Being the downtime for festivals in the Australian music calendar, with summer’s heavy schedule fading into the warm glow of the past and Splendour’s July showing still a ways off, minds begins to turn to some of the bigger music festivals towards year-end, and with it the inevitable lineup speculation.
Already, some loose lips have leaked lineups ahead of schedule, with Laneway 2014′s first act already likely to have been revealed, while the reunion of lo-fi folk pioneers Neutral Milk Hotel brought with it confirmation that they are the first band announced for the Harvest 2013 lineup.
Parklife has also been the subject of a number of lineup rumours, including UK’s Disclosure who let slip they’d already been booked for Parklife 2013. But it now turns out there won’t be a Parklife 2013, with organisers deciding instead to focus on a new festival concept: Listen Out.
The shock announcement was made by Parklife promoters Fuzzy on the festival’s official Facebook page, posting a photo saying “no more Parklife” with a link to more information about the new project.
“Say goodbye to endless timetable clashes, long hikes to the 12th stage and spending your day with several thousand people you can’t relate to.”Fuzzy say that they came to the decision to scuttle Parklife so they could focus on creating the new event that they say is desperately needed in Australia. Labelling it Australia’s first intelligent dance music event, Listen Out aims to bring quality dance music to four inner city venues across Australia this spring.
Fuzzy promise that Listen Out will be the antidote to many of the things you don’t like about big music festivals.
It is a carefully handcrafted party, with a killer lineup of the dance music that matters and a philosophy of best, not biggest,” said organisers today. “Say goodbye to endless timetable clashes, long hikes to the 12th stage and spending your day with several thousand people you can’t relate to. Listen Out is the right party, and we mean party not festival, for the right people.”
Listen Out will be held in Sydney at Brazilian Fields in beautiful Centennial Park, in Brisbane at the Cultural Forecourt, South Bank, in Perth at Ozone Park, and in Melbourne at the Observatory Precinct in the Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne.
Sadly for fans in Adelaide, not only will there not be a Parklife this year, but Listen Out has also decided to skip the city of churches.
Tickets go on sale from $89+bf on midday 27 June from listen-out.com.au . No word yet whether Disclosure will be part of the lineup instead.
Listen Out 2013 Dates & Venues
SYDNEY | Saturday 28th September @ Centennial Park, 2pm-10pm
PERTH | Sunday 29th September @ Ozone Reserve, 2pm-10pm
MELBOURNE | Saturday 5th October @ Observatory Precinct, Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne, 2pm-10pm
BRISBANE | Sunday 6th October @ Cultural Forecourt, Southbank, 2pm-10pm
