Volume 2024 scores major coup with big headliner artists

The future for Australia’s embattled festival scene has been revealed with big names headed to Australia.

The star-studded line-up of Volume 2024 signals the recovery of the embattled Australian festival scene lies in state governments stepping up to be “promoters” to showcase niche artists in unique art gallery, museum and public spaces.

The bold music series, returning in July for its second year at the Art Gallery of NSW’s subterranean Tank, will be headlined by Andre 3000’s experimental jazz project New Blue Sun LIVE, American grunge pioneer Kim Gordon and ARIA award-winning, genre-bending local stars Genesis Owusu and Tkay Maidza.

Volume’s debut last year was one of the most talked-about music events in Australia and caught world attention after snagging groundbreaking artist Solange, sister of Beyonce, to headline three sold-out nights.

Australian hip hop artist Tkay Maidza will perform in the Tank in July. Picture: Dana Trippe / Supplied

It joins other successful taxpayer-backed programs including Victoria’s Rising, the Queensland Musc Trails, Adelaide Fringe and Vivid as must-see live music and arts events for an audience seeking an alternative to the “big field” festivals which are collapsing around the country.

Andre 3000, one half of the legendary hip hop duo OutKast last performed here as a Splendour in the Grass headliner a decade ago.

Andre 3000 will present his New Blue Sun album live for Volume. Picture: Supplied

Volume curator Jonathan Wilson said the art gallery venue, a disused WWII oil tank, offered artists and audiences a chance to try something completely different.

“These are artists who bring this extra layer of something else that changes the experience for people to be like, ‘Oh my god, what have I just seen or heard?’” he said.

Owusu, one of the most electrifying artists to burst onto the world stage from Australia, said a festival like Volume gave him a rare opportunity to combine his love of live performance and visual arts with music.

Ghanaian-Australian hip-hop artist Genesis Owusu will create a bespoke performance for Volume. Picture: Bec Parsons

“I’ve always loved world-building. For me it’s about more than the music, it’s about sculpting a whole experience to live in; the live performance and visual arts aspect plays as big a role as the music,” he said.

“So there probably isn’t a better space or format to hold a line-up of these particular artists. It’s not an easy thing to achieve on a traditional festival stage.”

Maidza, who is now based in Los Angeles, said she was excited to come home to play in the Tank.

“It’s been a while since I’ve performed in Australia and I have so much music with this new album being out that I haven’t performed yet. It’s going to be really fun reconnecting with my favourite crowd – where it all started,” she said.

The legendary Kim Gordon is a Volume 2024 headliner. Picture: Supplied

Volume will also host a program of free events to make the festival accessible to a wide audience.

Wilson said State governments stepping up to become music promoters in the challenging festival environment demonstrated they could “see the power in supporting art and culture.”

“The key for me is the parity of free and ticketed things, that both have equal weighting and cut through; there’s nothing elitist about it and you should be able to access these events as best you can,” Wilson said.

Tickets for the shows which run from July 5 to 21 are between $80 and $150 with the pre-sale opening at 11am on May 21 with the general sale open at 11am on May 22 with all details via volume.sydney