Mark Ronson fans braved a soaking to see him rock the Splendour stage.

Thirty thousand punters saw a stunning line-up of music, arts and crafts at Splendour in the Grass 2015 writes Verandah Magazine’s Georgina Bible.

The heavens opened but the crowds kept pouring into North Byron Parklands to watch over 100 acts play over four stages at Splendour in the Grass. There was sunny weather across the weekend, though it was punctuated by violent downpours that turned rolling green fields into murky black sludge, calf deep in places. But no one seemed to mind wading through the mire – with most dressed to do battle with their gumboots in readiness.

Friday kicked off with promising conditions along with outstanding performances by Death Cab for Cutie and Ryan Adams. Death Cab opened their slot in the amphitheatre with a rip-the-roof-off performance of The New Year, before launching into a set list of fan favourites. The natural law that presides over Byron Shire that rain shall fall on music festivals kicked in during Adams’ set in the GW McLennan tent but punters ignored the downpour outside as they were treated to extended versions of classics like Peaceful Valley and Magnolia Mountain. Mark Ronson fans had to endure complete saturation in order to watch his star-studded performance in the amphitheatre. Ronson invited friends on stage including Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker and Miike Snow’s Andrew Wyatt and closed the night with the monster smash-hit Uptown Funk.

Death Cab – rip-off-the-roof performance of The New Year. Photo: Stephen Booth

The sun came out enough on Saturday to see the Splendour urchins emerge from the expanding sea of mud to enjoy the powered lo-fi, psych-rock of Pond. With a look that passes them off as refugees from Nimbin (rather than Perth) the group had the amphitheatre engulfed in an auditory freak-out as they swayed and lunged to tracks like Giant Tortoise. Over in the GW McLennan Tent, The Church drew a crowd peppered with rock n roll silverbacks who enjoyed a mix of new and old classics. You Took was the track everyone was waiting for – and it didn’t disappoint. Later, the goddess from England, Florence Welch, had dressed head to toe in white to meet her people. Florence and the Machine capped off the day with an incredible soaring set, played to a captivated amphitheatre.

Florence Welch from Florence and The Machine. Photo: Savannah Vander Niet

By the third day, chartering the mud was like walking a tightrope above quicksand – one wrong move and it was off to a netherworld of sludge. Unperturbed, the punters rose again to enjoy a trifecta of some of the world’s best bands in the amphitheatre on Sunday night.

English drum and bass guitar duo Royal Blood hit the stage and immediately whipped the crowd into a literal whirpool. The sweat covered crowd slammed into each other through a thumping set, opening with Come on Over and closing with a monster 10-minute performance of Out of the Black, which diverted briefly into Black Sabbath’s Iron Man. Tame Impala relaxed the mood with a set-list largely from their last two albums, played through a landscape of psychedelic lights and flash-back projections. Two songs from the new album Currents had their live debut at Splendour – The Moment and The Less I know the Better.

Royal Blood whipped the crowd up into a frenzy. Photo: Justin Ma

After an 18-year absence from Australia, Blur was an anticipated headliner for Splendour after having withdrawn from the Big Day Out last year. Damon Albarn bounced onto the stage and blamed his exuberance on having just consumed a batch of Byron Bay doughnuts. He then launched into a cracking version of Go Out from the band’s latest album The Magic Whip. Albarn treated fans to almost a best-of Blur set-list, racing through hits like Parklife and Beetlebum. Song 2 saw the entire amphitheatre blast-off but sadly, a decent chunk of punters exited after the 2.05 minutes of pure pop-rock was over. They missed a three song encore that ended with a gorgeous version of the soaring song – The Universal – an appropriate end to a mind-blowing three days.

Blur in a Blur of motion. Photo: Stephen Booth.

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Heading into the last day – grab some last minute Splendour fashion tips via River Island, from three top bloggers – Sam from Style Paws, Domenica from Vogue Vandal and Emily from She Does.

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When mother of two Salila O’Connor decided to organise a fundraiser to help the peopleof Tibet after the devastating earthquake in May this year, the last thing that occurred to her is that she would end up at Splendour in the Grass with her two young children writes Georgina Bible.

The Ewingsdale resident entered a raffle to win tickets to Splendour in the Grass at the event she helped organise – Mullum Loves Nepal – at the Mullumbimby Civic Memorial Hall. Salila hit the instant karma jackpot when she won Splendour in the Grass Gold Bar tickets in the raffle for herself and her two children, none of whom had attended the festival before.

Salila O’Connor with her twins, Mattia and Aidan.

“Splendour in the Grass is an amazing festival – to be able to come here with children and feel free to enjoy the event with my family has been fantastic” O’Connor says.  “The Little Splendour children’s festival is an absolute sensation. It’s been funny to see people without children actually trying to get in to the Little Splendour area because of the amazing array of events and activities. It’s quite amusing for parents – you can’t get in to Little Splendour unless you’re aged nought to fifteen!”

