The Falls Festival is a New Years Eve music festival, held annually in Australia since 1993-94. It lasts three days, from December 30 to January 1 each year. The headline acts play over two evenings, December 30 and December 31.

The festival started in 1993 with a small one day concert, held in Lorne, Victoria, then known as Rock Above The Falls. It attracted nearly 11,000 people, far exceeding the organisers expectations, requiring them to quickly negotiate with neighboring farmers for the use of their land to accommodate the crowd.

In 1995 the event changed to a two day format, and in 1996 the name was changed to the Falls Festival for the first time. In 2003, two events were held at the same time; one in Lorne, and an additional event at Marion Bay, Tasmania. The same acts played at both events; the December 30 acts who played at Lorne, play December 31 at Marion Bay, and vice versa.

Due to the length of the event, groups of people often bring a tent and camp out at the event; both locations have nearby beaches. Many artists playing at the Falls Festival are traditionally of the blues & roots genre, however it is not exclusively of this style, with rock, punk and electronic style acts also playing.

Contents

1 Falls Festival 2003 2 Falls Festival 2004 3 See also 4 External link

Falls Festival 2003

Performers at the 2003-04 event include Australian artists Xavier Rudd, The Beautiful Girls , Gerling, Regurgitator and The Waifs; and international acts Michael Franti and Spearhead, Pennywise, Reel Big Fish, and Ozomatli. Like many Australian festivals, the event also promotes local bands, with many Victorian and Tasmanian artists also performing at their respective state's festival. Solo female performer Missy Higgins also pleased crowds, promoting the release of her album and several popular singles.

Falls Festival 2004

The upcoming 2004 festival will again be at both venues. Artists performing at both events include:

The Black Keys De La Soul Billy Bragg The Living End The John Butler Trio Missy Higgins The Thrills Veruca Salt Spiderbait The Cat Empire Xavier Rudd Donavon Frankenreiter You Am I

The Beautiful Girls Vusi Mahlasela Hilltop Hoods Rocket Science Dakota Star Bob Brozman Downsyde TZU Butterfingers The Panics Hayden Sarah Blasko

Even The Cops Betchadupa The Spazzys The Vasco Era Carus & The True Believers Epicure Mia Dyson Ash Grunwald The Hot Lies Clare Bowditch and the Feeding Set The Roys

See also

• Offshore Festival
• Big Day Out

External link

• Falls Festival official website