Byron Bay, which already hosts two of Australia’s major music events in the shape of Bluesfest and Splendour In The Grass, is about to expand its music festival repertoire to three.
The annual New Year’s Arts & Music Falls Festival has announced that along with its annual appearances in Lorne and Marion Bay, it will be expanding to a third leg on the sunny shores of New South Wales, with confirmation of invitation and approval by the local Shire’s Byron Bay Council, according to a press statement issued today.
Already a fixture in Victoria and Tasmania, running for 20 years and 10 years in Lorne and Marion Bay respectively, the expansion will see Falls taking to New South Wales for the first time ever this year, the 18+ event running from December 31st through to 3rd January.
“We’re really excited to be heading North and expanding this year,” says Falls Festival founder Simon Daly. “The Byron Bay location couldn’t be better suited to everything that has always encompassed Falls in Lorne and Marion Bay. Coastal and charming natural settings; a destination for our patrons to travel for.”
Ahed of last year’s edition of Falls, Splendour In The Grass co-founders Jessica Ducrou and Paul Piticco bought into a partnership with Falls after the departure of the New Year’s festival’s General Manager Naomi Daly and Event Manager Carmella Morgan. “We’re really excited to be heading North and expanding this year.” – Simon Daly, Falls Festival
There’s no official word (as yet), but it’s plausible that Ducrou and Piticco’s involvement has helped forge the new Byron Bay expansion, especially considering their own involvement with Byron Bay council in relocating Splendour In The Grass to its new permanent home at the North Byron Parklands for this year’s edition of their three-day winter music festival.
As Falls becomes thrice as nice, organisers have said that more information on all three legs of Falls Festival will be made available in the coming weeks, including the all-important lineup announcement, which last year featured the likes of The Flaming Lips, Hilltop Hoods, Two Door Cinema Club, SBTRKT, and more.
But the first two clues for this year’s lineup may have already dropped two major indie headliners. Soundtracking all three videos that accompany the announcement of Falls Festival in Lorne, Marion Bay, and the newly added Byron Bay is Vampire Weekend’s ‘Unbelievers’ from their latest album Modern Vampires Of The City. A not so subtle hint that the New York four-piece are playing Falls? Or pure coincidence?
It’s a trick that Splendour also pulled in their trailer for the 2013 edition, which featured Jake Bugg’s ‘Lightning Bolt’ before, lo and behold, his name appeared in the confirmed lineup.
The second major Falls lineup clue comes courtesy of Grizzly Bear’s Ed Droste, who has let slip that the Brooklyn-born indie darlings are due for a visit to Australia over New Year’s, as FasterLouder points out.
“We’ll be Down Under come New Years,” wrote Droste in a casual comment on a photo on his Instagram account while on tour in the Portugal town of Porto. While its pure speculation at this point, Falls Festival would make for a good fit for the band, who were last in Australia in 2012 for Harvest Festival and a run of sideshows in support of fourth album Shields. After all, there’s few bigger New Year’s music events than Falls, especially now it’s hitting Byron Bay.
Falls Festival 2013 Dates
Marion Bay, TAS: December 29, 2013 – January 01, 2014 (All Ages)
Byron Bay, NSW: December 31, 2013 – January 03, 2014 (18+)
Lorne, VIC: December 28, 2013 – January 01, 2014 (18+)
