The Best of Splendour in the Grass 2014

For three days of dusty boots, unashamedly bad dancing and wildly inappropriate Native American headdresses (FFS, stop that), Splendour in the Grass made a temporary wonderland of the North Byron Parklands for another year. With more Govindas feasts, random pop-up barns and fist-pumping sets than you could poke a satay stick at, Splendour cranked out one its most successful festivals yet — with a combination of applauseworthy production and a killer lineup.

From unexpected midday Easter Eggs to huge headliner hurrahs, this year's Splendour paid the big names their dues while the limelight was more than adequately shared by up-and-comers. If you were there, you might have shared in our picks of the bunch. If not, think of this as a living-vicariously list of who to listen to this week. Here's our picks for the hits of Splendour in the Grass 2014:

Tkay Maidza

Filling out the Mix Up tent with the very first Friday slot is no mean feat, but Adelaide's 17-year-old Tkay Maidza managed to get a colossal roundup of early-rising brontosaurus feet stomping. Australia's shiny, PG-rated answer to Azealia Banks, Tkay Maidza is about to become a significantly Big Deal with her self-described 'dinojams'. Signed to Dew Process, Tkay is one of the newest bunch of Australian hip hop ones-to-watch alongside Remi, Coin Banks and Citizen Kay. Fronting giant projections of Nyan and Grumpy Cats casually hangin' with the Adventure Time crew, Maidza cranked out Flume remix after Skrillex sample all the way to her banger single 'Brontosaurus'.

Image: Stephen Booth

DMA's

Sporting their signature Chav-like outfits, Sydney's rambunctious answer to Oasis melted faces in a packed out set in the GW McClellan Tent. Living well up to the significant hype, DMA's played their Britpop-loving butts off with a high energy ride through their debut self-titled EP, released on I OH YOU earlier this year. Frontman Johnny Took steered the crew with his Gallagher-like pipes and tambourine stick, with a particularly high-fiveworthy performance for that huge ballady single 'Delete'.

Image: Stephen Booth

The Preatures

With their debut album on the way and a national tour done and dusted, The Preatures undeniably nailed their Friday afternoon set. Lead singer Isabella Manfredi is a Chrissy Amphlett-like force to be reckoned with, bouncing through the fivesome's highly energetic, super tight set. Running through snippets from the new album, nostalgia from early releases and paying tribute to The Angels' Doc Neeson and Amphlett herself with a cover of legendary 1976 single 'Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again?' (complete with That call and response), The Preatures are solidifying their spot as one of Australia's best live bands out.

Image: Stephen Booth

Buraka Som Sistema

Standing idly wasn't a remote possibility with this furiously party-inducing set. Making a genuine carnival of the Mix Up tent, Portugal's Buraka Som Sistema brought their zouk to the floor and had every last boot pounding the grassy floor. The first of two sets at Splendour this year, the beats-loving crew cranked out banger after banger from their three celebrated LPs alongside generous bouts of onstage dancing — leading to the inevitable crowd stage invasion. The hardest we danced all festival.

Image: Justin Ma

Interpol

Rose-mayor-eeee. Interpol's crisp headliner set took the cake for many a Splendourgoer, even after minor sound issues to start. Paul Banks's vocals were on form and booming, with Daniel Kessler's iconic guitar licks bringing back all the first love feels. Running through yesteryear favourites 'Evil', ' C'mere' and 'NYC', testing out some newbies and wrapping things up with 'Slow Hands', Interpol made a triumphant return to the Australian stage — sans Carlos D, Greg Drudy and Stella.

Image: Ian Laidlaw

OutKast

By a mile, the Event of the festival. Exploding onstage with 'B.O.B.', Andre 3000 (in a top notch onesie) and Big Boi (in an equally "awwww shiiieeeet" get-up) took just under two hours to delve into the 20-year-strong OutKast catalogue — from radio longtimers like 'Hey Ya' and 'Roses' to throwbacks to solid fan favourites like 'Int'l Player's Anthem (I Choose You)'. Splitting time between collaborative 'Ms Jackson' efforts and their own solo moments, OutKast loudly took the Splendour crown with their only Australian appearance.

Image: Justin Ma

Mas Ysa

Drinking a combination of whisky and champagne (apparently dubbed 'The Gentleman's Surprise'), Mas Ysa brought a level of intensity to the midday slot that most electronic artists would require a post-6pm cloak of darkness to come close to. Montreal multi-instrumentalist Thomas Arsenault took early rising punters to a pretty emotional place with booming loops, screaming vocals and piano samples that explain his Deerhunter support slot last year. A truly unexpected gem for most.

Image: Justin Ma

Fishing

One of the biggest Easter Eggs of the festival. Having just released their debut album, the Sydney duo decided a lunchtime rave was in order, cranking out some of the hardest dance tunes of the whole festival at 1pm. Fine holiday fun and purely responsible for the sheer back pain we're still experiencing.

Sky Ferreira

Swamped by internet hype and tabloid snarks, Sky Ferreira is actually worth talking about. Following a rip roaring Australian autumn tour, NYC's super-hyped powerhouse Sky Ferreira brought her celebrated set to Splendour for the first time; quashing any lurking haters with some seriously killer vocals. Careening through her debut album Night Time, My Time, Ferreira's Kristen Stewart-like attitude always tends to find an adorable shyness in the midst of it all, balancing explosive opener '24 Hours' with the teenage diary earnestness of 'Boys' to the out-of-the-ballpark vocal set-winner 'You're Not the One'.

