Big Day Out Space Cadet Operations Manual 04

[Sydney?] : Big Day Out, 2004. Duodecimo, illustrated wrappers, light handling wear to wrappers and spine, pp. 130, illustrated.

Event guide for the Big Day Out music festival, featuring Australian and international acts such as The Darkness, Black Eyed Peas, The Dandy Warhols, Muse, Metallica, The Strokes, Something for Kate, Kings of Leon, The Flaming Lips, Gerling, Pnau, Salmonella Dub, Apex Twin, Felix da Housecat, Basement Jaxx, Fat Freddy’s Drop and others. Held in major Australian and New Zealand cities from 1992 – 2014, and attracting major international acts and evolving Australian talent, the Big Day Out was arguably the most influential music festival in Australian history.

Big Day Out was the brainchild of promoter-managers Ken West and Viv Lees. It was first staged on 25 January 1992 at a single venue – Sydney’s Hordern Pavilion – where a $40 ticket allowed punters to see 21 bands, including a set by Nirvana that probably changed the face of music in Australia. Later it became a multi-venue festival that was an annual fixture in Australian (and later New Zealand) cities until 2014. By attracting major international acts and showcasing Australian talent alongside them, Big Day Out had a huge influence on the indie-into-mainstream phenomenon, and brought Australian music to the attention of American, U.K. and European musicians, labels and promoters.