The Nepal earthquake was the worst to hit Nepal in 80 years and was strong enough to be felt across parts of India, Bangladesh, Tibet and Pakistan. The earthquake was also felt by the people of Byron Shire who raised more than $20,000 towards relief efforts at the event. “It was great to see the people of Byron Bay get behind the Nepal Fundraiser to make it such an extraordinary success,” says O’Connor.  “It’s also been amazing to see so many people who were at the Nepal Fundraiser here at the festival. Byron Bay has an amazing sense of community, which becomes so apparent when you attend events like this that bring everyone together.”

Boots with bling, and the eyes have it…

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If you have ever had the desire to ‘face–off’ with Hollywood actor Nicolas Cage then Splendour in the Grass 2015 offers the chance. A giant inflatable cage fitted out with a giant inflatable meme of Nicholas Cage’s head has been created by Barcelona-based art collective Hungry Castle as part of the Splendour Arts program. The built-to-bounce Nicholas Cage In A Cage sculpture is just one of a line-up of paintings, performance installations and mini-universes created by some of the world’s most innovative artists as part of the annual festival.

“Splendour in the Grass is all about contemporary culture, art plays an important role in reflecting that,” says Craig Walsh, Curator of Splendour Arts. “It’s another layer of experience which contributes to the many layers which define Splendour. Art integrated into the site provides a completely different experience to the one gained from the music, we want to provide multiple experiences.”

This year’s Arts program sees the return of the Tent of Miracles – back this year as You C*nt Stop The Music with Andy Forbes and James Dabrowski. Expect a fusion of teenage 50s, flower power 60s, 70s rock n disco and fluro 80s hits. Bennett Miller will also make a return to Splendour this year with the live art installation Anabaptister, featuring a community of people living within the festival grounds along with a series of special guests giving one off performances. This will run alongside artist Tom Borgas’ outdoor installation/performance piece Post Digital Ruins – a work that considers the limits of the virtual world.

Painter and installation artist Sam Songailo will be at Splendour with ‘Program’ – acrylic on board.

Tanya Schultz who works as Pip & Pop will create a sculptural landscape Treasure Mountain – using a range of materials including sugar, glitter, sweets, plastic flowers and crystals. Two artists working with acrylic will feature at Splendour this year, including Sam Songailo and Reko Rennie. Songailo is a painter and installation artist working across a range of media and will exhibit a large scale acrylic on board installation titled Program. Rennie will take over the iconic entrance tunnel to Splendour in The Grass using it as his canvas to create Flash. The 2015 commission will consist of large-scale flash symbols along the entire tunnel with a mixture of colours and backgrounds.

“We commission new work by the most interesting artists working in a festival context,” Walsh says. “These works are highly considered and they respond to the festival, the punters and aim to surprise on many levels.”

Freeform body art at Splendour Crafts.

Splendour In The Grass 2015 – Splendour Arts line-up

Bennett Miller – ANABAPTISTER (Live art installation)
Hungry Castle – NICOLAS CAGE IN A CAGE (Inflatable Sculpture)
Andy Forbes & James Dabrowski – YOU C*NT STOP THE MUSIC (Tent of Miracles, Performance)
Tom Borgas – POST DIGITAL RUINS (Outdoor installation/performance)
Pip & Pop – TREASURE MOUNTAIN (Sculptural landscapes)
Sam Songailo – PROGRAM 1 (Acrylic on Board)
Reko Rennie – FLASH (Acrylic paint, paste up)

Splendour in the Craft is also back this year – the Crafts tent was jam-packed for the entire festival last year with an array of workshops that are set to make a return in 2015. The full Splendour in the Crafts line-up is listed below.

Splendour In The Grass 2015 – Splendour Crafts line-up

Thursday 23 July

6:00pm – 8:00pm
Pimp Your Festival Get Up: Bedazzle your tent, onesie, sleeping bag, phone covers – let your craftiest dreams come true.

Friday 24 July

11:00am – 12:30pm
Spotlight Session: Community Quilt workshop “I will always”

1:30pm – 3:00pm
Smash those Bad Dreams: Dream Catchers with Meet Make Create & Regular Wildcat

4:00pm – 5:30pm
The People’s Republic Of You: Pennant and Flag making with Kityia Palaskas

6.00pm – 6.30pm
No Lights No Lycra (Brisbane Chapter)

Saturday 25 July

11:00am – 12:30pm
Spotlight session: Piñata making with Kitiya Palaskas

1:30pm – 3:00pm
Charms for the Charming – Charm Bracelets with Each to Own

4:00pm – 5:30pm
Ojo De Dias (God’s Eye) with Beci Orpin

6.00pm – 6.30pm
No Lights No Lycra (Brisbane Chapter)

Beard embellishment with Splendour crafts.

Sunday 26 July

11:00am – 12:30pm
Spotlight Session: Totes, Totes! Yes free tote bag making with Art Park & Kitiya Palaskas

1:30pm – 3:00pm
Cool As Fuck Brooches with Beci Orpin

4:00pm – 5:30pm
Swamp your Sunnies & pimp your gumboots (free sunnies provided!) with Fancy Free + a band

6.00pm – 6.30pm
No Lights No Lycra (Brisbane Chapter)

Splendour in the Grass

Friday, 24th July – Sunday, 26th July 2015 – SOLD OUT
North Byron Parklands
126 Tweed Valley Way, Wooyung Tweed
Tickets: www.moshtix.com.au

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