The Oceanic music festivals don’t just feature the fixed locale ones around New Year’s that you find in the stodgy Northern Hemisphere, but also traveling ones at the start of 2011, ranging from either side of the Outback to either side of the Tasman Sea & beyond:
Stationary
What: Meredith
Where: Meredith, VIC
When: December 10-12
Who: The Fall, Dirty Three, Washed Out, Girls, Neil Finn, Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, Reverend Horton Heat, Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, Those Darlins, The Field, Broadcast, JEFF: The Brotherhood, and more
Why: Meredith Supernatural Amphitheatre has been holding the festival since 1991, and is still going strong, with another interesting line-up.
Web: www.mmf.com.au
What: The Falls
Where: Lorne, VIC & Marion Bay, TAS
When: December 28 – January 1
Who: Interpol, Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, The National, The Living End, Public Enemy, Klaxons, Tame Impala, The Rapture, Cold War Kids, Sleigh Bells, Hot Hot Heat, Ladyhawke, The Soft Pack, The Morning Benders, Junip, Marina & The Diamonds, The Coo Kids, Casiokids, Jamaica, and more
Why: Why spend New Year’s in one state, when you can spend it in two? The Falls Festival started in 1993 in Lorne, but in 2003 spread across the Bass Strait to Marion Bay, with acts playing both campgrounds.
Web: www.fallsfestival.com/au
What: Pyramid Rock
Where: Phillip Island, VIC
When: December 31 – January 1
Who: N*E*R*D, The Temper Trap, Arrested Development, Chromeo, Midnight Juggernauts, Mystery Jets, Miami Horror, Lightspeed Champion, Built to Spill, Shout Out Louds, Future of the Left, Born Ruffians, Liam Finn, Dåm-Funk, Neon Indian, and more
Why: Now in its sixth year, Philip Island’s Pyramid Rock blows through the end of 2010 & the start of 2011 with a somewhat dance-hop weighted line-up.
Web: www.thepyramidrockfestival.com
What: Field Day
Where: Sydney, NSW
When: January 1
Who: Klaxons, Sleigh Bells, The Rapture, Tame Impala, Public Enemy, Chromeo, The Cool Kids, Mystery Jets, Marina & The Diamonds, neon Indian, Jamaica, CasioKids, and more
Why: Celebrate 2011 with an electro-dance party at The Domain in Sydney.
Web: www.fuzzy.com.au/coming-up/230/info
What: Southbound
Where: Busselton, WA
When: January 1-3
Who: The National, Interpol, Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, Public Enemy, Cold War Kids, The Rapture, The Living End, Sleigh Bells, The Morning Benders, Marina & The Diamonds, Junip, Tame Impala, Klaxons, Ladyhawke, The Soft Pack, Hot Hot Heat, CasioKids, The Cool Kids, Jamaica, and more
Why: The standing festival heads west, as many of the acts that spent New Year’s Eve on the Bass Strait go to Western Australia’s Sir Stewart Bovell Park the following weekend.
Web: www.southboundfestival.com.au
What: Sydney
Where: Sydney, NSW
When: January 8-29
Who: Arrested Development, Emmylou Harris, Sufjan Stevens, Beach House, Owen Pallett, Matt & Kim, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Wire, Los Lobos, Holly Miranda, Olof Arnalds, HEALTH, The Death Set, Mountain Man, Villagers, and more
Why: Sydney celebrates the southern summer at venues across the city across January.
Web: www.sydneyfestival.org.au/2011
Traveling
What: Big Day Out
Where: Auckland, NZ; Gold Coast, QLD; Sydney, NSW; Melbourne, VIC; Adelaide, SA; Perth, WA
When: January 21 – February 8
Who: Tool, Rammstein, Iggy & The Stooges, M.I.A., John Butler Trio, Grinderman, Sia, Wolfmother, Lupe Fiasco, Deftones, Die Antwoord, The Black Keys, LCD Soundsystem, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, Jim Jones Revue, Andrew W.K., Crystal Castles, Matt & Kim, CSS, Ratatat, The Vines, and more
Why: The biggest traveling festival Down Under has been dogged by controversy, from mosh pit & O.D. deaths to jingoist flag-waving & a homophobic rapper (dropped from last year’s tour), but also has the best acts from all around the world, playing all around Australia & New Zealand. See more in our recap of Big Day Out : Auckland here
Web: www.bigdayout.com
What: Laneway
Where: Singapore; Auckland, NZ; Brisbane, QLD; Melbourne, VIC; Sydney, NSW; Adelaide, SA; Perth, WA
When: January 29-February 12
Who: Blonde Redhead, Cut Copy, Beach House, Yeasayer, Deerhunter, !!!, Bear In Heaven, Local Natives, Two Door Cinema Club, Menomena, The Antlers, Holy Fuck, Jenny and Johnny, Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti, Stornoway, Les Savy Fav, Foals, Warpaint, PVT, and more
Why: But getting bigger & bigger is St. Jerome’s Laneway, only coming on its seventh year, but has been adding a city every year for the past six, crossing the outback to include Perth in 2009, last year crossing the Tasman Sea to include New Zealand, and this year crossing all of the East Indies to put Singapore on the festival map!
Web: www.lanewayfestival.com.au
What: Soundwave
Where: Brisbane, QLD; Sydney, NSW; Melbourne, VIC; Adelaide, SA; Perth, WA
When: February 26-March 7
Who: Iron Maiden, Queens of the Stone Age, One Day As a Lion, Slayer, Primus, Slash, 30 Seconds to Mars, Rod Zombie, Social Distortion, Gang of Four, New Found Glory, Pennywise, Sum 41, The Gaslight Anthem, Coheed and Cambria, Third Eye Blind, Less Than Jake, The Bronx, Melvins, Fucked Up, Bayside, The Maine, Trash Talk, Foxy Shazam, High On Fire, The Sword, There For Tomorrow, and more
Why: While it’s mostly a mixture of heavy & emo-punk, there are so many artists that Soundwave includes some you actually have always wanted to see like The Gaslight Anthem (and hopefully Sum 41 will be more metal).
Web: www.soundwavefestival.com
What: Future
Where: Brisbane, QLD; Perth, WA; Sydney, NSW; Melbourne, VIC; Adelaide, SA
When: March 5-14
Who: The Chemical Brothers, Dizzee Rascal, Mark Ronson & The Business Intl, MGMT, Ke$ha, The Presets, and more
Why: Dance, from electro- to -rock, hits Australia over two weekends.
Web: www.futuremusicfestival.com.au
