Big Day Out 2012 Rumour Round-Up
Subscribe
X

Get the latest from Beat

Big Day Out 2012 Rumour Round-Up

arcadefirenormal.jpg

There’s been no shortage of rumours flying around, with supposed “spies” and “music journalists” claiming adamantly the acts closing out the festival will include Pearl Jam, Radiohead, Red Hot Chili Peppers and/or the mighty purple one Prince. All of a sudden, the official Big Day Out Facebook page pissed on everybody’s parade by declaring “I told you yesterday no headliner starts with an R): No headliner starts with a P!”

Assuming that the “R” and “P” dismissal isn’t a giant red herring (which it very well could be), let’s look at who we have left.

Throughout the Big Day Out narrative, the common trend of the “vintage” performer has always proved to be a hit. Who could forget Neil Young in 2009? With a brand new album due to drop in a matter of weeks, we can’t help but get a little giddy at the prospect of having the one and only Tom Waits visit our shores for the first time in a long while. Though Mr Waits might not have the same pull as Neil, he could very well slot into the lineup much in the way The Stooges did back in 2006.

As you may well remember, The Stooges played second fiddle to The White Stripes back in 2006. If we’re looking at the 2011 equivalent of The White Stripes, we can very well see Arcade Fire in the role of “indie” act with bucketloads of mainstream appeal. Shit, they won a Grammy for chrissake!

With a new LP out this year in Hot Sauce Committee Part Two, the time would be right for rap icons Beastie Boys to grace the Big Day Out stage for the first time since 2005. Though the group haven’t toured much in the past few years due to MCA’s health, fingers crossed the trio are fit and ready for a festival run.

Does BDO have the balls big enough to pull out a surprise “mainstream” act just as Glastonbury has done in the past few years? Though Beyonce absolutely crushed it when she closed out Glastonbury this year, we can assume she will be a little too pregnant to fulfil an entire festival run. But could the bub’s pappa Jay-Z forego his pre-paternal duties to headline Big Day Out? Or better yet, could the Hov ‘n’ Yeezy collab effort The Throne continue their North American tour unto our shores early next year?

If festival organisers choose to select a mainstream artist, they will most definitely have to balance out the lineup with a hard-hitting rock act. Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell is about to touch down for his solo songbook tour, could it be just a reconnaissance mission for the return of his reformed and much-adored original outfit?

And if you’re looking for something a little heavier, Mastodon have just unleashed another fucking amazing album in The Hunter, could they be making a quick return to Big Day Out? Or maybe they’ll hold out for Soundwave 2012? Who knows!

In interviews earlier this year, Kasabian bassist Chris Edwards stated that the band were primed and willing to make yet another Big Day Out appearance, and that the band were looking to lock it in before their upcoming one-off promo show in Melbourne.

Firebrand rap ensemble OFWGKTA shook Australia to its core when they popped in for a quick visit, and they look set to make a rapid return. Maybe “new signing” Young Nigga could bring his “expensive pasta” rhymes to the Lilyworld stage?

Could Das Racist fill the “outsider rap” slot that Die Antwoord took this year? Could Florence And The Machine soar on the main stage? Could Travis from Blink 182 get on a plane to Australia? Though Thom Yorke and Flea’s main bands have been ruled out, could they be bringing Atoms For Peace over? Could The Vengaboys extend their stay into Lilyworld? Could The Smiths play their first ever reunion shows at Big Day Out 2012? Outkast

As Wilco once said, “Where would we be without wishful thinking.”