Splendour In The Grass Rumour Wrap-Up

We thought we'd clear the air and immense sexual tension surrounding the lineup for this year's SPLENDOUR IN THE GRASS festival. Our boy Tony Kingston walks us through the confirmed acts and rumours for 2013.

After last year's massive event featuring headliners JACK WHITE, BLOC PARTY, SMASHING PUMPKINS, AT THE DRIVE-IN and THE SHINS, it's safe to say that organisers have a big job ahead of them making this event bigger.

Let's get stuck into the rumours shall we??

ALT-J

After a well hyped Laneway Festival tour earlier this year, ALT-J will return to Australia in late July to play shows in Sydney, Adelaide and Melbourne. With no Brisbane date announced, it almost confirms that they will be one of the headliners for Splendour In The Grass.

COLD WAR KIDS

In an interview at SXSW with Zan Rowe on Triple J, COLD WAR KIDS front man Nathan Willett said that they'd be back in Australia in late July. When questioned by Fasterlouder if it would be for Splendour he replied “Yeah, I think we’re announcing that sometime soon”. Like a lot of artists, he obviously has a bit of trouble keeping a secret.

BLACK REBEL MOTORCYCLE CLUB

With already two Splendours under their belt and a new album, there is a decent chance we'll see a hat trick from these garage rockers.

PET SHOP BOYS

With musical veterans PULP, PIXIES, HAPPY MONDAYS, SONIC YOUTH and DEVO all being on previous line ups, we feel as though PET SHOP BOYS would be a perfect fit, especially considering they have a new album coming out in June. They're also playing Summersonic in Japan in early August which makes way for a very convenient flight route from Australia.

JAMES BLAKE

He recently confirmed with The Music website that he will be making an appearance at the festival. He also just played two very intimate shows in Sydney and Melbourne, which were promoted by Secret Sounds (the people behind Splendour). Lock it in Eddie!

JAKE BUGG

His song 'Lightning Bolt' was featured in the first promo video. This is usually a postive sign.

MODESELEKTOR

Last year MODESELEKTOR cancelled their Australian tour and we were all bitterly disappointed. With them playing Fuji Rock in Japan, surely it's time for them to squeeze us into their busy touring schedule.

THE POLYPHONIC SPREE

Tim DeLaughter from the band confirmed their Splendour appearance on Twitter. Thanks for letting us know Tim!

JACK BEATS

In the past we've seen a few high profile DJs play in the Mix Up Tent such as MSTRKRFT, DJ SHADOW, KRAFTY KUTS and ADAM FREELAND. We believe JACK BEATS will take the spot this year.

EVERYTHING EVERYTHING

Every year we see a Triple J hype act on the bill. This time around we're pretty sure it'll be EVERYTHING EVERYTHING.

MS MR

MS MR played killer sets at Laneway Festival earlier this year. Is it too soon for them to return to Australia for another festival? We think not!

BIG BOI

Ex-OUTKAST member BIG BOI confirmed a July tour on Twitter. This smells suspiciously like Splendour to us!

KLAXONS

With a cancelled 2007 Splendour appearance and a new album due out later this year, the KLAXONS are definitely a likely candidate.

These are some of our Australian picks for the 2013 line up:

BIRDS OF TOKYO, THE PRESETS, JAGWAR MA, PVT, RUFUS, COLLARBONES, BOB EVANS, LISA MITCHELL, MIDNIGHT JUGGERNAUTS, SOMETHING FOR KATE, WOLF & CUB, CITY CALM DOWN, HERMITUDE, CHET FAKER, STICKY FINGERS, BRITISH INDIA, LOON LAKE and GOLD FIELDS.

Organisers have just announced the dates & location for SPLENDOUR 2013, full information HERE

Words by Tony Kingston

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