If you aren’t familiar with sensational hippy psych stompy folksy homemade downhome wigout trippers AKRON/FAMILY or their masterpiece albums then This would be the time to tune in, drop out etc. Previous album Love is Simple was a full-scale epic, the newie Set ‘Em Wild, Set ‘Em Free kicks off a whole new riotous technicolour episode. (“percussive thunder and anthemic electric guitars… touching on everything from Fela Kuti to Sly And The Family Stone in under six psychedelic minutes. Whether it’s the celebratory sing-along gospel of Gravelly Mountains of the Moon, the lush folk sounds of Sun Will Shine, or MBF, which lies at the intersection of primal punk rock and heavy free jazz…”). Golly. You may as well go home after they play, it’ll be like a whole Meredith in one set. Their live shows are a thing of legend, one celebrated occasion saw the band lead the audience and 20-odd musicians from the stage in an Arkestra-like free-for-all to a riotous, shirtless and sing-a-long parade in the streets. This is beyond unhinged, it’s no door at all. Jamb jam. Blow the house down. First time in Australia.

Aunty has never had as many passionate requests for a band as she received for Animal Collective this year. People were pleading with her to ‘get Animal Collective’ with a religious fervour, as though it wasn’t just a really good idea, it was something that had to happen, because it would mean time + place = a Happening. Magnificently, it is happening.

Animal Collective’s evolution from weird, almost field-recording material to very danceable pop has been fascinating. Their steady ascent to the heady zenith puts them in Rare Air; they are the one-per-generation band that is already legendary AND at the height of their powers. High priests. Not just an island but an archipelago; Avey Tare, Panda Bear and Geologist bring their freak folk noise pop+ to Meredith Saturday evening.

Late at nite in the Amphitheatre things tend to tilt to the left, then over-correct and spill the other way. Somewhere in the tumble you will these Sydney boys will touch down in the Super for the first time. Their irresistible track Shooting Stars is blowing up all over the world, they’ve remixed to the max and they’ve earnt their spot as Summer’s hottest. Listen like thieves.

Late at nite in the Amphitheatre things tend to tilt to the left, then over-correct and spill the other way. Somewhere in the tumble you will these Sydney boys will touch down in the Super for the first time. Their irresistible track Shooting Stars is blowing up all over the world, they’ve remixed to the max and they’ve earnt their spot as Summer’s hottest. Listen like thieves.

The City of Ballarat Municipal Brass Band follows the traditional English brass band format, which is distinct from other types of band combinations such as military, concert, or symphonic. To maintain the unique distinctive sound that only a brass band can produce, woodwind, reed and stringed instruments are not used. Difficult marches such as Scindian, The Arabian, The Cossack etc. were some of the marches the band played. During the first half of the 1950’s, the band was considered to be the level of any marching band in Australia. Huge crowds would assemble at their prestigious performances. 2009 should see history repeated.

Contemporary icon, cult legend, cultural touchpoint, occasional social commentator, master songwriter, ‘Face’ and much-adored entertainer…yes, Jarvis Cocker is coming to Meredith. Repeat, Jarvis Cocker will be gracing The Supernatural this Summer.

How.un.believably.good.is.that.com.mmf.sweetjesus

Jarvis’ trademark suave swagger and wit is merely the icing on the cake of a prodigious Midas-like talent. Everything he touches turns to Jarvis. It’s no wonder he tops Fantasy Dinner Guest lists all over the civilized world; it’s going to be a wonderful thing just to have him there (might he drop by the Flamingo?), let alone playing tunes from his FANTASTIC two solo albums (Jarvis, 2006 and Further Complications, 2009) with his red hot band.

He is a REMARKABLE ARTIST in every sense. He writes songs for a select everyone from Marianne Faithfull to Harry Potter, comes up with classic live covers, and humbly posts apologies for falling asleep after soundcheck instead of signing autographs. Jarvis Cocker. How bout that.

