It’s that time of year again, folks: Splendour In The Grass. Every year, for one unforgettable weekend in July, thousands of punters take a road trip towards the North Byron Parklands for a concert experience that they’ll never forget.

With countless bands on the lineup every year, and with plenty of ways to have the time of your life, we all leave there each year with some pretty special memories, including the bands who play there.

To get everyone in the mood for the festival tomorrow, and with Mansionair helping to kick things off on Thursday night with a performance at Red Bull Sound Select’s pre-party, we caught up with the band to hear about some of their most memorable Splendour moments.

YouTube VideoPlay

Opening the mix up tent and seeing the entire tent absolutely packed

“This is one of our most treasured memories and totally exceeded our expectations. To see that many people packed so tightly in a tent singing your songs back at you is an experience we will never forget.”

Running into Lachlan outside the Byron Bay Doughnut stand and deciding we were gonna make music together

“Lach and I met through mutual friends standing outside this stand. We said we were gonna make music together and we did. He had already been working with Alex, and the first song we worked on came to be ‘Hold Me Down’.”

Slipping down the hill whilst watching Tame Impala crank out ‘Apocalypse Dreams’

“That Amphitheatre isn’t all that friendly. I was making my way through rows of people trying to escape the crowd. I wore mud for the rest of the evening. It’s what festivals are for.”

YouTube VideoPlay

Getting wine poured over me by Matt Berninger from The National

“There’s nothing like climbing to the front of the crowd to see your favourite band. What tops it off, is when the lead singer decides to pour half their bottle of wine over you.”

Watching that kid do a nudie hill climb at the festival

“Two years ago we watched on with half the festival as one kid covered himself in mud and slid up and down the hill between the Amphitheatre and the Mix Up tent. If you were there you’d remember, if not, I think there’s still a video on YouTube of it, check it out.”

Watching Outkast

“This is an obvious one. A sea of people, some guy with a flare, one of the most prolific duo’s of a lifetime, literally every song is an absolute banger. Truly unforgettable.”

YouTube VideoPlay

Watching James Blake blossom through technical difficulties

“One year James Blake was pushing through copious technical difficulties. In the end he played an entire set with just him and a piano. It was stunning, and quickly became a true highlight of that year.”

Literally running into Mark Ronson

“I wasn’t watching where I was going and I realised I’d walked right into the middle of Mark Ronson’s entourage as they were all walking into the artist area. I bumped into the man himself and forgot how to use words, so I just mumbled and walked away.”

Got given the camping site right next to one of those massive generator lights.

“Unforgettable, but for the wrong reason. It would switch off at like 3am, and everyone nearby would cheer in their tents because it was so fucking loud.”

Julian Casablanca from The Strokes told me and my friends off, for being too rowdy.

“It was my first time at Splendour and I loved The Strokes. Julian saw us dancing off to the side of the stage and told us we need to calm down because we were doing a dance move called ‘the washing machine’. That set was magical.”

YouTube VideoPlay

Mansionair play the Red Bull Sound Select pre-party on the Mix Up Stage this Thursday night at Splendour in the Grass.

Get unlimited access to the coverage that shapes our culture.
to Rolling Stone magazine
to Rolling Stone magazine