Homebake Scrapped, Pyramid Returns

Sydney’s Homebake festival is a non-starter in its 14th year. Traditionally held the first weekend of December, organizers said they haven’t been “able to have the ‘planets align.’”

Due to the booming competition from other summer festivals, they were unable to get a headliner. Homebake’s long-held policy is that only Australian acts should headline and while Kylie Minogue was reportedly considered, negotiations fell through. Joe Seg of IMC confirmed, “I did not feel the quality was there.”

Organizers are adamant it will return in 2011. Last year Homebake attracted a sellout crowd of 25,000 with a bill that included major drawcards in Powderfinger, Jet, Eskimo Joe and multi-platinum hip-hop act Hilltop Hoods.

Past Homebake headliners have included Crowded House, Silverchair and the Divinyls.

After an apocalyptic electrical storm forced acts to cancel last year, speculation was Pyramid Rocks would not return for a seventh time.

But the event will return Dec. 29 to Jan. 1 with a bill including N*E*R*D, The Temper Trap, Arrested Development, Xavier Rudd, Liam Finn, Gyroscope, Mystery Jets, Shout Out Louds and Built To Spill.

Organisers have a new staging and site layout in case the rains return, and are offering discounted entry to those customers inconvenienced last year.