Big Acts For Big Day Out

All four acts have toured Australia previously, but three are making their first appearance at Big Day Out, the iconic six-city festival that launched 1992.

The first announcement of 33 acts had rumours sweeping traditional and social media for weeks before.

Among the other acts were Swedish DJ Angelo, Major Lazer, The Lumineers, Tame Impala and chart-topping Sydney DJ Flume. 

Pearl Jam requested that their heroes and fellow Seattleites Mudhoney and Australia’s Cosmic Psychos be included.

Big Day Out founder Ken West revealed he was looking forward to Mudhoney, if only to retrieve the unauthorised $175 that singer Mark Arm notched up on West’s mobile phone when they played the festival in 1993.

He added he had been pursuing Blur for 15 years.

At its 2010 peak, Big Day Out drew 337,000 to a bill with Muse, Powderfinger and The Mars Volta. But 2012 was plagued with cancellations and an audience decline to 173,000.

West rebuilt the event with a partnership with Texas-based C3 Presents.

Ticket figures for 2013 rose to 201,000.

The 2014 run lands at Auckland’s Western Springs (Jan. 17), Gold Coast’s Metricon Stadium & Carrara Parklands (Jan. 19), Melbourne’s Flemington Racecourse (Jan. 24), Sydney Showgrounds (Jan. 26-27), Adelaide’s Bonython Park (Jan. 31) and Perth’s Claremont Showgrounds (Feb. 2).