Image: M. Lowe

Little May

Harmonies ruled the roost at this year's Splendour, with Sydney folk trio Little May crooning out solid three-parts without blinking an eyelid. Weaving through their First Aid Kit-meets-Tiny Ruins EP Boardwalks, Liz Drummond, Hannah Field and Annie Hamilton drew quite the rowdy crowd, with dudes on shoulders singing every word and possible ooo in rolling single 'Hide'.

Image: Little May

Violent Soho

Bringing the festival rock back to the table, the Brisbane foursome proved they're more than a hyped up, yeah-friendly single. Violent Soho fronted their Vines-meets-Jebediah-meets-Pixies vibe to a rock hungry amphitheatre crowd for a lengthy set of older favourites like 'Jesus Stole My Girlfriend' and crowdpleasing "hell fuck yeah!" single 'Covered in Chrome'. Bassist Luke Henery even brought his three-year-old son Oscar to hang out onstage in giant headphones. The kid literally just stood there and took it all in. Legend.

Image: Stephen Booth

Future Islands

Aside from Outkast, arguably the most talked-about set of the festival (and worth every last utterance). Future Islands' vocalist Samuel T. Herring is Something Else. The high-kicking, wildly expressive, emotionally-charged frontman has one of the most versatile and genuinely powerful voices in the game — with some of the best onstage moves this side of Run DMC vs. Jason Nevins. Fronting brainiac programmer Gerrit Welmers, crisp-as-blazes touring drummer Michael Lowry and the surly multi-guitarist William Cashion, Herring takes audience connection next level — with punters spontaneously growling "seasons chaaa-aaa-aaange..." and thumping their chests for the remainder of the festival.

Image: SITG

Chrome Sparks

First cab off the Sunday rank, Pittsburgh's Chrome Sparks conjured up a midday set in the Mix Up tent worthy of a main stage applause. The brainchild of classical percussionist Jeremy Malvin, Chrome Sparks uses the power of three to play live — and how. The trio's double xylophone breakdowns, swelling collaboration and high energy dance moves had a pumped up crowd leaving their dustiness behind and getting straight into the day.

Image: Justin Ma

D.D. Dumbo

Jaws dropped all over the joint at the Sunday afternoon set from Castlemaine's staggeringly talented D.D. Dumbo. Fronting a looping ability to rival Tune-Yards, his self-made three-part harmonies, layered drum beats and jaunty guitar picking made for one hand-claspingly wonderful set. Celebrated for his ridiculous ability with a 12-string guitar, D.D Dumbo has pricked the ears of the likes of Warpaint, St Vincent and Iron & Wine — most notably with standout single 'Tropical Oceans'. Recently-signed to 4AD, D.D, Dumbo offered up one of the festival's most compelling live sets, one sorely missed once the last loop ran its course.

Image: Justin Ma

Parquet Courts

Punk as fuck, this Brooklyn foursome make an athletic marathon of endurance out of rock music. Charging through latest album Sunbathing Animal and beloved debut Light Up Gold, Parquet Courts stared straight into that pesky sunshine to play through their particular Modern Lovers-meets-Pavement breed of garage punch — with particular mention to singalong single 'Borrowed Time' (although 'Stoned and Starving' fans were left wanting).

Image: SITG

Courtney Barnett

One of Splendour's most anticipated sets, Melbourne's Courtney Barnett proved she's worth every minute of hype. Fresh from significant overseas touring, Glastonbury and Lollapalooza sets and a stint on Jimmy Fallon, Barnett shredded up a solid set with her buds on bass and drums. Fusing her fantastically Australian drawl with fuzzy, scrambly guitar and brilliant ockerisms, Barnett bounced between her two EPs, How To Carve A Carrot Into A Rose and I’ve Got A Friend Called Emily Ferris, melting faces with elongated solos and solid banter with her bassist.

First Aid Kit

Conjuring harmonies worthy of Crosby, Stills, Nash, Young, Simon and Garfunkel, the Swedish sisters had the Splendour crowd hugging strangers with perfectly placed vocal arrangements. Warmly caressing a chilly Splendour crowd with sweet country sounds, Johanna and Klara Söderberg plunged into their Paul Simon-approved cover of 'America' and finished up with picture-perfect renditions of singles 'The Lion's Roar' and 'Emmylou'.

Image: First Aid Kit

Darkside

A solid final choice for the Splendour programming team. While some punters thought Danny Brown's thunderously kickass, death circle-inducing set could have closed out the day while Lily Allen was dominating the amphitheatre, the artful intensity of Darkside wrapped everything up on a casually mindblowing note. With Nicholas Jaar heading on over to the consistently-better-than-every-other-lineup Red Bull Music Academy stage for a final DJ set, Splendour finished things off with solid beats, big drops and a whole lot of hugs.

Image: Tim Jones (Syd Fest)

Special Mention:

Skywhale

Peacefully looming over the North Byron Parklands like the colossal multi-teated guardian we know and love (?), Canberra's Skywhale floated mystically over the dumpling stalls with the breast seat in the house for Childish Gambino. Pulsing its giant saggy nipples over adoring (?) Splendourgoers, Skywhale arrived daily to All The Hurrahs and WTFs. Canberra's weirdest investment became Splendour's most awaited arrival — but remained undeniably weird.

Image: Lachlan Johnston

Top image: Ian Laidlaw. Friday image: M. Lowe. Saturday and Sunday images: Aimee Catt.