Australia: Big Day Out Founder Ken West Dies At 64

Ken West, best known as founder of Australia’s iconic Big Day Out festival, died April 7.

According to a statement from his family, he “passed away peacefully in his sleep” at his home on the New South Wales Central Coast. He was 64.

Big Day Out captured the whole essence of the ‘90s alt-rock and EDM movements, and enjoyed a global reputation for being influential enough to break Australian and international acts.

With business partner Vivian Lees, the festival played six cities in Australia and New Zealand for 22 years, at its peak drawing 225,000.

“There was a period in time there that it was the best festival in the world, and every band I knew wanted to do it,” West told the Inside the Big Day Out podcast in 2019.

Rage Against The Machine, Foo Fighters, Soundgarden, Coldplay, Arcade Fire, Marilyn Mason, Fatboy Slim, The Chemical Brothers, Ministry, Kings of Leon, Bjork, Aphex Twin, System of a Down, Rammstein and MIA played their first shows Down Under at Big Day Out.

“It literally changed the landscape of how artists toured, how punters consumed music, and how we as a festival delivered it,” former Big Day Out national event coordinator and current Frontier Touring tour director Sahara Herald told radio station Double J.

Born February 5, 1958, in Sydney, West studied to be a kineticist and experiential artist.

In 1980 he became a promoter, tour manager and artist manager for Nick Cave, The Birthday Party, Laughing Clowns, I’m Talking and Beasts of Bourbon.

In January 2022, to mark the 30th anniversary of Big Day Out’s first show, he released excerpts of his unfinished book, “Controlled Chaos” through the Kenfest website.

He wrote: “Rock festivals, at least in Australia, before the Big Day Out were all about being in the country, drinking beer and getting stoned.

“Normally it was a campout and facilities were shit, the production was shit and if it rained it was a mudfest. I hated that whole hippy bullshit concept.

“I wanted urban mayhem but with good drainage, toilets & production. I wanted people to learn about music, go as hard as they wanted and be able to get home safely at the end of the night.”

The first show was at Sydney’s Hordern Pavilion on January 25, 1992.

It was headlined by Violent Femmes, whom West and Lees were touring, and with an unknown Nirvana in the middle slot.

By the time tickets went on sale, Nevermind had exploded and Big Day Out became the hottest ticket in town. It drew 9,500 payers, and 21 Australian acts clamoured to be on the bill.

As West recalled in “Controlled Chaos,” there were problems with Kurt Cobain wanting to go back to the U.S. because his withdrawal from heroin was worse than he anticipated.

Its headliners included Neil Young, Metallica, Foo Fighters, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Kanye West, Muse, Pearl Jam and The White Stripes.

Big Day Out ended in 2014, after being bought by Austin, Texas-based C3 Presents.

West remained low profile after that, living a quiet life with wife Cathy and son Oliver.

“After a lifetime living in the future, I’m loving living in the now,” he declared.

He expected to finish his book by end of 2022.