Overview
Brisbane is set to score a huge influx of music this festive season, thanks to the city's newest festival: Wildlands.
Taking over the Brisbane Showgrounds on Saturday, December 28, the one-day event will focus on dance, electronic and hip hop, showcasing a heap of local, Australian and international talent. And while the full lineup is yet to be announced, the fest will have an exciting Aussie act among its headliners: Rüfüs Du Sol.
The ARIA Award-winning three-piece — who completed a sold-out national tour earlier this year, and made appearances at Coachella and South America's Lollapalooza — have released two chart-topping (and platinum) albums in their short career, with Atlas in 2013 then Bloom in 2016. The song 'You Were Right' — from their second album — also won an ARIA Award for Best Dance Release in 2015.
Rüfüs Du Sol
Joining the Sydney alternative dance stars — as revealed today, August 1 — will be chart-topping American rapper Tyler, The Creator, who'll be heading to Australia for the first time since releasing his highly lauded album IGOR. Also on the lineup are Grammy Award-winning R&B singer Ella Mai, MC Skepta, funk duo Lion Babe and local producer What So Not.
Wildlands already has an impressive pedigree, too — it's the latest venture from the teams behind two other popular Australian festivals, Melbourne's Beyond The Valley and Perth's Origin Fields. The former has played host to the likes of The Kooks, Chance the Rapper, Jamie XX, Stormzy and Mura Masa, while the latter has welcomed Cardi B, A$AP Rocky, Khalid, ScHoolboy Q, Kehlani, M.I.A and Hayden James.
Although Wildlands won't simply combine the two interstate festivals into one Brissie-set package, Beyond the Valley's Michael Cristidis does describe the new fest as "bringing the best of the East and West Coast together for one very special day". Still, even if the lineups overlap somewhat, the aim is to give Brisbane a unique fest experience.
"I feel that we will be able to create an event that is unique to Brisbane as Beyond The Valley is unique to Melbourne and Origin is to Perth," explains Origin Fields' Saran Bajaj.
WILDLANDS 2019 LINEUP
Rüfüs Du Sol
Tyler, The Creator
Ella Mai
Green Velvet
Jauz
Mallrat
RL Grime
Skepta
What So Not
16BL
Big Words
Claptone
Don Dolla
Gunma
Hobo Johnson & The Lovemakers
Jordan Brando
Lastlings
Lion Babe
Made In Paris
Shoreline Mafio
Willaris K
Wildlands hits the Brisbane Showgrounds, 600 Gregory Terrace, Bowen Hills, on Saturday, December 28. Tickets go on sale to the general public and midday on Wednesday, August 7 with pre-sale starting at 6pm on Tuesday, August 6.
Top image: Beyond The Valley.
Updated August 1, 2019