The 30-legged Peruvian Groovian Phenomenon Combo La Revelacion will continue their mutual love affair with Meredith this year. There’s not a lot to say here except that this band is about the biggest hit of the festival year after year – it’s been fourteen now – and we are very thankful They Still Call Meredith Home.

Sneaking and snaking their elongated tunes along a trippy wigout drone, it’s Crocodiles. Contrary to that incredibly full, wild sound you hear, it’s a duo. It’s pop songs as catchy as a virus, buried behind a firewall of sound. It’s one of the first acts you will see and hear at Meredith this year. It looks good, sounds good, they’re, like, 20, and they fully pull it off. It explodes, eventually, but not before it’s Built Right Up. It looks like it was shot in the late 80s neo psychedelia realm. It was Best Band at SXSW, pretty much. It’s the first time to Australia. It’s via the ArtFag label via Fat Possum, and it sounds like Now. Refuse Angels, Summer of Hate, Neon Jesus. It is Crocodiles.

This is what Aunty wrote a few years ago; there’s not much to add, other than Saturday Night Primetime Heavyweight Bona Fide Headliner: There’s a great Australian tradition of small club / pub rock and roll bands. Bands that don’t come into being simply in order to ‘make it to the top’ or even have a ‘career’. Bands that do it because they cant not do it.

The very best of these have something wild and mercurial about them, some powerful element that takes them beyond….beyond standard, beyond their peers, beyond reasoning. It becomes fathomless. When one of those bands form, then plays for a few years, then really starts hitting their straps…well, that’s something to see. Eddy Current Suppression Ring is one of those bands. Pure, unbridled, skilful, nebulous rock and roll. Four people on the same wavelength, all antennae tuned fine to the fuse as it works its way inevitably towards explosion. This band is just so unbelievably, unpredictably good. Love ‘em.

It’s not such a long way from Adelaide to the hip world’s biggest stages, into the (c)hearts and minds of the crème of the pop crop. Not if you’ve got a freakish talent, a pure way of expressing it and a self-belief so strong you’re prepared to let it go. Sia Furler does and she deserves every accolade she gets. It hasn’t been a standard road, no, but, yes, Sia has a Grammy nomination, had the #1 pop download album of the year on iTunes, made a video (Buttons) that sits second-most watched in Youtube history, co-writes with Beck and Cristina Aguilera, shared a house with Fab Moretti, spent a small fortune on therapy and although in one sense is one of The Listening World’s major pop artists, is still her own cult. The cult is there cos the music is quality and the path evolved, it ain’t smoke and mirrors.…it’s Sia Music, no pigeonhole. Friday night’s most introverted extravert.

Jon Spencer has destroyed and rebuilt American roots music with such ferocity and wild abandon he has become an archetypal rock figure in modern music history. The wake of his combo Pussy Galore still smolders with the stench of avant punk trash and nasty garage ooze and grind, while his towering work with the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion remains an indelible totem to his enormous mojo spirit and red-hot power of deliverance. Matt Verta-Ray grew up in the loving arms of left wing parents who would take him to folk and blues shows long before he sprouted sideburns. In the late ‘70s, young Matt found himself one of only twelve people who went to see Bo Diddley at a Canadian fairground. After the show, Bo came out and preached to Matt for an hour about the dark secrets of rock’n’roll. And the rest, as they say, is history. Jon Spencer and Matt Verta-Ray are Heavy Trash. Committed to the point of mania, Heavy Trash really puts out the bins.

