Review: Splendour in the Grass 2023 at North Byron Parklands

Splendour in the Grass 2023 at North Byron Parklands
Friday, July 21- Sunday, July 23, 2023

Friday, July 21

Byron Bay’s Splendour in the Grass celebrated its 21st birthday over the weekend, with around 35,000 music lovers attending the three-day festival. The sun shone hot in the clear blue sky on Friday, showing a promising contrast to last year’s wet and muddy festival, more akin to the environment Glastonbury Festival goers are used to. Splendour organisers had decks in place this year, throughout the stalls and some of the bars, in the event of wet weather.

Lots of people were happy getting settled at their campsites and chilling out for the first part of the day before the headline acts came on and the atmosphere amped up. Others wandered around the festival, easing into the Splendour experience by checking out the stalls, purchasing  a vintage outfit for the occasion, getting their hair braided with colourful extensions, and being lured to the smell of food vans.

Festival outfits are a show all of their own and some Slendour in the Grass visitors went all out with their “fits” whilst others kept it comfy and casual. There appeared to be a handful of general looks that could be categorised into four styles- Bohemian babes, rocker renegades, Peach-y pink parade, and, man in shorts and t-shirt.

A great way to kick off the festival was to witness the Welcome to Country. A short but sweet acknowledgement of the traditional custodians of Ngarindjin land and a gentle reminder to be respectful of the land we are protected in. The Welcome to Country was followed by a traditional song, dance and mini smoking ceremony.

Californian Claire Rosinkranz played some of her west-coast indie pop on the GW McLennan stage, eliciting a bitter-sweet reminder of summer days as a young adult.

The long walk to Skegss at The Amphitheatre called for a pit-stop at the World Stage to watch Sunshine Coast boys, Nana's Pie. The folk rock trio are building momentum in the music scene, and the World Stage is excellent exposure for upcoming artists.

Skegss were the first “big” show of the day for many, as fans went to support the Aussie lads play their final show with bassist Toby Cregan. Others wandered around like a deer in headlights finally stumbling across Lazy Ghost at the Byron Bay Brewery Bar. After paying $17 for a beer in a reusable cup, listening to the former Canadians that now call Byron home, was a nice way to catch the last of the suns rays. The sun, once sizzling, had gone down, painting the sky pink and deep blue. A few raindrops fell mischievously but didn't push it.

At 5:30pm it was time to get serious. Heading to the Mix Up tent with a reasonable crowd, (people had been torn in different directions, namely to Australian singer-songwriter Jack River) Sudan Archives soon expelled any FOMO one might have had. The bass was ear-shattering whilst Sudan Archives (a.k.a Brittney Denise Parks) rapped frenetically and sung beautifully. She looked like a warrior queen going to battle with her violin slung over her shoulder, often whipping her bow around as if it were a sword. She mentioned it was her first time to Australia and how happy she was to be here. Her stage presence was captivating, her fusion of dance, rap, singing, and her incredible violin skills blowing the crowds' collective mind. Songs such like Nont for Sale, Selfish Soul and Come Meh Way had a political message that resounded through the audience. 

As the crowd screamed with glee she asked “Where my freaks at?” The crowd affirmed they were there, in all their freaky flavour, so Sudan Archives performed Freakalizer. Afterwards, she asked the somewhat hesitant crowd to repeat “I'm not average” a few times before launching into NBPQ (Topless). As she approached the end of the song, singing “I just want to have my titties out, titties out, titties out…” naturally, she got her titties out. She mentions that as she is of part Irish descent and the first song she learned on violin was an Irish jig. She played the lively jig which brought out the Irish in the crowd. Sudan Archives was equally angry at racism and the patriarchy; and loving towards the crowd, inviting them into the visceral experience.

The Rainbow Bar “poof doof” was a fun stop-over to see some drag performers mime along to 90s dance-pop hits whilst the inclusive environment of she's, he's, gays, and they's heated up the dance floor.

Back at the World Stage, Indigenous and Filipino rapper, Dobby, impressed with his vigorous energy, spitting verses about the importance of land care, then bouncing to the drum kit to show of his talent as he continues to sing whilst drumming. “I can feel your energy,” he called out.

At the GW McLennan stage, London trio Palace played between the velvet red curtains, the lead singer and guitarist matching the curtains in his bright red shirt and hat. The chilled blues-pop was a nice reprieve from all the electronic music that the ears absorbed throughout the day. Songs such as Lover (Don't Let Me Down) and All We've Ever Wanted got the crowd in the feels with their nostalgic early noughties indie rock sound.

Making your way from stage to stage isn't so straightforward when there are so many dazzling sights and sounds! In the Bohemian Lounge there was an array of acts from the likes of acrobats, dancers, and cabaret performers to give you a fix of the curious and quirky, while the Stone and Wood Bar was a great place to sit by the fire pit listening to the DJ whilst enjoying a hard-earned beer.

