The Splendour In The Grass 2014 lineup rumour mill has already been spinning steadily in recent months, despite the annual music festival still being a full five months away.
But Splendour sleuths have just gained a sizeable piece to the lineup puzzle, with the announcement of the first round of acts for Fuji Rock Festival 2014.
The Japanese music festival is taking place from Friday 25th July to Sunday 27th July this year, the same dates as Splendour 2014, but there’s regularly been overlap between the two festivals’ pool of bands, with previous years proving that artists playing Fuji rock can often end up rocking the stages at Splendour.
The first 27 acts on the Fuji Rock Festival 2014 lineup, revealed on FujiRock.com, include festival headliners Kanye West and Jack Johnson, both of which are probably ruled out for Splendour given they’re touring Down Under in advance of the event (for the Yeezus arena tour in the former and the massive Bluesfest 2014 lineup in the latter).
The second tier of the Fuji Rock lineup announce includes some tantalising festival prospects, including dancefloor fillers Basement Jaxx, Welsh rock veterans Manic Street Preachers, and Scottish indie rockers Franz Ferdinand (whose eponymous debut LP recently turned 10 years old‘). “…previous years prove that artists playing Fuji rock can often end up rocking the stages at Splendour.”
Other acts jetting to Japan this July for the festival include UK indie act Bombay Bicycle Club, Nicolas Jaar’s Darkside side-project, dubstep performer SBTRKT, the raucous Parquet Courts, Irish rockers The Strypes, folk-rock legends The Waterboys, BBC Sound Of 2014 pick Jungle, plus Bloody Beetroots, and Australia’s own John Butler Trio.
Rising English trio London Grammar – who have already strongly hinted at a return to Australia this year for the winter music festival – are also on the Fuji Rock 2014 lineup, along with Jonathan Wilson, Claude Vonstroke, Fanfare Ciocarlia, Garland Jeffreys, moe., The Qemists, Syl Johnson, and more.
Using 2013 as a litmus test for the Splendour-Fuji Rock connection, a number of acts wound up playing both festivals, including Mumford & Sons, Of Monsters And Men, Haim, Portugal. The Man, and Daughter. While the previous year saw the events sharing Jack White, At The Drive-In, The Kooks, The Shins, Django Django, Gossip, Explosions In The Sky, Michael Kiwanuka, and Electric Guest.
Along with London Grammar, other strong contenders for the Splendour In The Grass 2014 lineup include atmospheric Irish singer-songwriter James Vincent McMorrow, European maverick Mikhael Paskalev, and singer/model/actress Sky Ferreira.
Outkast are also rumoured to headline Splendour, following the hip hop duo of Big Boi and André 3000 reuniting to appear as a “marquee act at over 40 festivals around the world” in a global comeback tour. Outkast are already locked in for US festivals Coachella and Firefly Music Festival (which both feature a bunch of Aussie bands coincidentally).
This year’s edition of Splendour will once again take place at the North Byron Parklands site, at the festival’s new permanent home in Yelgun, the 660-acre site getting its debut last year (after a few teething problems) and was also used for the first-ever Byron Bay leg of Falls Festival over New Year’s, with minimal fuss.
(Photo: Splendour In The Grass. Source: Facebook)
Read our three-day report on Splendour In The Grass 2013 here and our Festival Guide to Fuji Rock Festival here.
Splendour In The Grass 2014
Friday 25, Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 July
North Byron Parklands, Byron Bay
http://splendourinthegrass.com/
