Homebake Festival 2010 Not Happening! Where's the local love?

Hard to believe our favourite home grown festival Homebake: boasting the latest and greatest local talent will be taking a break in 2010 (read the official statement below). It begs the question, is the music market oversaturated with festivals and specialised events these days? Post GFC we saw a marked decline in punters having to sit - finger poised at the mouse - in hopes their broadband was fast enough to nab the hottest tickets.

Now it seems there are so many festivals you really have to disperse your personal funds wisely to ensure you don’t miss your favourite touring artists. Inthemix recently published an expose on our local club scene and the effect that festivals were having on regular punters who were finding it continually harder to get out and see their fave DJ’s of a weekend as they’d burnt the credit card a month in advance to get themselves to Parklife, Splendour in the Grass, Field Day or one of the other dynamically staged odes to hedonism.



Considering local acts are being syphoned off to support internationals for larger festivals as we saw with the latest Falls, Sunset Sounds & Southbound line-up announcements, are you sad to see Homebake go on hiatus?

Here's what Homebake Festival HQ released as an official statement:

Whilst this past weekend witnessed a state of political confusion, we concur that we've certainly had our fair share as well. That said and with such a plethora of festival announcements of late, we've decided to go against the grain and as such - after much deliberation (& some procrastination) - we here at Homebake festival HQ have decided to take a break and postpone Homebake Music, Film & Arts Festival for this year only, 2010.

As we've not been able to have the 'planets align' to a standard we feel appropriate to the long standing reputation of Australia's largest 'locals only' event, we'd rather focus on a positive future and are instead planning for a unique return version of Homebake Festival to take place during the first week of December 2011.

The intention is for Homebake to return proverbially 'bigger and better' than ever, incorporating even more facets of the antipodean arts industries & with special incentives in place for the few generations of thousands of loyal Homebake devotees whom have attended over the past 15 years.

We ask you to stay tuned for now as we commence preparations for what will be the 16th Edition -Homebake Music, Film & Arts Festival, 2011.

Huge thanks for your patience & we're looking forward to have you all join us to celebrate in 2011.

Falls, Southbound & Sunset Sounds Festival Line-up Review

With many of us almost busting out of our skinny jeans this morning in anticipation for the inaugural Falls Festival and twin sisters Sunset Sounds & Southbound line-up announcements for 2010-11, I’m wondering if there will be any slightly droopy faces out there.

Obviously there are some mad Interpol fans out there (I for one can wait to hear there beautifully stretched melodies drown out the green fields at Lorne or the amphitheatre at the Botanic Gardens) and The Klaxons, soulful indie rockers The National & The Soft Pack should also draw some major interest. However, compared with last years first announcement of internationals, which included the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s, Grizzly Bear, The Editors, Moby and considering the ever-soaring ticket prices, I know I’ll be hanging out for second round announcements before I whip out the old credit card for yet another burn (sideshows are another matter).

The local supporting talent is without doubt the saving hero including: Angus & Julia Stone, The Middle East (although they cancelled both last years Sunset Sounds & this year's Splendour performances so let’s hope they make it this time!), Jonathan Boulet, Children Collide, Cloud Control, Boy and Bear, Tame Impala, The Jezabels (Falls only), Dan Sultan (Falls Only) & many more.

The issue is that many festival diehards have already managed to swing by the local to spy this kind of talent and it won’t warrant the extra x-hundred dollars it takes to get your arse there, as well as into a tent at night.

What are everyone else's thoughts?

Here's the full list (Note this list is just for Falls though, some acts won't be appearing at either Sunset Sounds or Southbound):

INTERPOL (USA); JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS (USA); THE NATIONAL (USA); THE LIVING END; PUBLIC ENEMY (USA); KLAXONS (UK); ANGUS AND JULIA STONE; TAME IMPALA; THE RAPTURE (USA); LADYHAWKE (NZ); COLD WAR KIDS (USA); SLEIGH BELLS (USA); PEACHES (USA); HOT HOT HEAT (CAN); PAUL KELLY; ASH GRUNWALD; CHILDREN COLLIDE; THE BEAUTIFUL GIRLS; THE SOFT PACK (USA); DAN SULTAN; THE MORNING BENDERS (USA); THE COOL KIDS (USA); JUNIP (SWE); KITTY, DAISY AND LEWIS (UK) MARINA AND THE DIAMONDS (UK); THE MIDDLE EAST; CLOUD CONTROL; YACHT CLUB DJs; WASHINGTON; BOY AND BEAR; SALLY SELTMANN; THE BAMBOOS; TIJUANA CARTEL; A-TRAK (CAN); EDAN THE DEE-JAY (USA) Vampire Weekend's CHRIS BAIO (USA); BEARDYMAN (UK); THE CUBAN BROTHERS (UK); WORLD'S END PRESS; CASIOKIDS (NOR); DAN KELLY; DAARA J FAMILY (AFR); JAMAICA (FRA); CHARLIE PARR; JONATHAN BOULET; THE JEZABELS; BIG SCARY; LAST DINOSAURS; SAMPOLOGY; EAGLE AND THE WORM; JINJA SAFARI; TIM AND JEAN; THE PUBLIC OPINION AFRO ORCHESTRA.