Drake leads Future Music line-up
Swedish arena DJ Avicii, Pommy veteran firestarters the Prodigy and Grammy Award-winning Canadian rapper Drake lead the line-up for Future Music, unveiled today.
More than 40,000 fans are expected to attend the dance festival, which returns to Arena Joondalup on March 1 next year.
While Avicii played Perth Arena in January and the Prodigy toured with Future Music in 2010 and 2013, the five-date road-show will be Drake's first ever visit.
The 27-year-old holds the record for the most number ones on Billboard's R&B/Hip-Hop chart with soulful hits such as Hold On, We're Going Home, Forever and Headlines.
Future Music director Brett Robinson described Drake as the "ultimate headliner" given the difficulties of getting big name acts that have not toured Australia.
"To have those three guys (Drake, Avicii and the Prodigy) sitting on the top of a diverse line-up, for me, really encapsulates everything we want Future Music to be," he said.
Next year's festival see London rapper Example, real name Elliot Gleave, return to the road after wife Australian model Erin McNaught gives birth to their first child, due around New Year's Eve.
The bill heaving with electronic dance music (EDM) acts includes Beyonce and David Guetta collaborator Afrojack, aka Nick van der Wall, Canadian house diva Kiesza and Londoners NERO.
Avicii. Picture: Sean Erikkson
Robinson tips fast-rising British drum'n'bass duo Sigma, who refashioned Kanye West's Bound 2 into summer smash Nobody to Love, as an act to watch.
"Sigma might just be the next Rudimental," he said.
Young beat-maker Martin Garrix, veteran techno DJ Sven Vath, controversial South African rap-ravers Die Antwoord, Robin Schulz, Klingande, BlasterJaxx and more make for a line-up light on pop or rock acts.
Robinson hints that a big pop act will join the festival - Pharrell Williams was a late addition to the east coast instalments earlier this year.
After New Order, the Stone Roses, Bloc Party, the Temper Trap and Franz Ferdinand performed at recent Future Music festivals, rock bands are totally missing from the 2015 event.
Future Music organisers learned from the Big Day Out, which failed after pulling poor numbers for a line-up lead by rock giants Pearl Jam.
"We can't be everything to every man. We're certainly not a rock festival," Robinson said.
"If the rock fan feels like there's only one or two rock bands on the line-up, but there's 40 R&B, electronic and pop acts they're not interested in, how can they justify paying $140 for a ticket."
The Prodigy. Picture: Paul Dugdale
With other festivals struggling or dissolving, Robinson said it was vital for promoters to keep their finger on the pulse.
He said organisers want to "make sure the festival is diverse enough to move in any which way that is dictated by popular culture.
"If there is an amazing movement to a particular music style or a genre, we want to be there," Robinson said.
"We want to deliver the biggest and best festival line-up every year, no matter what it takes."
Robinson's company presents Future Music in partnership with Michael Gudinski's Frontier Touring for the second time in 2015.
The festival, which started in 2007, competes for the title of Australia's best summer dance festival with the DJ-dominated Stereosonic
The two-day festival, hitting Claremont Showground on November 29 and 30, stars Calvin Harris, Skrillex, Tiesto, Diplo, Carl Cox and Alesso.
"I think you'll find the line-up we've got is the anti-Stereosonic in some ways," Robinson said.
"Stereosonic is extremely dance focused, it's an EDM festival through and through - it's five stages of EDM.
"What we are presenting here is a very diverse festival, ranging from the hard-hitting Prodigy to the coveted hip-hop act (Drake) to the commercial pop/EDM guy (Avicii) that dominates radio," he said.
"We've very different festivals; they're quite one-dimensional and we're quite broad and diverse.
"What we're trying to achieve now with Future Music is to position the festival as the key festival of summer and the culmination of a great summer in Australia."
Tickets go on sale at the General Pants city store on Saturday from 4pm, with general tickets on sale noon local time on October 30.
Future Music Festival 2015
First line-up announcement
Drake
Avicii
The Prodigy
Afrojack
Martin Garrix
Example
Sigma
2Chainz
Kiesza
Klingande
Robin Schulz
Nero
Die Antwoord
Gorgon City
Blasterjaxx
Bassjackers
Tchami
Carnage
Throttle
Cocoon: Sven Vath
Art Department
Appollonia
Yellow Claw