At a quarter to eleven, the time had come to summit the steep hill into the amphitheatre to see the queen herself – Lizzo! She slayed in several outfit changes as she belted out crowd pleasers Truth Hurts, Good as Hell and About Damn Time. Aretha Franklin for Gen Z, Lizzo sung her body positive, girl-power message loud through her songs I Love You, Bitch and Special. She even asked the crowd to repeat affirmations with her. I bet there's few people that have made the clarinet look so cool.

After the electric Lizzo experience, the crowd disconnected back to their camps, gathered around food stalls, or continued to party on to the rave DJs of The Forest area.

Saturday, July 22

Saturday morning painted the festival in a different, softer light that displayed the festival as a mini village, and the festival goers, its villagers. The crowd was significantly smaller with day trippers not yet arrived and many campers still relaxing at their spot. It was a bit of a pyjama party as people shuffled around slowly, clutching coffee in the hopes of being resurrected for another day of moving and grooving. There wasn't a whole lot available in the way of breakfast foods, but teppanyaki noodles is never a bad option, especially when you could hear sound checks from Peach PRC and Tkay Maidza from the food hall.

Caffeinated, hydrated, fed, cleaned and dressed, it was time to get down and dirty with BIG WETT at the Mix Up Stage. The Australian shock-pop singer drew in the blushing crowd with songs such as Eat My Ass, GSPOT, and NUMBER 1 PUSSY. Whilst not particularly creative or profound, BIG WETT's 90s style booty bass dance pop reminded us not to take things too seriously, especially music. Wearing a tiny hot pink skirt and bikini top, BIG WETT bared it all shamelessly, proclaiming “Your dad has a big dick” and wielding a hot pink double sided dildo around. To generations that grew up with Peaches and even Madonna it was a slight yawn fest, but a song or two were good to get the blood pumping.

Melbourne's genre-bending music magicians King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard graciously stopped by their home country for one show at Splendour, before gallivanting back to their European tour. The psychedelic rockers are an enigmatic tour-de-force that have managed to release an impossible amount of material (24 studio albums and 15 live albums in their 12 year career) whilst remaining outside the parameters of commercialism. The band opened with Rattlesnake and it wasnt long before a circle pit appeared in the predominantly black-clad crowd. King Gizz reminded the crowd “We are doing our show on indigenous land. We voted yes in the referendum, and so should you!”

In true KGLW form, the lads jammed their way through the spectacular show, playing a medley of their songs simultaneously harmonious and chaotic. Self-Immolate became Supercell which led into Witchcraft. All members showed of their talent on their instruments at some point, with Michael Cavanagh displaying an insane drum solo and lead singer/guitarist Stu Mackenzie using his vocals in all sorts of weird and wonderful ways, accessing deep and warbling bass tones to sound digeridoo-like. “It's time to dance,” Stu called before launching into The Dripping Tap where Ambrose Kenny-Smith treated the crowd to his masterful sax-playing. Whilst it may have been nice to hear some more of their 'groovier' songs such as Slow Jam 1 and the ballad-y Work This Time, the shred-lords stayed on theme with a more heavy set that appeased metal fans old and new. Metallica who??

Even if you hadn't heard much of Pussy Riot, but had heard of the controversy that surrounded them, witnessing their live performance was very compelling. Nadya Tolokonnikova stood on stage, partially hidden amongst an Adidas bomber and long black and blue hair. She launched into Police State with back up dancers dressed in little more than fishnet stockings and pink balaclavas. 

Some might have expected more of a punk show, but despite the manic cutesy pop rave sound, the political punk sentiment ran deep. To hear Nadya sing in her native Russian language, instantaneously swapping her K-pop vocals for primal, death metal growls, was quite the experience. To add to the effect, she whipped around a cat o' nine tails while singing Punish, an angry feminist anthem to add to the repertoire.

Tkay Maidza is a queen in the Australian rap scene and it was a shame her set conflicted with New York rock stars, Yeah Yeah Yeahs. However, a couple of songs were able to be enjoyed before rushing off to The Ampitheatre. It was her first Splendour since 2016 and she was stoked to be there. Playing her drum and bass-driven dance pop, Don't Call Again and Show Me The Money were crowd-pleasing bangers.

It's wild to think it was 10 years ago that the Yeah Yeah Yeahs played at Big Day Out, but a decade later their energy was still high and Karen O looked as incredibly kooky as ever, like a comic book hero, in her black and multicoloured tasselled ensemble. They kicked off the set with a song performed on the studio version with Perfume Genius, epic anthem – Spitting Off the Edge of the World. The entire show was a visual and auditory delight, with giant inflatable eyeballs bouncing over the crowd during Zero and an explosion of pink confetti raining down during Heads Will Roll. 

They returned to new material with the fun electro tune Fleez from their latest album Cool It Down. Though Karen's powerful voice may have wavered a couple of times, she has an invincibility to her that shines as bright as her outfits. It was cute to see drummer Brian Chase smile throughout the set, keeping the heartbeat of the band strong. The trio finished the dynamic performance with another fan favourite, Date With The Night.

