It’s only January, but I already feel like I need a holiday. And that makes a trip to the Mornington Peninsula for the annual Between the Bays festival extra appealing.

Now in its seventh year, the event has attracted some big names to its bill including Mark Seymour, Jordie Lane, the Ooga Boogers, and Custard in what is likely to be their only live performance this year.

Live music from The Lah Lah’s, rides, roaming performers, and kid-friendly skateboarding and Zumba workshops will also keep the little ones entertained, making this a true family day out. There’ll also be market stalls and the kind of chilled out, family friendly atmosphere that’s becoming increasingly rare as music festivals.

The Between the Bays festival hits Penbank in Moorooduc, an hour out of Melbourne, on February 25. Tickets are on sale now from Ticketmaster.

Image source: Between the Bays Facebook

Brisbane rock band For This Cause is embarking on a truly Oceanic tour this month. The lads will play shows in New Zealand next week before returning home to Australia and then winging their way to Indonesia and Malaysia. Looks like they’ll clock up a few frequent flyer miles!

Things are definitely on the up for this band. The video for their new single “Sirens” has been viewed by more than 12000 fans in the last month. They’ve also just signed with Japanese record label Zestone. Surely world domination is next on the cards!

But for now the rockers will have to be content with wowing fans closer to home. Catch For This Cause at the following shows this month and beyond.

25 January 2012 – Zeal, Henderson, NZ
26 January 2012 – HBC Primal, Orewa, NZ
27 & 28 January 2012 – Parachute Music Festival, Auckland, NZ
4 February 2012 – Shout It Out Festival, Perth
19 February 2012 – Tuggeranong Alliance, Canberra
23 February 2012 – LiveO Music, Singapore
24 February 2012 – Scape Lab, Singapore (with A Skylit Drive)
25 February 2012 – Green Kemang, Jakarta, Indonesia (with A Skylit Drive)
2 March 2012 – Rumah Api, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
3 March 2012 – Auditorium Taman Budaya, Kuala Terrengganu,
Malaysia
4 March 2012 – Shalien Studio, Kuantan Pahang, Malaysia
10 March 10 – Forest Edge Music Festival, Victoria

Melbourne’s longest running all ages festival Push Over will take over the city’s The Abbotsford Convent on the Labour Day holiday, March 12.

The event will see a killer lineup playing across four stages, including Eagle and the Worm, Parkway Drive, Tonight Alive, Yacht Club DJs, Mantra, Boris the Blade, and more. Nine of the hottest young acts will also battle it out in the FReeZA Push Start grand final.

The day is completely supervised and drug, alcohol, and smoke free to ensure everyone has a good time. Tickets are on sale now for $40 plus the booking fee from Ticketek, Oztix, and Moshtix.

Image used with permission from Remedy Music

After its launch in Adelaide last year, the Heatwave Festival is going national. The event will bring leading local and international hip hop artists together for shows in the major capitals.

Kid Cudi, Tech N9ne, D12, Obie Trice, CrazyTown, and Chamillionaire are all part of the revolving line-up, and there’ll be more local artists added to the bill. I know there are so many festivals encouraging us to spend up big over summer, but with tickets started from just $49 this one represents better value than most. Just make sure you check the website, as not every artist will perform at every show. Tickets for the following gigs are available now from Moshtix.

12-15 January 2012 – Airport Rd, Middleton
17 January 2012 – Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Brisbane
18 & 19 January 2012 – Enmore Theatre, Sydney
20 January 2012 – Perth venue to be confirmed
21 January 2012 – Epic Arena, Canberra
22 January 2012 – Sidney Myer Music Bowl, Melbourne

Image used with permission from Heapsaflash

If you missed out on those Falls Festival tickets, don’t despair. The folks at Pyramid Rock are serving up a very enticing New Years Eve alternative.

More than 50 international and local rockers will descend on Victoria’s Phillip Island from December 29 to January 1. The penguins better find some ear plugs, because Scissor Sisters, The Living End, Grandmaster Flash, Ash Grunwald, Gotye Boy & Bear, Drapht, Spiderbait, Bluejuice, Calling all Cars, RocKwiz Live, and more will be taking the stage. And that’s all just in the first announcement!

