Meredith Music Festival Announces Full Line-Up

The 2014 Meredith Music Festival, affectionately known as 24-Meredith, has followed up last month’s revelation of The War On Drugs as its event headliner with the announcement of its full complement of acts for this December.

The three-day, two-night cavalcade of cacophonous revelry will hit the Meredith Supernatural Amphitheatre from December 12-14 this year, featuring (with the exception of one act) an all-new roster of acts coming together for their very first appearances at ‘The Sup’.

Joining The War On Drugs this year will be Ty Segall, De La Soul, The Skatalites, Mark Lanegan, Sleep, Augie March, James Holden, Tiny Ruins, Ghostface Killah, Phosphorescent, Cloud Nothings, The Lemonheads, Mia Dyson, Factory Floor, The Bombay Royale, Vakula, Painters And Dockers, Blank Realm, The Public Opinion Afro Orchestra, Misty Nights, Teeth & Tongue, Dr Phil Smith, Marlon Williams and the Hard-Ons – plus more yet to be announced.

Segall is a prolific young rock'n'roll upstart hailing from Laguna Beach, California, and his fittingly sunny disposition has seen him carried to worldwide acclaim over the past six or so years, during which time he's released seven studio full-lengths (we told you he was prolific). Segall has released a prodigious ten music clips since 2009, also, so there's plenty of material floating around to get yourself acquainted with why so many Meredith-bound music fans are talking about him, but here's his latest to get you started:

Long Island hip-hop vets De La Soul should be no strangers to Aussie audiences, and if they are, you best get acquainted quickly, because it is no stretch to say that if it weren't for the trio of Posdnuos, Dave and Maseo, we wouldn't have The Black Eyed Peas, Mos Def, that "Hey, how ya doin'? Sorry you can't get through" song that a bunch of people legitimately made their answering machine message in the early '90s, or the one really good song that Gorillaz ever released. So, yeah, they're pretty influential.

Despite the fact they lend credence to the theory that somewhere along the line every ska band on the planet met up at a secret convention and decided a play on the word "ska" was a necessity in their group names, The Skatalites are much more than a groanworthy moniker. So much more — in fact, they hold the honour of probably being one of the very first bands to have set that punny trend, having been a trailblazing concern on the ska scene in the 1960s. Sadly, all but one of the founding members have passed on (like we said, around since the '60s), but their legacy has been kept alive in varying incarnations since their original reunion in 1983, and the undimmed brightness of that torch should be more than reason enough to draw you in.

British producer James Holden has been on a singularly upward — albeit unhurried — path since his 2006 debut Music Has The Right To Children, releasing his long-awaited follow-up, The Inheritors, last year. It's a testament to his strength as a composer that the record both instantly made listeners forget about the seven-year wait while not merely retreading ground already covered, and Aussie audiences stand to benefit from the full-scale voluptuousness of the album when Holden brings his live band along for the Meredith experience this December.

Augie March are back. You know they're back. Melbourne knows they're back — they entirely bought out three of their special hometown shows to signify the return. They've got a new album on the way, which means new material and a new energy, so, really, you'd be pretty well misguided to not capitalise on whatever opportunity is put up in front of you to be able to catch them in the flesh. Whether this reunion lasts a year, a decade or a score, it's not like you're going to wake up one day and think, "Gee, I sure am glad I didn't see Augie March when I had the chance," so why not pre-empt yet another regret to add to the list and spare yourself the pain by just going along?

All these acts and many more will be on offer at Meredith this year, so if you're wondering how to snare your pass: the 2014 Meredith Ticket Ballot is open now, until 9.24pm (because why not?) on August 19. The nature of the ballot will ensure most tickets go to Meredith subscribers, but there’ll be another round of results out on August 21. A ticket to Meredith (there’s just the one kind, it’s nice and easy that way) will set you back $318.80 + $10 booking fee (ballot and online tickets via Registered Post incur a $7 fee).