Kendrick Lamar headed to Australia for Spilt Milk festival
After toppling Drake in a high-profile feud, winning a record-breaking five Grammy Awards and conquering the Super Bowl half-time show, Kendrick Lamar will close the year by heading to Australia.
The biggest name in rap will headline the Spilt Milk festival in December, alongside fellow Grammy Award winner Doechii, who won best rap album at this year’s ceremony.
Kendrick Lamar performed his Drake diss track at this year’s Super Bowl. He is heading to Australia in December to headline the Spilt Milk festival.Credit: Getty Images
The two US acts will headline Spilt Milk in Ballarat, Canberra, the Gold Coast and Perth, alongside R&B artist Dominic Fike, pop singer Nessa Barrett, Sombr, Rebecca Black, Baby J, Club Angel and more.
The confirmation of Lamar and Doechii as headliners coincides with the return of Spilt Milk, which was cancelled last year. At the time, organisers issued a statement on Instagram: “Sorry pookies, we couldn’t get you the Spilt Milk you deserved this year.”
Spilt Milk’s 2024 cancellation was part of a slew of festivals falling over, with Splendour in the Grass, the Falls Festival and Harvest Rock – all owned by Live Nation – also being cancelled.
Lamar last toured Australia in 2022, but he has since captured the zeitgeist following a bruising rap battle with fellow hip-hop artist Drake.
The feud exploded last year when, between March and May, the pair traded intensely personal diss tracks that included accusations of grooming, illegitimate children and violence against women, at a frequency designed to break the internet. Drake has denied all the allegations against him and commenced legal action against Universal Music Group, the label that represents both artists.
Spilt Milk, owned by Live Nation, returns in 2025 after being cancelled in 2024.Credit:
Not Like Us served as the knockout blow, damaging Drake’s reputation and becoming one of Lamar’s most successful releases ever, picking up five Grammy Awards and forming the centrepiece of Lamar’s Super Bowl half-time show. The track includes the line, “Say Drake, I hear you like ’em young”.
The addition of Lamar as a festival headliner has fuelled speculation that he will also announce a capital city solo tour of Australia, with Spilt Milk not travelling to Sydney, Melbourne or Adelaide. Spilt Milk’s previous international headliner, Post Malone, announced a solo tour shortly after being named on the Spilt Milk bill.
The Spilt Milk pre-sale begins on Thursday, May 8, though tickets are available via Moshtix between May 2 and May 6 for a set price of $219.95. From May 8, general admission tickets will be available for sale, starting at $194.95 for the first release and increasing to $259.95 for the final release.
Find more of the author’s work here. Email him at thomas.mitchell@smh.com.au or follow him on Instagram at @thomasalexandermitchell and on Twitter @_thmitchell.
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