Just when you thought the Splendour In The Grass lineup was at bursting point, it just got a little bigger. Organisers have now announced the winners of their Triple J Unearthed competition as Brisbane electronic songstress Airling, and of their Byron Bay local band comp as five-piece Tora.
This year, Triple J Unearthed gave one lucky underground artist from anywhere in the country the once in a lifetime opportunity to be flown to Byron Bay, put up in guest camping, and play the opening set of Splendour In The Grass 2014, joining previous comp winners like Baptism of Uzi.
The Brisbanite will now play the opening set of the festival on the Amphitheater main stage at Byron Bay, joining one of the biggest Splendour bills in recent memory. This year’s event is headlined by the newly reformed hip-hop legends Outkast, with support from the likes of Lily Allen and more.
In a statement on her official Facebook page, a very excited Airling wrote just minutes ago, “Something amazing has happened. Thanks to the babes at Triple J and Triple J Unearthed, I’m going to be playing at Splendour in the Grass this year! …Wow, my heart feels like it’s exploding xx.”
“I still feel like I might be waking up in a second,” she told Triple J’s The Doctor. Having recently played on shows with The Paper Kites and James Vincent McMorrow, Airling said that while playing the Opera House with McMorrow was a “big bucket list moment, Splendour’s up there.”
Meanwhile, the folks at Unearthed have also spent the last few months searching for a local band from the Byron Bay area to play during the event, scouring the local government areas of Byron, Ballina, Lismore, and Tweed, finally settling upon the SAFIA-like tunes of the Byron area’s Tora.
thanks to @triplejunearthd & @triplej, I’m gonna be playing @SITG! chattin w @Doctortriplej soon about this shit! WOW pic.twitter.com/vHquAtGut9
— Airling (@airlingx) June 18, 2014
