“….the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow is an amazing line-up and the type of outstanding performances that have become the festival’s trademark. the two best days in any music lover’s calendar year… Splendour in the Grass!” Faster Louder

SPLENDOUR IN THE GRASS will return to warm up your winter this Saturday 2nd and Sunday August 3rd, 2008. Australia’s much loved festival event will take place at Belongil Fields in Byron Bay and will feature a veritable feast of musical treasures from around the globe.

From Akron, Ohio and Bristol, UK to Reykjavik, Iceland and the sunny Gold Coast, here’s a taste of the first acts lined up to thrill at SPLENDOUR 2008.

We are not men. We are d-e-v-o. SPLENDOUR IN THE GRASS organisers are thrilled to announce the legendary DEVO as its headline act for Saturday August 2nd. Formed in Akron, Ohio in 1974 by art students Gerald Casale and Mark Mothersbaugh, DEVO took its name from their concept of "de-evolution" - the idea that instead of evolving, mankind has actually regressed. They quickly became a cult sensation, helped in part by their emphasis on highly stylised visuals and groundbreaking music videos directed by Gerald Casale. The band broke through to the mainstream with 1980’s Freedom of Choice, which contained the worldwide hit Whip It. Their 1980’s world touring success was accompanied by the hit songs, Beautiful World, Girl U Want and That’s Good and as DEVO’s legend grew other bands acknowledged their influence (Nirvana covered Turnaround while Girl U Want has been recorded by Soundgarden, Superchunk, and even Robert Palmer). While DEVO members concentrate on other creative projects, they have continued to bring the De-evolution to the world with semi regular live shows. With a line-up that features original members Bob Mothersbaugh (Bob 1), Bob Casale (Bob 2), Gerald V. Casale, Mark Mothersbaugh and Josh Freese on drums, don’t miss one of new wave’s most innovative bands at SPLENDOUR 2008.

Closing proceedings on Sunday August 3rd is the mighty WOLFMOTHER. Their rise to the top of the Australian music scene is now legendary. But the rest of the world has also taken notice with the band scoring the Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance (in 2007) for their song Woman. On July 7, 2007, they performed on the Australian leg of the global Live Earth concerts in Sydney and just two weeks ago played their first gig in nearly a year at the Gallery of Modern Art Brisbane, on the closing night of the Andy Warhol Up Late program. Reportedly recording the follow up to their monster self titled album debut, the trio collectively known as WOLFMOTHER will bring their freaked out jamming, delicate melodies and gallant rock riffage to SPLENDOUR 08.

Ethereal Icelandic sensations SIGUR ROS will make their debut appearance at SPLENDOUR IN THE GRASS With four albums so far, (plus one remix album (von brig©£i - recycle bin) and a new album on the way, the band really found their feet with their second album, the masterpiece that is ágætis byrjun (a good beginning). Off the back of live performances that had critics falling over themselves trying to find superlatives to describe them, SIGUR ROS attracted global acclaim in the second half of 2000. Album number four takk… (thanks – released 2005) became the band’s largest selling album to date and charted highly across the globe. Now the band are putting the finishing touches to studio album number five, recorded in New York City. With new material under their belts and a trail of magical music behind them, SIGUR ROS are the must see act of SPLENDOUR 2008.

It’s hard to believe it was more than a decade ago that a Melbourne rockabilly covers outfit called the Runaway Boys wrote a bunch of original tunes and changed their name to THE LIVING END. Ten and a bit years later, that same band have racked up a quintuple-platinum album, two platinum and five gold records, won three ARIA awards, countless other accolades and gathered fans all over the world. What’s more important, while some bands seem old and outdated only two or three years after they start, guitarist Chris Cheney, bass player Scott Owen and “new” drummer Andy Strachan are every bit as exciting a prospect as they were way back when – if you need any convincing, just check them out at SPLENDOUR IN THE GRASS 2008. With a string of powerful hits behind them (no need to spell them out!) and a new album being recorded in the US with John Agnello (Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jnr) and mixed by legendary producer Brendan O’Brien, THE LIVING END will be a force to be reckoned with at SPLENDOUR 08.

Flicking through the alphabetised racks of your local CD emporium you’ll find that releases from Australian electro wizards THE PRESETS fit snugly between Pet Shop Boys and Elvis Presley. Could there be some weird universal synergy to this? The strident beat of the heart and the swagger of the hips: it’s at this musical cross point of emotive technological peaks and primal caveman rock that one finds THE PRESETS. The band have recently broken a two-year studio silence with their new single My People, a song that is clearly a call to arms and unmistakably Presets in its sentiment. Julian Hamilton and Kim Moyes have come rocketing back into the fray with their current # 1 chart topping sophomore album Apocalypso that ranges from expansive, emotive techno, to future pagan house and choral space funk. With a canny knack for welding hook-laden pop to some of the most singular and exciting sounds of tomorrow, THE PRESETS will trip the light fantastic at SPLENDOUR 2008.