Falls jubilee goes for gold
THE Falls Festival has pulled out all the stops for its silver jubilee.
The 25th edition of the Festival will again return to Lorne, Fremantle, Byron Bay and Tassie, and it will drag along an all-star line-up befitting its milestone years.
The line-up reads like an honour roll of typical festival headliners, with Flume, The Kooks, Angus and Julia Stone, Peking Duck and Liam Gallagher leading the way.
Gallagher, the former Oasis frontman, spilt the beans on his inclusion in a GQ Australia interview a day before Tuesday’s announcement.
“We’re coming out there, doing the Falls Festival,” Gallagher said. “So, we’re gonna be there for New Year’s Eve.” “So I can’t wait, man — love it. “It’s beautiful. I’m bringing me two boys out as well. They’re at the age now where they can come and travel.”
While no official festival schedule has been released, it appears US rap duo Run the Jewels will take Lorne’s New Year’s Eve headline slot.
The MCs behind Run the Jewels, Killer Mike and El-P, will make their way to Falls after releasing their third studio album in December 2016 (not including a remix album Meow the Jewels, made up of cat sounds).
New Year’s Eve at Lorne will be one of the festival’s biggest days, with Glass Animals, Angus and Julia Stone, Vince Staples and The Smith Street Band also hitting the stage.
Lorne’s first day looks set to kick off with one of the surprise packets of the line-up, former Sherbet lead singer Daryl Braithwaite.
The voice behind the muchloved classic The Horses will get a 45-minute set on the Thursday, with Falls co-producer Paul Piticco this week saying it was anything but a novelty booking.
“We all felt like there is a Daryl renaissance and The Horses is still a huge moment in Australian music regardless of your age,” Mr Piticco said.
“We were just sitting around thinking, ‘Would it work? Would Daryl smash it out of the park?’ and we all said, ‘Yes’.”
Joining Braithwaite on the Thursday will be Blue Mountains hip-hop crew Thundamentals and Brisbane indie rock band The Jungle Giants.
After first appearing at Falls on the Lorne leg in 2012, now globally renowned producer Flume will return to where it all began — listed as playing on the Friday.
While he was a 21-year-old on the cusp of a meteoric rise in 2012, Flume will return as a Grammy Award winner with two studio albums and four EPs under his belt.
“Falls Music and Arts Festival I can’t wait to be in you,” Flume wrote to his followers this week.
“Lorne was one of the first festivals I ever played. Excited to come back for round two.”
The Friday in Lorne will also include a double act of rock and roll, with Dune Rats and DZ Deathrays playing to what will likely be packed — and incredibly rowdy — audiences.
Gallagher will share the Saturday at Lorne with big names Peking Duck, Fleet Foxes and The Kooks.
Falls Festival will come to Lorne on Thursday, December 28, with punters heading home on January 1. Tickets go on sale at 9am on Tuesday.