Song of the day for January 25, 2024

2 min read

8 months ago Brian

The Violent Femmes' song "Blister In The Sun" is highlighted in the context of the inaugural Big Day Out festival in 1992, where they were joined by Nirvana. The festival expanded to multiple cities and featured various renowned acts, but it was eventually discontinued after the 2014 event, marking the end of an era.

Today’s song is from the Violent Femmes. Blister In The Sun Live from KEXP.

It was on this day in 1992 that the inaugural Big Day Out festival took place.

The event was conceptualised after the Violent Femmes announced a tour of Australia. Promoters Ken West and Vivian Lees sought another act as middle-level support for the band’s tour. They succeeded in securing Nirvana to play the Sydney leg at the Hordern Pavilion.

The Big Day Out debuted on the 1992 Australia Day public holiday in Sydney and eventually expanded to Melbourne, Adelaide, and Perth the following year. The Gold Coast and Auckland were added to the schedule in 1994. As of 2003, it featured seven or eight stages (depending on the venue), accommodating popular contemporary rock music, electronic music, mainstream international acts, and local acts. Auckland was taken out of the tour schedule in 2013, but the festival returned to the city for its last run in 2014.

The inaugural Big Day Out festival took place at the Hordern Pavilion in Sydney. Acts appearing included, Nirvana, Beasts of Bourbon, Box The Jesuits, Celibate Rifles, Cosmic Psychos, The Clouds, Club Hoy, Died Pretty, Falling Joys, The Hard Ons with Henry Rollins Hellmen, Massappeal, The Meanies, Smudge, Sound Unlimited Posse, Ratcat, The Village Idiots, Violent Femmes and Yothu Yindi.

In 2014 it was announced the 2015 event would be cancelled, but future years could possibly happen. As of now there has been no more events. So it seems that 2014 was the last and final version of Big Day Out.