A contingent of Aussie artists are set to appear as part of the huge Coachella 2014 lineup in April and the four-day Firefly Music Festival in June. And a record number of Australian artists are hitting SXSW 2014, “the most Australian artists in the US at any one time in history.”
Now the Aussie invasion expands once more as even more homegrown talent is added to yet another high-profile international music festival.
Yesterday saw London’s flagship Field Day festival announcing the first round of names for the 2014 lineup, and among the ranks of cutting edge electronic acts and big name indie artists is a clutch of Australian acts, including a musical trifecta of artists that cracked NME’s coveted ‘Best of 2013’ lists.
Leading the pack is Courtney Barnett, her Field Day appearance following shortly after her confirmed appearance at Firefly Music Festival and extending the 25-year-old Melbourne singer-songwriter’s international itinerary for 2014, also performing at Canadian industry conference NXNE the same month.
Barnett has already proven her international appeal, with her breakout ‘Avant Gardener’ (the second best Aussie song of the year according to Tone Deaf readers) reaching British audiences via NME naming it as one of Best Songs of 2013 and major attention from The Guardian last year. the Aussie invasion expands once more as even more homegrown talent is added to yet another high-profile international music festival: Field Day.
Next off the rank is Pond, who are set to play the Pixies-headlined second day of Field Day 2014 on Sunday 8th June. The Perth-bred psych rockers will be returning to the UK off the back of their latest album, Hobo Rocket, and will likely treat the festival audience to a snatch of new material from their already completed follow-up album, the cheekily titled Man It Feels Like Space Again, which is already in the can.
Also on the Sunday Field Day 2014 lineup is fellow psych-rock buzz band, Temples, and The Horrors – who are also Pond aficionados, having collaborated with side-project Allbrook/Avery in recording a new album.
Speaking of psychedelia, Jagwar Ma are also hitting Field Day – rubbing shoulders with the likes of Blood Orange, Metronomy, SBTRKT, Warpaint, and Danny Brown on the opening Saturday 7th June date of the festival.
The Arctic Monkeys-covering Sydney-siders are already a big hit in the UK, regularly hailed as “the next Tame Impala” by British press, while the likes of Noel Gallagher and Paul ‘The Modfather’ Weller have publicly sung the praises of Jagwar Ma’s debut album, Howlin’ (ranked by Tone Deaf readers as the fifth best Aussie album of 2013).
Last but certainly not least is another Aussie act familiar to London crowds: The Temper Trap. The Melbourne-bred pop rock majors have toured nationally and internationally several times over, including their much-publicised support slot on The Rolling Stones’ headline show at London’s Hyde Park last year.
The Field Day 2014 slot is the first and only tour date The Temper Trap have announced since founding member Lorenzo Sillitto quit the band late last year, though their upcoming festival slot could see the Melbourne four-piece airing songs from the new album they’ve been working on. Starting sessions with Frank Ocean producer Malay in a unique artist residency in Byron Bay last year before the departure of their guitarist.
With further Field Day 2014 lineup announcements landing soon, there may even be a few more Aussie bands set to fly the flag in the UK, especially with the forthcoming wave of festival announcements for the likes of Glastonbury and Great Escape. Plus America is entering its own musical festival season, so we can expect even more local talent turning up on international events soon.
Field Day 2014 Lineup
Aussie acts in bold
Saturday 7th June
Metronomy, SBTRKT, All We Are, Blood Orange, Charlotte OC, Courtney Barnet, Daniel Avery, Danny Brown, DJ Barely Legal, Dusky, East India Youth, Éclair FiFi, Erol Alkan b2b Daniel Avery, Evian Christ (DJ set), Fat White Family, George Fitzgerald, Gerd Janson, Ghostpoet, Huw Stephens, Innervisions: Dixon & Ame (b2b), Jaakko Eino Kalevi, Jackmaster & Oneman present Can U Dance, Jagwar Ma, James Holden (live), Jessy Lanza, John Wizards, Jon Hopkins, Lunice, Money, Moxie, Omar Souleyman, Oneohtrix Point Never, Pawws, Ryan Hemsworth, Seun Kuti & Fela’s Egypt 80, Simian Mobile Disco (exclusive new live show), Sky Ferreira, Slackk b2b Samename, SOHN, Sophie, Teleman, The Temper Trap, Tim Burgess (DJ), Todd Terje – live, Vessel, Warpaint
Sunday 8th June
Pixies, The Horrors, Temples, Pond
plus more to be announced
