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Australia’s Good Things fest cut short by ‘freak’ storm

Good Things, Australia’s largest alternative and rock music festival, was cut short on Saturday (2 December) due to a ‘freak’ storm that forced fans to evacuate the Sydney event.

US rock band Fall Out Boy were four songs into their headlining set when an announcement over the PA system urged the crowd to evacuate immediately over fears of an impending hailstorm.

“Hail storm coming with large hailstones and lightning,” the announcer stated. “Could you please orderly evacuate the site. Don’t rush and move away from the structures please.”

As the 20,000-strong crowd headed towards the single exit gate, around 9:30 pm, a sudden torrential downpour set in, leaving punters soaked as they made their way out of Centennial Park.

The storm, which hit parts of Sydney, regional New South Wales and Victoria, is said to have delivered half of Sydney’s average December rainfall in 20 minutes.

“The entire Good Things team strives to deliver the most incredible experiences for all our patrons within our control”

Organisers said the festival would restart after the storm; however, patrons were still waiting at 10.15 pm. In a statement posted to social media after 11 pm, Good Things Festival said the decision to evacuate was made by police, the State Emergency Service and event organisers.

“First and foremost, Good Things Festival paramount concern is the safety of our patrons. The entire Good Things team pour their heart and soul into the festival and strive to deliver the most incredible experiences for all our patrons within our control,” it said.

“Based on the advice from the NSW Police and the SES the Festival organisers implemented a show stop and full site evacuation in line with our approved event management and crowd safety plans.”

The downpour also pushed back the start of play in the second half of the soccer between Sydney FC and Perth Glory at Allianz Stadium at Moore Park.

Good Things is promoted by leading Australian rock promoter Destroy All Lines, which recently announced new festival, New Bloom.

The independent promoter’s upcoming concerts include All Time Low, Dance Gavin Dance, Mayday Parade, Frank Turner and The Sleeping Souls, The Aces, Bloc Party and Interpol.

 


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Australia gains new touring alt-rock festival

Leading Australian rock promoter Destroy All Lines has announced a new touring festival for alternative rock and punk fans.

New Bloom Fest will hit the East Coast of Australia between 15–17 March 2024, visiting Fortitude Music Hall in Brisbane, UNSW Roundhouse in Sydney and Melbourne Pavilion.

The inaugural event, co-presented with triple j and Short.Fast.Loud, will be headlined by US rock band Citizen for what will be their first tour of Australia since 2019.

Other North American acts on the bill include post-hardcore bands Movements and Touché Amoré, pop-punk outfit No Pressure, rock band Fleshwater and Canadian grunge duo Soft Cell.

New Bloom Fest is “a festival overflowing with exceptional fresh talent from the alternative and punk scene at home and abroad”

Domestic acts on the bill include Eat Your Heart Out performing at the Brisbane date, Amends in Sydney, Born Free in Melbourne and more.

Promoters have dubbed New Bloom Fest “a festival overflowing with exceptional fresh talent from the alternative and punk scene at home and abroad”.

Destroy All Lines’ festival portfolio also includes Good Things, currently Australia’s largest alternative and rock music festival, which will be headlined by Fall Out Boy and Limp Bizkit this year.

The independent promoter’s upcoming concerts include All Time Low, Dance Gavin Dance, Mayday Parade, Frank Turner and The Sleeping Souls, The Aces, Bloc Party and Interpol.

 


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Australia set to gain two major rock festivals

Australia is set to gain two new rock festivals in 2021 and 2022.

Leading Australian promoter Destroy All Lines is bringing a two-day alternative music festival to Victoria this winter.

Knight & Day will take place at Kryal Castle (Australia’s only medieval adventure park) in Ballarat between 30 and 31 December 2021.

According to the festival, attendees will be able to enjoy “a mesmerising maze, medieval performances, dungeons, torture museums, knights towers, secret dragons and a labyrinth,” alongside full-band and acoustic performances, as well as DJ sets.

Parkway Drive, Polaris and Alex Lahey are set to headline the event.

Early Bird pre-sale tickets are available on Tuesday 21 September at 10:00 AEST. Camping is not available. Find out more information here.

“The time was right to introduce a new summer festival, one which will appeal to a wide cross-section of rock fans”

Australian rock fans can also look forward to the inaugural edition of Uncaged, produced by Silverback Touring.

The East Coast touring festival will feature “a diversely curated blend of hard rock, punk [and] metal” acts, exclusively from Australia and New Zealand.

The three-city run will kick off in Brisbane showgrounds on Saturday 22 January 2022 before stopping off at Melbourne’s Coburg Velodrome (Saturday 29 January) and Sydney’s Olympic Park (Saturday 12 February).

Danny Bazzi, head of Silverback Touring, said in a statement today (15 September): “The time was right to introduce a new summer festival, one which will appeal to a wide cross-section of rock fans.”

The first line-up announcement for Uncaged will be made next Wednesday 22 September. Tickets are yet to go on sale. More information can be found here.

 


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