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Big Day Out

A nation-wide celebration of rock music

The Big Day Out is a day-long touring music festival that takes place annually in January at six venues around Australia and New Zealand. The event currently has shows on the Gold Coast, Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide and Auckland. The festival is a celebration of rock music and has attracted some of the biggest names in the industry. Previous acts include local bands Silverchair, Powderfinger and The John Butler Trio, and a multitude of international acts including Nirvana, Tool, The Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Metallica, Rage Against the Machine, Neil Young and Muse. The event takes place on several stages, with multiple bands playing simultaneously. The festival is a series of all ages gigs, which have been given an MA15+ rating.

The festival began in 1992 as a Sydney-only show at the Hordern Pavilion, with Violent Femmes as the headline act, along with Nirvana and a range of other foreign and local alternative music acts. Through its early success it grew to include Melbourne, Perth and Adelaide the following year. In 1994 the festival’s organisers announced the further expansion of the Big Day Out tour to also include the Gold Coast and Auckland.

The 2012 Big Day Out festival will be held at the Gold Coast on 23 January.

Last updated by Patrick Ryan (2011-10-29)