After a highly successful 2015, the organisers behind Party In The Paddock have set to task on upping themselves for their second year. The Tasmanian festival dropped its second lineup announcement this week, with acts like Nina Las Vegas and Sleepmakeswaves joining an already stacked billthat includes Violent Soho, The Preatures and British India.
Here are five of our top picks at Party In The Paddock 2016, in case you needed any further convincing to make the trip to beautiful Tassie next February.
Ecca Vandal
Bursting out of the gate with the genre-bending ‘White Flag’, Ecca Vandal immediately caught Australia’s attention with her atypical visual presentation, as well as a sound that melded punk, hip hop and R&B. Her latest single is the eeire ‘Father Hu$$la’. It’s been a big year for Vandal, who has played with everyone from the Hard-Ons to The Prodigy. Party In The Paddock will feature quite a few acts that are on the verge of a new release, and Ecca Vandal is the same, with a debut full-length expected for 2016.
The Bennies
Read: the BRAG talked to The Bennies about their latest tour and upcoming album
With a festival called Party In The Paddock, it makes sense to invite some of Australia’s greatest party people, The Bennies. The self-proclaimed ‘psychedelic reggae ska doom metal punk rock band from hell’ backs up this hefty claim with new single ‘Party Machine’, in which they state that they are in fact one-part party, and one-part machine.
If there’s one band that can lay claim to being the purveyors of party vibes, you better believe it’s The Bennies.
Spiderbait
Spiderbait have come a long way from their hometown of Finley, a ruralNew South Wales town so small that drummer and singer Kram once claimed the band owned the only distortion pedal in the district. Kram and co. were the darlings of triple j in the 1990s before exploding into the wider Australian consciousness withthatcover of Lead Belly’s ‘Black Betty’.You can hear the banjo in your head right now.
Read: our interview with Spiderbait from 2013
Spiderbait have remained semi-active since 2004. After the release and subsequent tour forTonight Alrightthe band went on break to focus on personal lives and solo projects, only returning briefly to release aself-titled seventh studio albumin 2013. Spiderbait have always been a band that returned when the time was right, and their 25thanniversary is as good as an excuse as any. We can only hope it’s followed by a national tour that lets fans across the country celebrate the milestone.
Tkay Maidza
Making waves earlier in the year for taking the number 100 spot in the triple j Hottest 100, Maidza has been playing high-profile gigs around the country. Her latest track is an all-star collab called ‘Ghost’, which features George Maple, What So Not and Baauer.
The pocket rocket has been pegged as one to watch for her genre-bending bangers. Talking to the BRAG, Maidza said: “When I rap I like to be a brat. I usually complain about so many things. But I also like to write cutely about lovey-dovey stuff. Not that it’s about anyone [in particular].”
Tired Lion
It’s been a hell of a year for Tired Lion. They played at Splendour In The Grass, went out on their first-ever headline tour (as well as a tonne of support slots), dropped their second EP Figurine, and mashed up Violent Soho and Smashing Pumpkins for Like A Version. The feather in the cap came this week when they took out Unearthed’s Artist of the Year prizeat the J Awards. Party In The Paddock will hopefully be the start of another great year.
Party In The Paddock will take place from Friday February 19 – Saturday February 21 at Burns Creek, Tasmania. Tickets are available now.
