The World Is a Vampire Is Australia's New Festival Led by The Smashing Pumpkins and Jane's Addiction
Also on the bill: Amyl and The Sniffers, RedHook and Battlesnake, plus professional wrestling.
Talk about a perfect name: if you're going to start a new music festival that revolves around The Smashing Pumpkins, then calling it The World Is a Vampire is a no-brainer. This exciting addition to Australia's festival scene is being sent to happily drain all your attention this autumn, when it heads around the country with one helluva bill. Billy Corgan and his band members will be there, of course, and so will fellow alt-rock legends Jane's Addiction.
Today is the greatest day for news about 90s favourites hitting our shores, clearly. And yes, you can expect the rollicking classic that is 'Bullet with Butterfly Wings' to get a spin — the whole fest is named after it, after all. As well as hearing fellow Pumpkins greats such as 'Disarm', '1979', 'Tonight, Tonight', 'Today' and 'Zero', the Perry Farrell-led Jane's Addiction will be on hand to bust out 'Been Caught Stealing', 'Jane Says' and the likes.
How many 'Zero' shirts will you see at the fest? Oh so many, as at every Pumpkins gig.
Also on the bill: Australia's own Amyl and The Sniffers, RedHook and Battlesnake, plus yet-to-be-announced local acts opening each stop. And this fest has stops. It'll be singing about rage and rats in cages at ten venues, pinballing around New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria and South Australia — heading to Sydney's Hordern Pavilion, plus Penrith, Newcastle and Wollongong; Port Melbourne, the Mornington Peninsula and Ballarat; Bribie Island and the Gold Coast; and the Adelaide Entertainment Centre.
If you're a fan of The Smashing Pumpkins and Aussie music, and you know a bit about Billy Corgan's romantic history, you might be crossing your fingers for a wild addition to the bill: The Veronicas. The Australian duo joined the Pumpkins on-stage for 'Eye' back in November 2022, albeit at the Hollywood Bowl.
Whoever else joins the lineup, they'll feature alongside professional wrestling, with each show including matches between Billy Corgan's NWA (National Wrestling Alliance) and the WAOA (Wrestling Alliance of Australia). Wrestlers will take to the ring in-between the bands — and yes, Corgan does own the alliance that bears his name.
It's currently a stellar time for music icons who first made it big a few decades back touring Australia, with The World Is a Vampire and its killer lineup joining the Modest Mouse- and Slowdive-led Daydream, Fatboy Slim doing his own tour and headlining Groovin the Moo, Ice Cube and Cypress Hill teaming up, Snoop Dogg also heading our way, and Blink-182 stopping by in 2024 — and Red Hot Chili Peppers currently making their way around the nation. Yes, the list goes on, and also includes Vengaboys.
THE WORLD IS A VAMPIRE FESTIVAL 2023 LINEUP:
The Smashing Pumpkins
Jane's Addiction
Amyl and The Sniffers
RedHook
Battlesnake
THE WORLD IS A VAMPIRE FESTIVAL 2023 DATES:
Saturday, April 15 — Stuart Park, Wollongong, NSW
Sunday, April 16 — Sandstone Point, Bribie Island, QLD
Tuesday, April 18 — Hordern Pavilion, Sydney, NSW
Wednesday, April 19 — Newcastle Entertainment Centre, NSW
Saturday, April 22 — Hastings Foreshore, Mornington Peninsula, VIC
Sunday, April 23 — Kryal Castle, Ballarat, VIC
Wednesday, April 26 — Adelaide Entertainment Centre, SA
Thursday; April 27 — PICA, Port Melbourne, VIC
Saturday, April 29 — Nepean Aerospace Park - Penrith, NSW
Sunday, April 30 — Broadwater Parklands, Gold Coast, QLD
The World Is a Vampire Festival tours Australia in April 2023. Ticket pre-sales run from 9am on Thursday, February 2–11am on Friday, February 3, with general sales from 12pm local time on Friday, February 3. Head to the tour website for further details.
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