Splendour in the Grass 2023: blue skies and smiles amid sales downturn

As tens of thousands of music fans made tracks toward Byron Bay this week, the mood among festival organisers was one of cautious optimism after enduring a muddy, troubled 2022 edition.

Splendour co-founder Jessica Ducrou, left, manager Jade Skelly and Secret Sounds’ festivals director Elise Huntley. Picture: Maclay Heriot

As tens of thousands of music fans made tracks toward Byron Bay this week, the mood among Splendour in the Grass organisers was one of cautious optimism after enduring a muddy, troubled 2022 edition.

Overhead, blue skies have dominated the sprawling festival grounds at North Byron Parklands ahead of the annual winter camping event, which runs from Friday to Sunday.

“It feels like a stark difference to last year,” Splendour co-founder Jessica Ducrou told The Australian. “It’s organised, calm, everyone’s smiling, and the weather’s been fantastic. I feel like people will get to see the show the way we envisage it when we’re planning.”

Last year, Ducrou and her team made the tough call to cancel performances on the Friday – including British headline act Gorillaz – out of concerns for patron safety, due to flooded campsites and forecasts for more rainfall that threatened to further drench a thoroughly waterlogged site.

Festival-goers pose for a photo in the mud during at Splendour in the Grass 2022 at North Byron Parklands. Picture: Matt Jelonek

It was a debacle for one of the nation’s major music festivals, which began as a boutique event for 7500 people in 2001 and had gradually grown to accommodate a capacity of 50,000 attendees.

Afterwards, Ducrou told The Australian she rated Splendour’s 2022 festival as a “C”, or dead average. Among 3000 post-event survey respondents, 67 per cent agreed the two days of music was “amazing and made everything worth it”, yet a third of respondents were unhappy with their experience.

Festivalgoers are seen in the rain and the mud at Splendour in the Grass 2022. Picture: Marc Grimwade

This year, things are looking brighter ahead of the gates opening on Friday, and the team has made plenty of on-site improvements in case of extreme weather.

“We’re not coming off the back of nine months’ worth of flooding in the region; we’re not fresh out of the pandemic,” she said. “There’s more stability in the festival sector, and everyone’s been out there doing events for over a year now. It feels like we’re in a very, very different position to last year.”

Sam Hales, frontman of Australian indie pop band The Jungle Giants, performing at the Amphitheatre main stage at Splendour in 2022. Picture: Charlie Hardy

Artists booked to headline the main-stage Amphitheatre across the weekend include US pop singer-songwriter Lizzo (Friday), Australian electronic musician Flume (Saturday) and British folk-rock act Mumford & Sons (Sunday).

Yet as of Thursday, tickets were still available for purchase, at a cost of $447 for a three-day pass, $202 for single day entry, and $197 for on-site camping.

This marked the first year since 2011 that organisers have failed to sell out at the box office, with about 35,000 tickets sold, although its pricier VIP options – $671 for three days; $314 for a single day – have reached capacity.

A fan navigates the human sea in front of the Amphitheatre stage at Splendour In The Grass 2022. Picture: Charlie Hardy

“It’s a big investment to come to Splendour,” said Ducrou. “What we’re seeing is lots of people coming for a shorter period of time [single days]. I think that really is a reflection of the economic climate; I don’t expect it to be like this forever, but I do think people out there are doing it pretty tough.”

As for where she hoped to find herself at 8pm on Sunday? Ducrou replied: “I will be in the Amphitheatre watching [British rock band] Idles, and having a personal moment of job satisfaction – hopefully on the right side of three good festival days.”