Official Splendour In The Grass Sideshows
JAMES BLAKE * AT THE DRIVE-IN * THE 1975 * JAKE BUGG with BLOSSOMS
JACK GARRATT with KACY HILL * PETER, BJORN and JOHN
MARK LANEMAN BAND * BEACH SLANG + SPRING KING * LÅPSLEY
NOTHING BUT THIEVES * FAT WHITE FAMILY
JAMES BLAKE
Support Mark Pritchard *
At the early age of 22 years old, James Blake released the visionary and era defining EP CMYK, while his debut, self titled album a year later, earned him unanimous praise and worldwide success. His first two albums revealed his innovative musical identity and the constants of his sound; crisp production, mastery of bass frequencies, the combination of organic and digital elements, his natural talent on the piano and his hypnotic vocals. These attributes were amply demonstrated on second album Overgrown, deservedly winning him the Mercury Music Prize which led to a Grammy Nomination for Best New Artist.
His live performances are a cinematic experience and watching him connect with the sounds he makes is mesmerising. James last played to Australian audiences at the Splendour in the Grass festival in 2013 then followed with a string of sold out sideshows across the country, including two instantly sold out Sydney Opera House performances. His Palais show was named one of the best gigs of the year and the overall tour voted as the best international Tour Of The Year (over the decade-long return of Bruce Springsteen) by Tonedeaf.
Since then, James has recently been sharing new material in anticipation of his new highly anticipated third album.
DATES:
Tue 26 Jul – Hordern Pavilion, Sydney *
Wed 27 Jul – Margaret Court Arena, Melbourne *
Thu 28 Jul – Thebarton Theatre, Adelaide *
Sat 30 Jul – HBF Stadium, Perth
AT THE DRIVE-IN
Support Bad/Dreems
It’s official… One of the hardest hitting and best live bands of modern music are back! As announced earlier this year, Texan post-hardcore titans At The Drive-In are to re-unite this April/May, marking their first performance as a band since 2012.
It’s been a mammoth sixteen years since 2000’s LP Relationship of Command, and At The Drive-In have confirmed that they are working on new music. In case it wasn’t clear: At The Drive-In are planning a massive 2016 and the news of their reunion tour has been welcomed by fans around the globe. Sydney and Melbourne fans are able to partake in the joy first hand this July, marking fifteen years since their last Australian shows that included the incredibly memorable performance at the 2001 Big Day Out!
DATES:
Fri 22 Jul – Forum Theatre, Melbourne
Sun 24 Jul – Enmore Theatre, Sydney
THE 1975
Support Cub Sport
The 1975 continue to live up to their reputation as one of the world’s biggest bands, selling out their January Australian shows in a matter of hours and debuting at #1 on the ARIA and iTunes charts with the release of their second LP I Like It When You Sleep For You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware Of It. Recorded in Los Angeles and produced by charismatic front man Mathew Healy and band mate George Daniel alongside production collaborator Mike Crossey, the album distils their love of ’80s sonics into something that sounds impossibly now. They were the first act in the world to live stream a show on Apple Beat 1 you can check it out here.
2016 is panning out to be another massive year for The 1975 with a run of arena shows booked from Brooklyn to Vancouver, and slots on some of the worlds biggest festivals including Coachella and Glastonbury. Australian fans were given a little taste of their epic new live show last year, this time round they will be bringing all the bells and whistles with them this July… expect a live production odyssey!
