In a year when festivals, tours, and events have been cancelled or rescheduled at an almost dizzying pace, a rare piece of good news has come forward, with word that the team behind Splendour in The Grass are set to launch a new festival next year.
As reported by The Sydney Morning Herald, Secret Sounds Group have received a more than $1.5 million grant – the largest bestowed upon NSW arts and entertainment projects – as part of the federal government’s Restart Investment to Sustain and Expand (RISE) fund.
Currently, no details regarding the event are known, though co-chief executive Jessica Ducrou was quoted as saying they were grateful for the grant, which will go towards an “exciting innovative project we look forward to launching in 2021”. Meanwhile, the government noted the funds would aid in the “development of a festival that would keep audiences connected while also reaching new audiences across Australia and overseas”.
Secret Sounds were undoubtedly hit hard by the impact of COVID this year, being forced to initially postpone their 20th anniversary Splendour in The Grass celebrations, before ultimately cancelling the event for 2020. Meanwhile, their Falls Festival event was initially slated to feature an all-Australian lineup before it was announced that the festival would not be going ahead.
The 2021 edition of Splendour in The Grass is currently scheduled to take place in July of 2021, with only the headline acts – including Gorillaz, The Strokes, and Tyler, The Creator – revealed at the current time.
Elsewhere in the grants, Byron Bay Bluesfest received $1 million, which will help aid in the presentation of their 2021 festival following the cancellation of this year’s event due to COVID-19. Just yesterday, Bluesfest revealed that next year’s festival will feature only Australian artists due to travel restrictions making it an impossibility for their previously-booked international artists to appear.
Splendour in The Grass 2021
Gorillaz
The Strokes
Tyler, The Creator
Full lineup to be revealed in 2021
Friday, July 23rd – Sunday, July 25th
North Byron Parklands, Tweed Valley Way, Wooyung, NSW
More info: Splendour in The Grass
