South Australia, proudly known as ‘the festival state’ on its licence plates, reaffirmed its title splendidly in January 2023 with the debut of the Heaps Good festival. King Stingray, Peach PRC, and CC:DISCO were among the Australian artists who appeared on this one-day event's impressive lineup, which also included fellow Brits Arctic Monkeys, Chvrches, Jamie xx, and PinkPantheress.

On the back of the day’s success, Heaps Good is not only returning to its southern heartland at the Adelaide showgrounds but also expanding its horizons eastward. As the dusk of 2023 settles, the festival will bring its goodness to Melbourne, ringing out the new year at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl. 

The carnival continues in Brisbane as some of the acts from the Heaps Good lineup head to Fortitude Music Hall for two stacked days of music. On January 2nd, Brisbanites can blow away the cobwebs left behind by their New Year’s debauchery to the sound of Britain’s modern musical frontier. Declan McKenna, Griff, and local performers Sycco and Felony will support Foals as they lead the brigade.

Then, on January 3rd, when the sun has set on all the resolutions made just days before, Australian icons The Avalanches will take the stage, enveloping the audience in their blend of electronic music. Among their support acts are Sydney’s  MAY-A and Brisbane’s own Logan, but the striking additions of SBTRKT and Holly Humberstone to the lineup’s ranks ensure that the festival’s British Invasion theme continues.

One name worth singling out amid the showcase of UK exports is Declan McKenna’s. Fresh off the back of a “super hectic” North America tour, McKenna’s Australian shows will be his last before the release of his third album, What happened to the beach? Such a run-up paves the way for a set of confident and self-assured performances when he and his band take to the stage for Heaps Good. Of the upcoming shows, McKenna shares:

“We’ve got quite a few shows under our belt now, in terms of the new stuff. We should be on pretty good form. It’s a relatively short tour compared to what we just did in America. So hopefully we’ll just be able to keep the energy up.”

If the teasing singles that McKenna has released over the last six months are anything to go by, the “new stuff” to which McKenna refers will make for shows that are varied in depth and tone. His most recent release, ‘Elevator Hum’ pairs a hypnotic, sunny melody with energising synth lines and rich harmonies to create a sound that’s more “mellow” than McKenna’s typical output, but not at all out of place. As McKenna says, the single evidences a more “groove- and vibe-oriented" approach to songwriting. 

Yet, the album’s earliest single, ‘Sympathy’ reiterates McKenna’s reliable knack for producing pop anthems, even as his musical sensibilities develop. In McKenna’s own immortal words, “There’s still kind of bangers amongst the chillness.” So vibrant is this particular earworm that Elton John told McKenna it is his “song of the summer”—an experience the young songwriter found “pretty affirming.” McKenna's clamshell sunglasses, white suit, and six-piece band—all of which matched—directly evoked the adoring pop deity while he performed the song at the Reading Festival in August. Asked if Fortitude Music Hall can expect the same level of theatrics at Heaps Good, McKenna was enthused: “We’ll need to pack cleverly for that!”

Another Heaps Good artist for whom the arts and fashion play a fundamental role is English singer-songwriter Griff. While the young performer’s impressive vocal craft is what drives many to her shows, there’s no doubt that her handmade outfits play a part of their own. For Griff, a fascination with textiles has developed into an important yet playful means of personal expression.

“I like to make things and love to make my outfits. I've made many, many performance outfits in my time … It's fun to play with fabric and play with shapes to make something that feels custom to you.” 

Griff’s upcoming performance at Heaps Good will bookend a year that contained “a few milestones.” In August, Griff supported Coldplay on their tour of Europe, which led to a musical collaboration with frontman Chris Martin, who plays piano on her latest single ‘Astronaut’. The song distinguishes itself from Griff’s catalogue of pop tracks through its comparable minimalism, as inspired by Martin’s suggestion that the song might sound “better stripped back and slowed down”. The resulting recording emphasises Griff’s soulful vocals as well as the song’s lyrical themes of heartbreak and self-discovery. While recording a “ballad” initially felt like a risk to Griff, the way that audiences have taken to the song has only affirmed her decision to release the track:

“You kind of get a good feeling for it when you’re performing it. I think the first ever time I performed it here in London, I could kind of sense that people were connecting to it … really listening to it. And I felt like I was performing it well … And it's been really cool to see, in the lead up to releasing it, a lot of people supporting it and covering it already.”

Apart from a single headline show in Sydney, Griff’s performance at the Fort for Heaps Good will be one of only two opportunities to see her on her first ever voyage to Australia. On what she anticipates for Australian audiences, Griff says she has “no idea” what to expect but is “completely open to whoever wants to come” and confident the shows will be “a good time”. Declan McKenna, on the other hand, is a little more clued in to the inner workings of the Australian music scene and has found plenty to get excited about:

“My impression of the Australian crowds is that they’re not a million miles from UK crowds. I think elsewhere, for example, you know, certain areas of mainland Europe, or in America, they’re just sort of, slightly more stand-still, more polite, attentive. Whereas our sort of vibe is a little more crazy and kind of revolves around the audience more, and it seems to have a bit of a similar energy [in Australia]... I feel like there’s a similar spirit, which will be great because I love playing to UK crowds. If it's anything along those lines then I’m going to enjoy it.”

MELBOURNE - NAARM
SUN 31 DEC 2023
Sidney Myer Music Bowl VIC
Tickets available at heapsgoodfest.com

ADELAIDE - KAURNA COUNTRY
SAT 06 JAN 2024
Adelaide Showground, SA
Tickets available at heapsgoodfest.com

+ two huge lineups over two huge days at Fortitude Music Ball, Brisbane

Tuesday 2 January 2024 – Fortitude Music Hall, Brisbane 
Foals – Declan McKenna – Griff – Sycco – FELONY.
 
Wednesday 3 January 2024 – Fortitude Music Hall, Brisbane 
The Avalanches – SBTRKT – Holly Humberstone – MAY-A – Logan Tickets available at secretsounds.com