Splendour In The Grass 2015 went down in Byron Bay over the weekend, bringing together music fans from around the country, who gathered to enjoy performances from a mega-lineup comprised of Florence & The Machine, Blur, Tame Impala, Mark Ronson, and more.
As always, there was a lot more going on than just the music. In addition to the extracurricular activities organisers provide, such as Q&A with Tony Jones and the endless market stalls, Splendour punters and artists always manage to find their own fun.
This year was no different. In fact, as readers will see below, the party got started before the festival even kicked off. Here, for your viewing and FOMO pleasure, are all the things you missed at Splendour In The Grass 2015.
Splendour In The Carpark
A staple of the Splendour In The Grass weekend is charging in Byron Bay Woolworths to stock up on supplies for the weekend. It’s a rite of passage for many punters, but this year the Woolies managers decided to help punters get the party started early.
As Pedestrian.tv reports, they stationed a DJ in the car park who spun tunes as punters filed in and out carrying bagfuls of snacks, wet wipes, and God knows what else. According to Byron Bay Woolworths management, the stunt helped them double sales.
Image via Pedestrian.tv
Mud, Lots Of Mud
We don’t know if you were paying attention to the weather reports or anything, but this year’s Splendour was a bit of a wet one. As a result, despite the incredible sets from Blur, Florence & The Machine, and more, punters will mostly be walking away with memories of mud, lots of mud.
Oh, and the dignity…
Lads on Tour: Strangers on Pingas
Posted by Albern Syr Catan on Sunday, July 26, 2015
Also Flares, Lots Of Flares
Okay, it’s time we had a little chat on the topic of flares. There’s a reason they’re banned pretty much everywhere except for desert islands or a life raft you’re sharing with the other survivors of a terrible plane crash – they’re dangerous.
Some readers will remember that a flare set off at Soundwave a few years back ended up injuring a female punter. That’s why we’re less than impressed to see the number of flares set off during Splendour this year.
Yet another flare has been set off at Splendour, this time during @tameimpala's set #SITG2015
http://t.co/1BYpadVqCb pic.twitter.com/12Ii2plPhE
— triple j (@triplej) July 26, 2015
The Smith Street Band Are Total Legends
Performing in front of a giant banner that read “Real Australians Say Welcome”, Music Feeds reports Aussie rockers The Smith Street Band dedicated their incendiary anti-Abbott single ‘Wipe That Shit-Eating Grin Off Your Punchable Face’ to the plight of asylum seekers.
"Real Australians say welcome." Smith Street Band says it all rocking out at #splendour. pic.twitter.com/2OyxmcsLEJ
— Adam Guise Greens (@GreenGuise) July 25, 2015
There Was A Last-Minute Cancellation
This year’s Splendour event saw it share of unfortunate cancellations, with English rockers Catfish & The Bottlemen pulling out at the eleventh hour. It was later confirmed that Aussie rapper Allday had been forced to cancel his appearance due to a “family emergency”, with Shlomo stepping up to fill the rapper’s spot.
Sorry to have to announce I'm pulling out of Splendour in the Grass because of a family emergency today. If you're…
Posted by Allday onSaturday, July 25, 2015
Triple J’s Matt & Alex Had Their Own Splendour Moment
With the cancellation of Allday, things got a little, uh, mixed up over at the Mix Up stage and as a result, a pocket of time was available for Triple J’s own Matt & Alex to step up to the plate and absolutely blow the crowd away with a live rendition of ‘Pack ‘er Up, Boys’.
Bad Boys, Bad Boys
As Tone Deaf previously reported, local police had issued a warning to Splendour punters that they would be out in full force, keeping a close eye on anyone looking to bring illicit substances into the event or jump over the fence.
As ABC News now reports, they weren’t kidding around. 92 people were ultimately charged with drug-related offences during this year’s event, down considerably from the 271 people found in possession of prohibited drugs last year.
Among the arrests was a 21-year-old woman taken into custody after police found her with a bag containing 123 tablets of MDMA and cocaine, as well as two 18-year-old men in possession of a tin with 398 cardboard squares in plastic bags, believed to be LSD tabs.
Splendour & Associates Solicitors
Those who did happen to run afoul of the law on their way into the Splendour grounds were in good hands, however. In addition to posting guidelines for dealing with police and sniffer dogs on their website, festival organisers set up a free legal advice tent for punters.
“This year we’ve been quite busy,” Naomi Carter of Randall Legal told Pedestrian.tv. “Every year we have a number of people turning up, but again it affects young people… people who have finished high school, just starting out at uni or at the commencement of their careers.”
“The impact potentially of a criminal conviction on their life plan, that they’re just at the beginning stages of, can have a really devastating effect.” Splendour organisers, hey? Always looking out for us.
Seeking legal advice at @SITG ? Spoke with Naomi Randal, who says splendour doesn't require drugs @abcgoldcoast pic.twitter.com/VKelwexzfU
— Gabrielle Lyons (@gj_lyons) July 26, 2015
The Greens Campaigned Against Sniffer Dogs
Meanwhile, the good folks over at the Greens Party were busy spreading awareness about sniffer dogs, an increasingly controversial presence at music festivals. The Green handed out pamphlets containing statistics about the sniffer dog program and advice on what to do if you’re stopped by a dog.
Images via InTheMix
Oh Yeah, The Clean-Up
The nickname for this year’s event was Splendour In The Mud and it’s not hard to see why – Glastonbury ain’t got nothin’ on Splendour. Speaking to The Australian, Splendour co-promoter Paul Piticco said the Splendour clean-up effort is expected to stretch on for weeks.
“We put down woodchip and road base, anything to build rafts and walkways through the muddy areas and to lower the risk of slipperiness,” Piticco said. “We’ve had about 1000 cubic metres of those products used over the past few days.”
Another epic #splendour in the grass draws to a close. Tent city turned mud city.
#sitg
@tennewsqld pic.twitter.com/jAbyYInM3f
— Jonathan Lea (@JonathanLea10) July 29, 2013
Thank you splendour God for the mud baths pic.twitter.com/IAsni7sgkf
— CD (@courtdawes) July 27, 2015
SPLENDOUR IN THE MUD, LOL. #ToSoon? pic.twitter.com/gM1xDgOWp4
— CasualBandBlogger (@CasualBandBlog) July 24, 2015