Listen Out is an annual Australian music festival held in Sydney, Perth, Melbourne and Brisbane since September 2013. In 2018, an inaugural alternative version of Listen Out, titled Listen In took place in South Australia and New Zealand. The standard festival is held from late September to early October. Each Listen Out concert is a one-day event attracting both domestic and international hip-hop, indie, and electronic musicians.[1] Listen Out uses three stages; Atari stage, 909 stage and Third base (formerly branded by Red Bull as Crate Diggers stage and Universal Store's Young Bloods stage).

Listen Out
Brockhampton performing at Listen Out 2017
GenreHip-Hop, Indie, and Electronic
DatesSeptember–October
Location(s)Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane
Years active2013–present
Organised byFuzzy
WebsiteFuzzy official website

Listen Out has been organised since inception by Fuzzy. It attracted over 68,000 attendees during its 2016 festival tour.[2] In parallel with the festival national youth radio Triple J runs an Unearthed competition, where the state winner performs at their capital's venue.[3] The 2020 and 2021 festivals were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia. It resumed in 2022 and continues to the present.

History

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Listen Out was created by Fuzzy after they had cancelled another music festival, Parklife. The new festival has an emphasis on "intelligent strains of dance music".[4] Listen Out's inaugural tour commenced on 28 September 2013 in Sydney, before proceeding to Perth and then Melbourne and finishing in Brisbane.[3][5] and continued as an annual event. It consists of three stages, two of which (Atari and 909’s) have identical artist line-ups. The Atari stage is the festival's main stage and features the head-liners of the festival. The 2013 and 2014 tour allocated only electronic music acts to perform on the Atari stage, with Indie and Hip-hop acts taking place on the 909 stage. theMusic.com.au's writer described the 2014 festival, "boutique national dance music event. bringing quality dance music to four spectacular inner city venues."[6]

From 2015 onward, these roles were changed as Hip-Hop acts now exclusively occurred on the Atari stage and the 909 stage became exclusively electronic music.[1] Unlike these stages, Third base stage is used to showcase local upcoming talent from each state, with different line-ups for each leg of the show. In more recent iterations of the event, these line-ups now contain acts that tour with the festival over multiple venues, however minor tweaks are made to each state's line-up to continue showcasing local talent for each. From 2013 to 2015 the festival's third stage was sponsored by Red Bull as the Crate Diggers stage.[7] In 2016 after Fuzzy lost its Red Bull sponsorship, the stage was sponsored by Universal Store and re-branded the Young Bloods stage.[8] In 2017 Fuzzy formally changed it to 3rd Base, without financial support of any sponsor.

Each year the winners of the annual Triple J Unearthed competition for each state were given a time slot for the related Listen Out concert.[3] The winner performed on either the Atari or 909 stage depending on the year.[9] In 2018 Fuzzy began a new, smaller version of Listen Out named Listen In to reach audiences in South Australia and New Zealand featuring a smaller selection of six acts from the longer Listen Out version of the tour.[10] In 2019 the South Australian Listen In festival was announced but the New Zealand leg of the tour is yet to be announced. The 2020 and 2021 Listen Out festivals were all cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia.[11] They resumed in 2022 and continues to the present.

Artist line-up by year

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2013

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2013[12][13][14]
Atari 909 Crate Diggers
(Sydney)
  • Paradise Lost
  • Sosueme
  • Slow Blow
  • John Glover
  • Beni
(Perth)
  • Drifter & Pussymittens
  • France China
  • Black & Blunt
  • Charlie Bucket
  • Oli & James A
  • Gracie & Sistym
(Melbourne)
  • Scattermusic
  • Fletch
  • Simon TK
  • Sleep D Plays
  • Flip 3k & David Bass
  • Post Percy
  • Salvador & Les Level
(Brisbane)
  • Aydos & Brat Camp
  • OP thomas Prime & Charlie Hustle
  • Benn Hopkins & Bruno Watt
  • Cosmo Cater
  • Stretch paper cranes & Audun

2014

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2014[6][15][16]
Atari 909 Crate Diggers
(Sydney)
  • Ben Morris
  • Joyride
  • Kali
  • Low Motion
  • Motorik
  • Playmode
  • Wordlife
(Perth)
  • Casual Connection
  • Genga & Benny P
  • Gracie + Sistym
  • Micah Black
  • Philly Blunt
  • Shaddow Brothers
  • Troy Division & Bunj
(Melbourne)
  • Butters
  • Edd Fisher
  • Hans DC
  • Jack Love & Jacob Malmo
  • Matt Radovich
  • Ollie Holmes
  • Sweetland
(Brisbane)
  • Approche & Elleyet
  • Audun & Sessionkatz
  • Mr Sparkles & Pete Smith
  • Silvertouch & Nicky Doof
  • Sweeney & Tucker
  • Thomas Prime & Jazzy Jeff
  • Varcity & Gurps

2015

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2015[17][18][19]
Atari 909 Crate Diggers
(Sydney)
  • Ariane
  • Bad Ezzy
  • Discovery
  • Moriarty
  • Motorik
  • Tom Tilley
  • Typhonic
(Perth)
  • Black & Blunt
  • Deadweight
  • Discovery
  • Genga & Oh Dear!
  • Klean Kicks & Aslan
  • Shadow Brothers
  • Troy Division
(Melbourne)
  • Ara Koufax
  • Brooklyn Queenz
  • Discovery
  • Dizz 1
  • Jack love
  • Jonno Haze
  • Mat cant
(Brisbane)
  • Charlie Hustle
  • Discovery
  • Jimmy D & MJ Monsta
  • Jordan James & Kendall Banks
  • Lachness & Lavitz
  • Mark Maxwell
  • Percy Miracles