One of the downfalls of a multi-stage festival is when two (sometimes more!) acts you really want to see are playing at the same time. For many it was tough to choose between Australia's electronic wunderkind Flume (celebrating a decade of music), and Aotearoa's Marlon Williams. While a massive crowd gathered at The Amphitheatre for Flume, the GW McLennan stage was the place to be and the smaller crowd might agree, the atmosphere felt more exclusive and intimate.

Williams got on stage with a black hoodie over his head and sung a stunning a cappella of a traditional Maori song, or waiata. He then pulled off the hoodie, emerging as the timelessly dressed crooner befitting of his music, and sauntered into My Boy from the latest album of the same name, and Thinking about Nina. As he strutted around the stage under the red light singing Vampire Again, it wasn't hard to imagine the lanky, striking musician as a vampire. Standing in front of the stage, the vulnerability of Williams' songs hit harder, and as he began to sing Nobody Gets What They Want Anymore it was almost a dare to see who can remain dry-eyed.

Williams is one of those rare singers who encaptulates the nostalgia of times gone by, yet keeps it fresh. Despite the sentimentality and sometimes sorrow of his songs, Marlon Williams appears very much the larrikin and songs like Don't Go Back and Party Boy prove he's a singer-songwriter who balances light and dark with aplomb. The harmonising with the band members was a beautiful sound to tired ears. Quite the renaissance man, Williams threads concepts, culture, subtle humour, and Moari language throughout his lyrics whilst strumming his guitar with the finesse of an old country-folk musician. Marlon Williams was the perfect way to end the night, as if being being rocked to sleep.

Sunday, July 23

Again, the GW MacLennan stage brought the goods with Brisbane's Full Flower Moon Band rocking out their sexy, 70s tinged grunge rock, with front woman Babyshakes Dillon providing an illegal amount of steeze for a midday show. The tomboy femme fatale belted out Hurt Nobody and Trainspotting from last year's album Diesel, as well as all four songs from 2021's Death or Hell. The songs embrace rock and roll, whilst also taking the piss a little. Dillon took swigs of beer between songs exclaiming “This one's about drugs.” All four guitarists along with drummer Luke, melted into a melodic fuzz with sharp edges. Definitely a band to hear live, Waiting For My Car jumped out and grabbed you more than it could muster through your home speakers.

Del Water Gap were next up at GW. The New York artist revealed “This song made me first want to get into skateboarding at the age of 12. I would go down to the skatepark in my cargo shorts in the hope she would see me and fall in love.” He proceeded to sing Avril Lavigne's Complicated, and of course most of the crowd joined in.

Sunday was the day to pop into all the places that hadn't been explored yet. Unfortunately the karaoke bar didn't set up until 4pm, so it was off to the champagne lounge for a hint of jazzy decorum.

Ghost Mutt played at Byron Bay Brewery Bar. Their first song was reminiscent of CCR's Proud Mary. while Rinse and Repeat was a fun indie pop song that got the crowd grooving.

It may have come as a slight surprise to the Splendour kids when Idles brought a different energy altogether. The British punk five-piece exploded the atmosphere of The Amphitheatre with Colossus. In a gentle mocking, singer Joe Talbot told the crowd “how white, how free, how penal” we looked. He asked the crowd to get on a knee and repeat “Fuck the king.” 

As Australians we're quite removed from the fact that we're still under the monarchy so it may have been trivial to some whilst a reminder to stay angry about the idea to others. The set continued to serve as a reminder of the inequality in our society, the racism, classism, homophobia and sexism. Songs like Car Crash and I'm Scum seemed a reflection of those who step outside the status quo yet feel the judgemental eyes of society and the bourgeois.

Never Fight a Man With a Perm has got to be one of the greatest open-letter dis-tracks with punchy insults like “Topshop tyrant” and “a heathen from Eton, on a bag of Michael Keaton.” Idles are witty, raw and embrace strong masculine energy that stands up unapologetically for others, especially those that are treated unfairly. 

There was a slightly more tender song amongst the hard-hitting political hollers, the ballad-esque The Beachland Ballroom, where Talbot showed that he could sing as well as yell and growl. Drummer Jon Beavis went completely ape as Talbot stood nonchalantly and Mark Bowen span in circles playing the guitar perfectly as he does. They dedicated their last song Rottweiler to non-facists.

The rain was coming down on and off. It seemed most of the Splendour crowd were underneath the Mix Up tent, jammed in like baked beans to watch PNAU. The squashed in and suffocating surroundings of the stage were a bit too much to handle, and the crowd slowly spread out to witness the electro-pop trio from under the open sky. 

After the high energy of Idles, listening to PNAU from the comfort of the wine bar with a fire pit was a nice way to end the evening. Cold Heart and Wild Strawberries, with its dancey 2000s-sounding backing track, was the perfect way to finish up an unforgettable weekend of music.

KYRA SHENNAN