Two and three day passes are available including free camping to get you into that festival spirit. Tickets go on sale on the Pyramid Rock Festival at 9 am on September 14.

Image used with permission from Shiny Entertainment

Once upon a time Australian hip hop was a bit of a joke. But the times they are a changing, as they say in the classics, and now we have the launch of the Sprung Festival to celebrate the best local hip hop talent.

The line-up claims to bring together the cream of Aussie hip hop, and while there are some notable omissions it’s still quite impressive. Drapht ,Illy, The Funkoars, Phrase, Resin Dogs, Lowrider, Diafrix, and more will take to Brisbane’s Riverstage on October 15. If it goes off the way I think it should, perhaps Bliss N Eso and Hilltop Hoods will want to be involved next year!

The event is open to all ages but it is licensed, so it should be stacks of fun for everyone. Tickets are a very reasonable $66 and are currently available through Ticketmaster.

Image source: Premier Artists

I was pretty excited when I heard Naughty by Nature and The Living End would headline this year’s Fat as Butter festival. Thankfully the rest of the line-up lives up to that early promise.

There’s plenty of top quality local talent, with Empire of the Sun, Sparkadia, Cloud Control, The Jezabels, British India, Calling All Cars, and Evil Eddie all on the bill. And there are more international acts too, including Flo Rida and Sinden.

Tickets to the website presale go on offer from August 1, which doesn’t give music lovers a lot of saving time. Thankfully though there’s an innovative Time to Pay ticket option, which allows students and other punters strapped for cash to pay for their tickets in three installments. You’ll need to register for presale tickets on the Fat as Butter website to take advantage of that option.

Fat as Butter hits Newcastle’s Camp Shortland at The Foreshore on October 22.

Image source: Fat as Butter website

The line-up for this year’s Falls Music & Arts Festival is looking even more irresistible with the latest round of announcements.

Amongst the latest international additions are old-school soul man Aloe Blacc, unhinged American electro-dance wiz Dan Deacon, quirky Brits The Kooks, French popsters Nouvelle Vague, and Young MC. Yes that Young MC, of “Bust a Move” fame. I’m not sure he’ll be able to entertain the crowds much beyond that 90s gem, but I’m loving the novelty factor.

The shows will also mark the homecoming of Aussie songbird Missy Higgins. She’ll play alongside other recently announced local talent including Emma Louise, Pnau, and the hilarious Josh Thomas.

Add in all the other already announced names, including Arctic Monkeys, Fleet Foxes, Josh Pyke, The Jezabels, and Arj Barker and you’ve got an incredible way to ring in the New Year.

They’ll all play the all ages event in Marion Bay, Tasmania from December 29 to 31 and the adults only version in Lorne, Victoria from December 28 to 31. To secure your possie, make sure you add your name to the ticket ballot on the Falls Festival website before August 5. The majority of tickets will be distributed amongst these Falls die-hards before the general sale on August 17.

Image used with permission from Two Fish Out of Water

Wollongong’s never really had a big music festival, but it’s saved up something special for its first. From October 28 to 30 Kembla Grange will embrace all things retro with the 80s Rewind Music Festival.

The bill is out of this world, with international acts like The Human League, Kool & The Gang, Sister Sledge, Bananarama, Nik Kershaw, Tony Hadley of Spandau Ballet, and Go West all taking part. There’ll be a strong local presence too with Ross Wilson, Mental as Anything, John Paul Young, and Pseudo Echo all taking part. Tickets go on sale on July 25 from Moshtix.

Needless to say, I just wish it didn’t clash with Jazz in the Vines! Side shows anyone?

Image source: Andy Mac @ Wikipedia Commons

We haven’t even seen the full line-up announcement yet, but this year’s Fat As Butter Festival is already shaping up to be pretty spectacular. How many other opportunities do you have to catch American hip hop legends Naughty by Nature and our own Living End on the same stage?

Fat as Butter will take over Newcastle’s Camp Shortland on October 22. Those early leaks have me salivating to see who else will make the complete line-up when it’s announced on July 25. If you’re keen for tickets I suggest signing up for the presale list through the Fat as Butter website. Anyone on that list can score tickets on August 1, two full days before the general public, and five lucky eager beavers will win a VIP pass!

Image source: Fat as Butter website