DATES:
Sat 23 Jul – Sydney Show Grounds at Sydney Olympic Park, Sydney
Sun 24 Jul – Hisense Arena, Melbourne
JAKE BUGG
Support Blossoms (UK) * and Peter Bibby **
Jake Bugg’s remarkable ascent began in 2012 when his self-titled debut album entered the UK charts at #1 (aged 18, making him the youngest British male artist ever to do so), going on to sell double platinum and shortlisted for the UK Mercury Music Prize. Success only accelerated Bugg’s creative momentum, releasing a follow-up twelve months later, 2013’s richly textured Shangri La, recorded in Malibu with Rick Rubin. That album returned Bugg to the top five, earning him his second Brits nomination, a landmark show at London’s Royal Albert Hall and a sold-out UK arena tour. After joining Mumford and Sons on their sold-out Gentleman Of the Road show at Sydney’s Domain late last year, the Nottingham local has announced that he is back with album number three On My One, which will be released on June 17th. To make three albums by the age of 21 is no mean feat. To singlehandedly make On My One shape shifting effortlessly from blues to pop, rap to folk and soul to country through great songwriting is nothing short of remarkable.
Joining Jake and making their first trip to Australia will be Stockport five-piece Blossoms, off the back of a massive 2015 knocking off sets at Reading and Leeds, T in the Park, Latitude and Festival No.6. Hotly tipped for 2016 band of the year, the band have been announced as number four on the BBC Sound of 2016 list as well as being included in Spotify’s Spotlight on 2016, MTV Brand New for 2016, iTunes/Apple Music New Artists 2016 and tipped by several other sites and publications for more success in 2016. Blossoms channel their unique pop-rock sound with shimmering synths, crashing drums, a catchy bass line and Tom Ogden’s now unmistakable vocals, their Australian debut is not to be missed!
DATES:
Tue 26 Jul – State Theatre, Sydney *
Wed 27 Jul – Palais Theatre, Melbourne *
Fri 29 Jul – Metro City, Perth **
JACK GARRATT with special guest Kacy Hill (USA)
London-based singer/producer/multi-instrumentalist Jack Garratt combines electric guitar, drum machines, keyboards, and an R&B-friendly falsetto to fashion smooth, club-ready electro-R&B anthems. Garratt released his self-written, self-performed, self-recorded, and largely self-produced debut album Phase in February to critical acclaim and was awarded triple j’s feature album. The beardy multi-instrumentalist has been dubbed ‘one to watch’ thanks to a support slot with Mumford & Sons, festival appearances at the Apple Music Festival and Radio 1’s Future Festival, sold-out shows in the UK and US and his breakout single ‘Weathered’, which was a favourite of Beats 1 host Zane Lowe and triple j. Garratt was the winner of the critics choice category at the 2016 Brit Awards and BBC Music Sound Poll of 2016.
Critically acclaimed new singer / songwriter Kacy Hill, hit the Top #5 on Spotify’s Global Viral Top 50 chart with her single ‘Foreign Fields’. Kacy wrote the stripped down, airy tune with British producer and artist Jack Garratt…props to famed producer and Def Jam co-founder Rick Rubin for introducing them to each-other in the studio! Kacy characterized the song as about “exploring new space in your life and surrounding yourself with people that encourage you to push past a comfort zone.” As a member of the Vanessa Beecroft-curated performance troupe for Kanye West’s Yeezus tour, later signing with Kanye West’s G.O.O.D. music label, was named as one of Dazed & Confused’s most exciting creative artists for 2015 and was recently listed as one of VOGUE 44 stars-to-watch in 2016.
DATES:
Wed 20 Jul – 170 Russell, Melbourne
Thu 21 Jul – Metro Theatre, Sydney
PETER, BJORN and JOHN
Peter Bjorn and John, the Swedish trio behind the catchiest whistling tune of all time ‘Young Folks’, are back to wow us with their musical talents after taking a well earned break to build their own studio, start their own record label and perfect their effortless sounding pop music.
In April 2015, Peter Bjorn and John released their first new music in four years with one-off single ‘High Up (Take Me to the Top)’ on INGRID Volym 2, a Record Store Day exclusive double-LP of which there are only 500 copies. In July of the same year, the band debuted two new songs before officially announcing a forthcoming LP Breakin’ Point with the lead single ‘What You Talking About’. Due for release June 2016, their seventh album is a reflection of the band’s newfound search for (yet another) career high.
