fist and biggest touring music event, Soundwave.
It may be nearly a year away, but in a reply to a fan enquiry, Maddah has inadvertently confirmed that the the dates for Soundwave 2014 have been locked in for next February.
@konfuzedbyu We start sat feb 22. Dates will follow same pattern as this year.
— AJ (@iamnotshouting) May 23, 2013
The “same pattern” being that of Soundwave 2013 this past February, which started in the Queensland capital’s RNA Showgrounds, then Sydney’s Olympic Park the next day, before the festival headed south to Melbourne the following Friday, spending the Saturday in Adelaide and finishing on a Monday in Perth amidst controversy surrounding power cuts that affect band’s sets.
Maddah accusing the Western Australian State Government of being behind what he describes as a “cheap political stunt,” in a twitter rampage slamming government officials and local who imposed a 10pm curfew on the event.
Despite these setbacks, Soundwave powers on as high attendance numbers for the festival prove that it is a force to be reckoned with. Estimates for 2013’s crowd numbers have been found to trump those of some of Australia’s biggest festivals, including Big Day Out and Stereosonic.
Despite being nine months away, the promoter has said that the 2014 lineup is “pretty much full” and has previously acknowledged himself that it would not top the size and scale of this year’s impressive bill, which featured Metallica, Blink 182, Garbage, Linkin Park, The Offspring, Paramore, Slayer, and Anthrax, topping a 70-strong bill.
“We’re not going to top it,” Maddah explained of the 2013 lineup, “it was our 10th anniversary, so [it was] a one off big show.”
But Soundwave 2014 will have some innovations, chiefly in the introduction of a new Japanese metal stage, Maddah confirming the inclusion of X Japan and and Maximum The Hormone.
@evillittleme We’re going to have a Japan stage at #SW14 with X-Japan, Maximum The Hormone, etc.
— AJ (@iamnotshouting) August 15, 2012
Other likely confirmations are Danish act Volbeat, (“almost confirmed,” wrote Maddah), American heavy metal outfit Godsmack (“they were in at 1 point, but had to pull out. SW14.”), and fellow American hard rockers Shinedown (“All good. Talking to the band’s agent about SW14″).
Swedish glam metal outfit Crashdiet also revealed via social media a promotional billboard for their album,The Savage Playground, along with the attached caption “this is what we call promoting! Soundwave Festival.” Other industry whispers have name checked British hardcore act Lower Than Atlantis, fellow English alt-rock outfit Don Broco, Swedish metallers Dead By April.
Maddah has also confirmed that there won’t be any double-ups between any visitors for Soundwave and the Vans Warped Tour bill, after revealing the dates and locations for Warped Tour’s Australian return this December.
Though the punk festival’s lineup is yet to be revealed, with Maddah noting his excitement with working festival founder Kevin Lyman, the promoter confirmed that the Warped Tour would be the only chance to catch any of the bands as there won’t be any sideshows.
Meanwhile the Soundwave boss’s other big festival, Harvest, recently had its dates and first act leaked when lo-fi cult favourites Neutral Milk Hotel announced that their reformation tour would include a trip to Australia as part of the November music festival.
Others rumoured for Harvest’s third ever run include Scottish indies Franz Ferdinand, who will confirmed a headline tour of Australia this November as part of the touring cycle for their new studio album, out in August, while other potential acts include reclusive Irish singer-songwriter Damien Rice, who “would be great for Harvest 2013,” tweeted Maddah, while a suggestion that Philly rock band Mewithoutyou would return to our shores prompted Maddah to “invite them to Harvest right away!” He also told a user he would consider inviting Jack White too, and goth pioneers The Cure were on his personal wishlist.
Potential Soundwave 2014 Dates
venues TBA
Saturday 22nd February – Brisbane
Sunday 23rd February – Sydney
Friday 28th February – Melbourne
Saturday 1st March – Adelaide
Monday 3rd March – Perth
Soundwave 2014 Lineup Confirmations
Crashdiet
X Japan
Maximum The Hormone
Volbeat
Godsmack
Shinedown
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