Overview
Some music festivals introduce you to your future favourites and today's biggest names. Others are all about enjoying yesterday's greats. Australia has no shortage of both kinds of events, but it's adding one more nostalgic-driven fest: the brand-new Pandemonium Rocks, which will debut on the country's east coast in April.
Placebo, Blondie, Alice Cooper and Deep Purple lead the lineup, offering decades worth of tunes spanning everything from the Cruel Intentions soundtrack's 'Every You Every Me' to 70s hits 'Heart of Glass', 'School's Out' and 'Smoke on the Water'. The familiar tunes won't stop there, either, with Wheatus sure to bust out 'Teenage Dirtbag', and Wolfmother certain to give 'Woman' and 'Joker and the Thief' a whirl.
The Psychedelic Furs, Dead Kennedys, Gang of Four, Palaye Royale, Cosmic Psychos, Gyroscope and Fetch round out the bill, as headed to Melbourne's Caribbean Gardens, The Domain in Sydney, Doug Jennings Park on the Gold Coast and Bribie Island's Sandstone Point Hotel. For Brisbanites, this means either heading north or south, with no local gig.
One important note for folks in Queensland: if you want to see Debbie Harry sing 'Hanging on the Telephone', 'Rapture' and 'Call Me', you'll need to make a trip to the Goldie as Blondie aren't playing Pandemonium Rocks' last stop. The band's latest visit to Australia comes after playing Coachella 2023, which you might've caught on the fest's livestream.
Biha via Wikimedia Commons
TLC's Aussie trip with Busta Rhymes and En Vogue might've been cancelled, but there's always a new event with a retro-skewed lineup on the way. Another that's hitting the country in March, the month before Pandemonium Rocks: Aqua, 2 Unlimited and East 17.
A point of difference with Pandemonium Rocks, however, is the fact that you can bring low-rise beach-style chairs that are smaller than 70 centimetres tall to the outdoor gigs.
Arek Olek from Kraków, Poland via Wikimedia Commons
Pandemonium Rocks 2024 Dates:
Saturday, April 20 — Caribbean Gardens, Melbourne
Thursday, April 25 — The Domain, Sydney
Saturday, April 27 — Doug Jennings Park, Gold Coast
Sunday, April 28 — Sandstone Point Hotel, Bribie Island
Pandemonium Rocks will tour Australia's east coast in April 2024, with tickets on sale from 9am on Tuesday, January 30 and pre-sales prior — head to the festival website for further details.
Top image: Raph_PH via Wikimedia Commons.
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