The Don of Australian music will be finally and gloriously appearing in the Amphitheatre as the sun sets on Saturday. The PK canon is staggering; he is into his fourth decade of making music that people love, and his popularity is growing faster than ever as his catalogue and current albums re-generate new waves of fans. Always with a crack band around him, we really are delighted Mr Kelly has accepted the invitation to sing Meredith some songs; all the sweeter for being an idea a decade+ in gestation. Paul Kelly = Great Songs. I mean…To Her Door, From St Kilda to King’s Cross, Before Too Long, Dumb Things, Deeper Water, How To Make Gravy, God Told Me To, Stolen Apples, Careless, Leaps and Bounds, Look So Fine Feel So Low, Darling It Hurts, Sweet Guy, When I First Met Your Ma, From Little Things Big Things Grow, Don’t Start Me Talking, Most Wanted Man In The World, Billy Baxter, Shane Warne Song, You’re 39, You’re Beautiful and You’re Mine, Winter Coat, Keep It To Yourself, She’s A Melody, Every City, Bradman….and that’s not even half of them. 99.94. Sunset Saturday. Clear your throat.

You know Something is going on when several people from different departments of your life with no vested interest tell you they “think you’d love” this new band. Within about half a song of the first listen you just Know they’re Right. Tall cousins Kishore Ryan and Kieran Ryan are the melted, subverted, deconstructed, troubadour duo Kid Sam. They played their first gig in January 2006, then Kieran went away for the rest of that year and Kishore got a job in a supermarket and wrote some poems. Their songs traverse themes of violence, romance and the politics of the everyday, distilling the history of intelligent song writing within them. The drums are constantly reassessing their shape as Kieran’s rich vocals romance the listener. The result is subtle, subversive pop. Kid A-Z.

You know Something is going on when several people from different departments of your life with no vested interest tell you they “think you’d love” this new band. Within about half a song of the first listen you just Know they’re Right. Tall cousins Kishore Ryan and Kieran Ryan are the melted, subverted, deconstructed, troubadour duo Kid Sam. They played their first gig in January 2006, then Kieran went away for the rest of that year and Kishore got a job in a supermarket and wrote some poems. Their songs traverse themes of violence, romance and the politics of the everyday, distilling the history of intelligent song writing within them. The drums are constantly reassessing their shape as Kieran’s rich vocals romance the listener. The result is subtle, subversive pop. Kid A-Z.

Where the hellcat do these kids come from? They’re just teenagers, they’re dead set, how do they have such a defined and refined look and sound? Did they do a deal with The Other Guy? Rock and roll you can dance to, like at the dancehall back in the day, a family band, acoustic instruments, shock and amazement at the seriously-fun-authenticity. First tour to these shores, and you can be absolutely sure they are going to have an absolute blast.

“We play old music but we’re playing it now,” says Lewis. “You can’t just strum. You have to do it with fire.” Lewis, 17, is the middle child to his sisters Kitty, 15 and Daisy, 18, and he’s a fully pompadoured teenage rocker, fully conversant in rare rock ‘n’ roll, a DJ of 78” records . Kitty, Daisy & Lewis are a thoroughbred sensation, playing 40’s/50’s rockabilly and swing, country and western, Hawaiian and rock ‘n’ roll with a verve, skill and energy that connects them back to the far past and the super-shiny future.

From his days in Organized Konfusion to the Rawkus records era, Simon Says and beyond, Pharoahe Monch has stayed a vital, relevant artist. Hailing from the borough of Queens, Pharoahe has stayed true to the gritty New York Hip Hop aesthetic all along. Regarded as one of the finest live performers in Hip Hop, Pharoahe will be along way from home, make him feel welcome….

More fun for funlovers. Friday Nite Fun this time. You’ll be in, set up, fed, watered and ready to let out a year’s worth of tension just at the time this most swingin’ of combos takes to the One and Only. LOS ANGELES, CIRCA 1991...flanked by grunge bands to the north and hair bands to the south, singer Eddie Nichols and tenor man Mando Dorame decided it was time for something completely different. Royal Crown Revue began a two-year house gig at a fledging club in Hollywood, which would play a pivotal role in the band's career. Built by Cecil B. DeMille in the 1920's, The Derby had undergone a major restoration, and its art deco motif proved the perfect setting for the band's stylish looks and high-energy delivery. Within months, RCR was playing to packed houses, creating a huge buzz in LA and beyond, and drawing influential Hollywood players interested in seeing old made new again. At risk of contravening Meredith's long-standing One-Music-Source-Only Policy, maaaaaybe we should ask them to play a late-late-nite set in the Pink Flamingo Bar? RCR would be stars in any era.