DATES:
Wed 20 Jul – Metro Theatre, Sydney
Thu 21 Jul – The Corner, Melbourne
MARK LANEGAN BAND
Support The Laurels * and Mike Noga & Band **
Mark Lanegan, the former frontman of iconic US 90’s band Screaming Trees, has redefined the blues with his signature combination of growling baritone vocals and electro, new romantic swagger. “Lanegan sings about heartbreak and salvation and stakes his claim as the Leonard Cohen of the alt-rock moaners” said Rolling Stone when referring to his ninth studio solo album Phantom Radio (2014). Fifty years of age and almost fifty albums in his discography, thanks to his awe-inspiring work ethic and passion for collaboration.
His collection boasts 9 studio albums under his own name, guests spots with Queens Of The Stone Age, and Mad Season (the mid-‘90s Seattle super group that featured members of Alice In Chains, Pearl Jam and Screaming Trees), collaborations with Isobel Campbell, Duke Garwood, and Greg Dulli (as 50% of the Gutter Twins), and of course the work of his legendary first band Screaming Trees. That’s not to mention the many one-off collaborations as the singer on records by the likes of UNKLE, Martina-Topley Bird, Moby, Soulsavers, Melissa Auf der Maur and Creature With The Atom Brain. No mean feat for a troubled kid from Washington State, whose personal life peppered with addiction and stints in jail for theft and drug dealing!
Somewhere within that release schedule he manages to find time to tour all around the globe, gaining a reputation for dark, tight, mood driven shows with little talk, that are totally badass! Get a taste of what to expect this July with this 4AD live session.
DATES:
Fri 22 Jul – The Croxton Bandroom, Melbourne **
Sat 23 Jul – The Factory Theatre, Sydney *
BEACH SLANG + SPRING KING
Support Food Court
It’s a punk-rock, post-punk showdown with a co-headline tour from alt-rockers Beach Slang and Spring King!
Philly foursome Beach Slang have proved themselves as a band who can write memorable songs, share that energy live and create a community of like-minded fans. The band’s full-length The Things We Do To Find People Who Feel Like Us is the culmination of their collective career and picks up where their two critically acclaimed 7-inches, 2014’s Cheap Thrills On A Dead End Street and Who Would Ever Want Something So Broken? left off. The feelings of youth and vulnerability lie at the core of Beach Slang’s music, which is part punk, part pop and all catharsis. Fresh from ten whiplash-inducing shows at this year’s SXSW, you won’t want to miss them make their Australian debut this July!
It wasn’t long after Manchester’s own Spring King burst onto the scene in 2014 that they secured themselves as “one of the most exciting live bands in the country” (DIY), and had none other than Zane Lowe as a fan. The legendary taste maker and radio host not only loved the band, he decided to make them a part of history – choosing their song ‘City’ as the very first song he would play on his debut broadcast of Apple’s Beats 1 radio. They’ve since grown to become favourites of the likes of NME, The Guardian, Stereogum, DIY and The Line of Best Fit, have been play-listed at Radio 1, 6 Music and triple j, toured with Courtney Barnett, Slaves and FIDLAR, as well as playing one of the breakout performances at last year’s installment of the legendary Reading Festival – and that’s all without an album out! The band’s latest track is ‘Rectifier’ premiered in the UK as Annie Mac’s Hottest Record In The World on her BBC Radio 1 show, and then made its Australian radio debut on triple j.
DATES:
Wed 20 Jul – Oxford Art Factory, Sydney
Sun 24 Jul – Corner Hotel, Melbourne
LÅPSLEY
Tues 26 Jul – Howler, Melbourne
Wed 27 Jul – Oxford Art Factory, Sydney
NOTHING BUT THIEVES
Thu 21 Jul – Oxford Art Factory, Sydney
Wed 20 Jul – Ding Dong Lounge, Melbourne
FAT WHITE FAMILY
Mon 25 Jul – Cherry Bar, Melbourne
Sun 24 Jul – Yah Yahs, Melbourne
Sat 23 Jul – Oxford Art Factory, Sydney