The Soundwave 2015 lineup announcement is literally only hours away, so it’s time to grab all the news, announcements and rumours we can find and formulate what we know about the festival’s highly-awaited lineup. Which bands do we already know have made the cut? Which haven’t? And will all the hype be able to deliver a lineup even more impressive than the one we saw in 2014?
First, the quality of the lineup. Festival promoter and perennial Twitter-fiend AJ Maddah has told punters, “If 2013 was a 10 and 2014 was a five this would be a seven or eight.” That’s a pretty big call, but it suggests Maddah hasn’t be afraid to add as much rock, metal, punk and hardcore into Soundwave 2015 as he can, which will have two days of performances in each city.
Next, who has a confirmed place on the lineup? Melbourne band Ne Obliviscaris were the first to be confirmed for the festival, shortly followed by Melburnian band Confession. Some time later, Music Feeds exclusively announced ‘The First Wave’ of five up-and-coming acts who were also confirmed for the Soundwave 2015 bill, which included Coldrain, Butcher Babies, Patent Pending, Monuments, and The Interrupters.
Last, but certainly not least, who are the acts rumoured to be joining the Soundwave 2015 lineup? Chicago punk band Rise Against leapt into contention after frontman Tim McIlrath said that the band are to tour Australia in March and February of 2015. LA metal band Fear Factory are also looking like a shoe-in following a conversation between Maddah and guitarist Dino Cazares. The promoter later told the Full Metal Lockdown podcast that Soundwave 2015 will have four headliners.
Some other juicy possibilities include Slipknot, who Maddah says want to tour after their new album is released, as well as Anvil, Marilyn Manson and Royal Blood. Bands who most definitely won’t be featured on the Soundwave 2015 lineup include Foo Fighters and Smashing Pumpkins. Head over to Music Feeds’ dedicated Soundwave 2015 rumours page for all the latest information on your favourite acts.
Of course, there’s Sidewaves — the festival’s name for sideshows — to think about as well. Maddah has recently told fans that “there will be less Sidewaves per city” compared to recent years , though he has acknowledged that the festival’s new format does open up the possibility of Adelaide and Brisbane seeing more sideshows than usual.
The full Soundwave 2015 lineup will be announced at 8am AEST tomorrow, Wednesday, 20th August. Stay tuned to CraveOnline to see which artists have made the cut for the next installment of Australia’s favourite hard rock festival. Festival dates and location details are available below.
Soundwave 2015
Saturday, 21st February & Sunday, 22nd February 2015
Bonython Park, Adelaide, South Australia
Saturday, 21st February & Sunday, 22nd February 2015
Flemington Racecourse, Melbourne, Victoria
Saturday, 28th February & Sunday, 1st March 2015
Olympic Park, Sydney, New South Wales
Saturday, 28th February & Sunday, 1st March 2015
RNA Showgrounds, Brisbane, Queensland