How about a brilliant German techno DJ with a deep abiding love of soul, rare groove and Detroit House? Wonder what he’ll be thinking about as he passes through, say, Bannockburn, en route to Meredith. Henrik Schwarz’s own productions and his experimental DJ sets are stuffed to the gills with music’s “one true elixir”, soul. ““I was never really into rock music, I think it is another form of energy that I don’t understand too well, but soul and funk was different, groove became my guiding principle.” It’s all rock n roll isn’t it?

More fun here, direct from the coolest street of Garageville USA. Thee Oh Sees write tunes like they’d lived it and then play ‘em like they mean it.

Underground gem John Dwyer was Pink in Pink and Brown, fronted Coachwhips, and played guitar in the dysfunctional Hospitals and is friend and devotee of Lightning Bolt. His repertoire mostly falls on the indie spectrum’s more visceral wavelengths.

Thee latest album “Help” draws straight, dark lines to the British psychedelic rock of bands like the Creation, caveman thud of The Troggs and a Cramps-like appreciation for rockabilly (a random theme this Meredith).

Do not miss The Middle East.

There’ll be a whole section of Meredithians who grew up with Tumbleweed as part of their musical landscape, and its been a long time between to/akes… Wollongong’s finest inspired a whole generation of music lovers when they emerged in The Early 90s, bursting onto the scene in a huge way courtesy of a national support slot to (only) Australian tour by Nirvana.

The band’s debut 7” single, Captain’s Log, was recorded by Mudhoney frontman Mark Arm and legendary Seattle producer Jack Endino. With their single Stoned, an EP titled Weedseed and the single Acid Rain making them bigger by the day, the ‘Weed’s self-titled debut album was released to massive praise and chart sales. Back then, an independent band in the charts was highly remarkable. Then came the classic albums Galactaphonic and Return To Earth, all the while undertaking countless tours around the country as well as throughout the UK. They never did play Meredith, though both festival and band started at the same time. Feels good, do it.

Yoni Wolf grew up the second son to an art book editor and a rabbi. He got his start recording bad poems and sloppy beats on the family synagogue’s forgotten 4-track. In junior high he discovered hip-hop; in art school he discovered drop-out. With his brother Josiah and friend Brian McDiarmid, he travelled thru many freewheeling rap and lo-fi bedroom-rock related projects. Their wildest dreams were achieved when they relocated to the West to make pop-inflected psychedelic folk-hop. Cue the beloved Elephant Eyelash, serious illuminati acclaim, and a fanatical www following. Third LP Alopecia is a collection of hard rhymes and raw-spun songs forced through the stubborn smile of a life-lover scorned and reborn; an album of bone-dry jokes, suicides played out in poem, musings on final moments written inside of restrooms, begrudging self-affirmation, and the grit and glories of every day living. For the first time in Australia, WHY? not?

Bringing something to Meredith that hasn’t been brought before, we immediately warmed to Patrick and the cult that quite rightly is building around him. Futile attempts to categorise Patrick include words like androgynous/wunderkind/feathers/leather/chains/goth but far better that you use your own eyes and ears and dive headlong into the Sea of Wolf, if you haven’t already. There’s no one total reference point, he is inimitably Patrick Wolf.

YACHT CLUB DJS Totally, TOTALLY smashed the place last year. We rarely repeat things two in a row but we’d be lynched if we didn’t do this. They tore the Super a newie last year at a time that the energy had perhaps gotten a little soggy…maybe this year they’ll have a rolling start and break even more records. Two of the finest partystarters the globe over set sail for Meredith all the way from The Rat, 3350. One of the biggest latenite hits the Amphi has ever seen. Couldn’t resist, popular demand. Gotta be done.