Organisers of the recently expanded Falls Festival have revealed the details of the site to be used for the Byron Bay leg of this year’s edition of the New Year’s music festival.
As previously reported, Falls has announced that along with its annual appearances in Lorne and Marion Bay, which have been running for 20 and years respectively – it will expand to New South Wales for the first this year with a third leg headed to Byron Bay, which will be hosted at the 660-acre Yelgun site used for the first time at last weekend’s Splendour In The Grass.
Falls revealed it would be using Splendour’s new digs at the North Byron Parklands in a Facebook post boasting its “natural amphitheatres, lakes and tree coverage,” along with an image of the festival site.
At the time of the Falls expansion to Byron, it was speculated that the Shire Council’s approval of its new festival addition (along with Splendour and Bluesfest) came as a result of last year’s deal that saw Splendour In The Grass co-founders Jessica Ducrou and Paul Piticco buying into a partnership with Falls after the departure of the New Year’s festival’s General Manager Naomi Daly and Event Manager Carmella Morgan.
That Splendour are now letting Falls use part of their estate nearly all but confirms it. Ducrou and Piticco managed to secure their new permanent home at the North Byron Parklands for Splendour In The Grass in April last year, after many year of negotiations with the Shire’s Byron Bay Council, which included the approval of a five-year trial to host three events at the Yelgun site until 2017; enter the announcement of the Falls Byron Bay expansion.
The first use of the new site was for Splendour In The Grass last weekend, with a shift to new grounds promising more room for staging, less sound-bleed between stages, and extra space for camping and manoeuvring traffic at the picturesque parklands. The Falls Festival lineup has yet to be revealed, with organisers responding to a query that the festival bill would be revealed “sometime this month.”
At least, it should have, with post-festival reports revealing several teething problems with the Splendour site, organisers admitting issues with toilet queues, four/five-hour delays in transport, issues at VIP camping grounds, and other grumbles from punters.
Falls Festival are keen to avoid the pitfalls experienced by Splendour, essentially treating its debut at the new permanent site as a test run for its own festival run. “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.”
Of course the reason that patrons travel – the all-important Falls Festival lineup – has yet to be revealed, with organisers responding to a query that the festival bill would be revealed “sometime this month.” Last year’s Falls lineup, featuring the likes of The Flaming Lips, Hilltop Hoods, Two Door Cinema Club, SBTRKT, and more, was revealed in July.
There’s already a number of clues as to who to expect for the Falls Festival lineup announcement. Chief among them, Vampire Weekend, the speculation stirring after the band’s song ‘Unbelievers’, from Modern Vampires Of The City, was used to soundtrack teaser trailers for Falls arrival in Lorne, Marion Bay, and Byron Bay.
A not so subtle hint that echoed Splendour In The Grass’ trick, using Jake Bugg’s ‘Lightning Bolt’ on their trailer for the 2013 edition, before – lo and behold – his name appeared in the confirmed lineup.
Grizzly Bear are also rumoured after singer/guitarist Ed Droste let slip that the Brooklyn-born indie darlings would “be Down Under come New Years,” in a casual comment on a photo on hisInstagram account while on tour in Portugal. Meanwhile, also on the rumour mill is the legendary hip hop crew, The Roots. The Elvis Costello-collaborating band’s ringleader Ahmir ‘?uestlove’ Thompson tweeting that the band would “be in Aussie day after Xmas for a week in 2013.
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+)
Falls Festival 2013 Lineup Rumours
Vampire Weekend
Grizzly Bear
The Roots
