The hills of North Byron Parklands will feature an all-star cast of artists to blast in the New Year at the 2015 Falls Music & Arts Festival, writes Georgina Bible.
Some big names have been mentioned for this year’s festival including Bloc Party, Foals, The Wombats, Disclosure, Courtney Barnett and Gary Clark Jr. On the Australian music front, acts including Birds of Tokyo, Gang of Youths, Alpine, Hilltop Hoods, King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard, Little May, Seth Sentry and Paul Kelly & Merri Soul Sessions round off a stellar cast.
Falls Music & Arts Festival Byron Director, Brandon Saul, says the 2015 roll-call featuring more than 60 acts is one of the most diverse to date.
“There’s a great cross section of artists and musical styles in this year’s line-up. I’m really looking forward to seeing Courtney Barnett – she cleaned up at the Aria Awards this year and has just been nominated for a Grammy,” says Saul. “Kurt Vile, Gary Clark Junior and Hiatus Kaiyote are also really interesting acts. As are Merryn Jeann and Kyle Lionheart who are from the local area. Then of course there’s the pure class of Paul Kelly. I don’t know anyone that doesn’t have a soft spot for Paul Kelly.”
SOAK – appearing at this year’s Falls Festival.
But Falls Festival is not just about music – each year an extensive arts program is hosted via the Falls Village program. The Village is created as a cultural and artistic sanctuary with the festival, and will feature circus acrobatics, art workshops and interactive installations. Punters can also help create the giant puppets that parade through the festival on the last day, as well as their own costume. For those who prefer to catch a film, there’s an air conditioned cinema space. The Falls Festival Byron Bay ‘Foxtel Movie Marquee’ features the latest movie offerings in air conditioned comfort.
In the spirit of keeping cool, festival organisers have also introduced a custom built water park. Christened ‘Palm Springs’, the park will feature a 20-metre long water slide, four infinity pools, mushroom fountains, and all with life guards on the lookout – so don’t forget your togs.
Festival goers can also get involved with ongoing green initiatives that work to improve the grounds of North Byron Parklands. Staff and patrons planted 1,000 native seedlings at the 2014 Falls Festival. Brandon Saul says encouraging people to get involved with the site helps the festival to grow.
“All the Falls festivals are held on beautiful natural parklands. Some of the initiatives are about minimising our impact and encouraging patrons to look after the site in the short term via recycling [etc] but we’re also committed to a vision of what the parklands will be like in many years to come and the part we play in creating sustainable events globally,” says Saul. “It’s a long term process and we want to get it right.”
Falls Festival Byron Bay tickets are ON SALE NOW at www.fallsfestival.com
Thursday Dec 31, 2015 until Jan 03, 2016 at North Byron Parklands 18+ event
THE FALLS MUSIC & ARTS FESTIVAL BYRON 2015 LINE-UP
FOALS · BLOC PARTY · DISCLOSURE · THE WOMBATS · HILLTOP HOODS · RÜFÜS · COURTNEY BARNETT · BIRDS OF TOKYO · HALSEY · KURT VILE AND THE VIOLATORS · JARRYD JAMES · WAVVES · MAC DEMARCO · MEG MAC · THE AVENER · PAUL KELLY & THE MERRI SOUL SESSIONS · ART VS SCIENCE · DJANGO DJANGO · GARY CLARK JR. · SETH SENTRY · LITTLE MAY · THE MACCABEES · LEON BRIDGES · ‘WEIRD AL’ YANKOVIC · ALPINE · TORO Y MOI · YOUNG FATHERS · ELLIPHANT · GANG OF YOUTHS · BØRNS · HIATUS KAIYOTE · KING GIZZARD AND THE LIZARD WIZARD · SOAK · OH WONDER · EL VEZ · FLEETMAC WOOD · JESSE DAVIDSON · PEKING DUK · MIAMI HORROR · TIJUANA CARTEL · BOOTLEG RASCAL · GOONS OF DOOM · SPIRIT OF AKASHA · BANFF
FALLS COMEDY
NAZEEM HUSSAIN · RANDY · ADAM ROZENBACHS · BECKY LUCAS · NICK CODY · TIEN TRAN
THE VILLAGE LINE-UP
DUKE DREAMER * JARRYN PHEGAN * KAYA BOOM * KIKI AND PASCAL * KIKI BITTOVABITSCH * KYLE LIONHEART * LEO * LIAM POWERS * LOONATIC SPECTACULAR WITH DAN NIMMO * MAE WILDE * MERRYN JEANN * MOME * NICK COYLE * THE SCRIMSHAW FOUR * SHAI SHRIKI * SHAK SHUKA * SHEP HUNTLEY * SIR ANTHONY LIVINGSPACE * SKETCH THE RHYME * THE BUTTON COLLECTIVE * THE CASSETTES * THE GREAT DAVE * THE IMPRINTS * TRANSYLVANIAN GYPSY KINGS * TWO AGE * VARDOS * ZEBI STRIPES
THE VILLAGE VENUES
LOLA’S BAR · LA PETITE GRANDE · THE ALKAZAR · ART PARADE WORKSHOP · CAFÉ DE RUDE · DJ BIGTOP · MAVERICK SALON
