Groovin The Moo Unveil Massive, Diverse 2014 Bill

29 January 2014 | 8:24 am | Staff Writer

Superstars from home and abroad are involved.

This year's Groovin The Moo festival is going to be bigger than ever – we're not just rolling that out as a tired cliché, it's literally a longer tour with the addition of a sixth date in the South Australian town of Oakbank. The line up is absolutely stupid good in 2014, not that we are surprised given the festival's track record, and here are a few details about what you can expect to see and hear when it hits your town.

Here's the line up, in alphabetical order:

Action Bronson, Andy Bull, Architecture In Helsinki, Cults, Disclosure, Dizzee Rascal, Holy Fuck, Illy, The Jezabels, The Jungle Giants, Karnivool, Kingswood, The Kite String Tangle, Loon Lake, The Naked And Famous, Parkway Drive, Peking Duk, The Presets, Robert Delong, Thundamentals, Vance Joy, Violent Soho, Wave Racer, What So Not

Here's what it sounds like:

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Here's what we reckon:

KARNIVOOL:

Well, we already knew Karnivool were playing, but that doesn't make it any less exciting. These Western Australian fellas are such a dominant force in the world of Australian rock music right now and they'll once again be taking their powerful rock music overseas later this year to spread the word. Before they go, however, they'll make sure regional Australia gets its fill.

THE JEZABELS:

The return of The Jezabels is a welcome one for their many, many thousands of fans and these Groovin The Moo shows will come not long after the band gets off the Laneway Festival which kicks off next week and the release of their second album which we'll have our hands on at the end of this week. It's just enough time for you to learn all the words and sing along when they play some special shows on the Groovin The Moo tour.

THE PRESETS:

Australian dance royalty The Presets are going to turn each and every town they visit onm this tour into a raging dance party, because that's just what they do. The forward thinking electro duo have had their fair share of pop success over the years, ensuring there's something in their show for just about everyone. This will be no different to electro loving people of regional Australia, we assure you.

DIZZEE RASCAL:

This British MC has been hard at it for a decade now, flirting with the worlds of pop music as well as grime and UK garage as he has worked his way through five diverse LPs. The latest is fittingly called The Fifth and it sees Rascal get help from the likes of Jessie J, Robbie Williams and will.i.am, to name a few, but the highlights will always remain his supreme rapping ability. Expect plenty of energy and good times when Dizzee Rascal visits Groovin The Moo.

DISCLOSURE:

You can't talk electro in 2014 without mentioning Disclosure. The young British duo were the talk of the indie world upon the release of their debut LP Settle, a record that was hyped up to a ridiculous degree but one that absolutely delivered as it had promised it would. The fellas came to Australia upon its release late last year, but they're back already to get a better look at the country and make more and more people dance to their super cool brand of electro pop.

ACTION BRONSON:

He's literally going to be here in a couple of weeks' time in support of Eminem, but Action Bronson is happy to make it two Aussie trips in the early part of 2014 as he confirms he will be a part of the Groovin The Moo bill this year as well. He is one of the truly great modern rappers around, in our opinion, and he is going to prove that to so many people over here in the coming months. If you want a really cool taste of what he does, check out this recent mixtape.

PARKWAY DRIVE:

Many have tried, but no hardcore bands from this country have ever scaled the heights of the brilliant Parkway Drive. These Byron Bay blokes have conquered the world with their scathing brand of metalcore and will continue on their path of destruction for as long as kids are willing to fill mosh pits and smash into each other.

VANCE JOY:

He's just picked up the number one spot in the Hottest 100, so you just sit back and wait for the career of Vance Joy to go absolutely bananas. Don't get us wrong, he was clearly already a very well-loved artist before this recent accolade, but shit will get crazy from here on in. No stranger to rural shows after a big run with Bernard Fanning earlier in the year, Vance will bring a sense of calm to a riotous festival and will draw mammoth crowds in the process.

VIOLENT SOHO:

Just wait and watch thousands upon thousands of young music lovers go absolutely mental when Violent Soho take it to the stages of regional Australia for some almighty shows as a part of Groovin The Moo this year. The band had a blockbuster 2013 that saw them release one of the great albums of the year in Hungry Ghost and even land a spot in the top 20 of the Hottest 100 with their riotous Covered In Chrome. The band are one of the best live acts in the country, and a whole heap of people are about to see that for the first time.

CULTS:

With their 2011 eponymous debut Cults proved that they really were one of indie music's coolest acts. That's all well and good when you're born out of blog hype and you've got everyone's attention, but it's much harder to back that up with a quality second LP. So you can imagine the excitement of fans when last year's Static dropped and it felt like a far more accomplished piece of work than their first. They'll smash out tracks from both when they finally return to Australia later this year.

The Groovin The Moo festival takes place on the following dates:

Friday 25 April – Oakbank Racecourse, South Australia
Saturday 26 April – Maitland Showground, New South Wales
Sunday 27 April – University of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory
Saturday 3 May – Bendigo's Prince Of Wales Showground, Victoria
Sunday 4 May – Murray Sports Complex – Townsville Cricket Grounds, Queensland
Saturday 10 May – Hay Park, Bunbury, Western Australia