2016

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2016[20][21][22]
Atari 909 Young Bloods
(Sydney)
  • Colour Castle
  • Elijah Scadden
  • Flex Mami
  • Gradz
  • Honey DJs
  • Made in Paris
  • Turquoise Prince LTC
(Perth)
  • Amber Akilla & D A W S
  • Avance & Childish Antics
  • Axen
  • Bockman & Shobu
  • CasueL
  • Chino Gambino
  • Command Q
  • Time Pilot
(Melbourne)
  • Airwolf
  • Ara Koufax
  • One Puf
  • Pillow Pro
  • SAL
  • Smutlee
  • MIMI
(Brisbane)
  • Doe vs Nado
  • Lastlings
  • Macey Cherry vs Crvcks
  • Mutual Friends DJs
  • No vs Yvng Jalapeno
  • Quix
  • Turqoise Prince LTC

2017

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2017[23][24][25]
Atari 909 3rd Base
  • Mookhi (Triple J Unearthed; Sydney only)
  • Feels (Triple J Unearthed; Perth only)
  • King IV (Triple J Unearthed; Melbourne only)
  • Miss Blanks (Triple J Unearthed; Brisbane only)
  • Duke Dumont (UK)
  • Getter (USA)
  • Green Velvet (USA)
  • Kučka
  • Malaa (FRA)
  • Pnau
  • Touch sensitive
  • Vallis Alps
(Sydney) (Perth) (Melbourne) (Brisbane)

2018

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2018[26][27][28]
Atari 909 3rd Base
(Sydney) (Perth) (Melbourne) (Brisbane)

2019

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2019[29][30]
Atari 909 Juno

2022

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Sources:[31][32][33]

2023

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Sources:[34][35][36]

2024

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Footnotes

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  1. ^ AJ Tracey did not perform at the Perth show due to illness
  2. ^ Doechii had to withdraw from the lineup at the last minute due to contracting COVID-19. As a result, bbno$ played an extended set in both Melbourne and Perth, JessB was added to the line-up for the same weekend, and she was replaced by Dave Winnel and Pania during the Sydney, Brisbane, and Adelaide shows.
  3. ^ James Hype did not perform at the Perth show due to illness
  4. ^ Polo G withdrew from the lineup due to unspecified reasons. He was replaced by JID.
  5. ^ Young Thug was removed from the line-up due to his arrest on gang-related charges. He was replaced by Roddy Ricch and Trippie Redd
  6. ^ Metro Boomin withdrew from the line-up due to personal reasons and was replaced by Onefour.
  7. ^ Flo Milli withdrew from the lineup due to mental health reasons and was replaced by EarthGang
  8. ^ Lil Tjay was removed from the lineup at the last minute due to undisclosed travel related reasons
  9. ^ Teezo Touchdown withdrew from the lineup the day before the first Listen Out date due to undisclosed reasons. He was replaced by YNG Martyr
  10. ^ Tyla withdrew from the lineup days out from the first Listen Out date due to a back injury, which also resulted in most of her other world tour dates being cancelled. She was replaced by Sampa the Great

Venues

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City Venue Years Held
Sydney Brazilian Fields, Centennial Park 2013–Present
Melbourne Observatory Precinct, Royal Botanic Gardens 2013 - 2014
Catani Gardens, St Kilda 2015–Present
Perth Ozone Reserve 2013 - 2015
Western Parklands, HBF Arena Joondalup 2016–Present
Brisbane Cultural Forecourt, Southbank 2013
The Avenues & Expo Place, Brisbane Showgrounds 2014 - 2015
The Sporting Fields, Victoria Park 2016 - 2018
Brisbane Showgrounds 2019–Present

Controversies

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Listen Out has had a history of drug related controversies. During the Melbourne leg of the inaugural Listen Out tour, police arrested 13 people in relation to drug related offences.[37] Police were also able to seize $10,000 worth of cocaine, ecstasy and prescription drugs.[37] At the Sydney leg of the same tour 94 were charged by police for drug related offences.[38] The 2014 version of listen had 37 festival attendees arrested in Melbourne for drug offences.[39] The Sydney leg of the 2015 tour had seven people were arrested due to drug supply, with one carrying over 100 MDMA pills.[40] A further 114 revellers were charged with drug possession at the same show.[40]

In the 2016 run of the Listen Out, during the Victorian leg of the tour a woman aged 27 died of a suspected drug overdose.[41] As a result, the Victorian police allocated more resources to the event for following years including additional passive alert drug detection dogs tat the following year's tour.[42] Perth's 2017 leg of the tour had nine people charged with drug related offences.[43] The Melbourne leg had 38 people arrested on similar grounds.[44] Sydney's leg also lead to the arrest of 116 people relating to drug offences.[45]

In 2018 following the deaths of two teenagers at the Defqon.1 festival, the NSW government heightened police presence at festivals, as Listen Out was the next festival to occur in New South Wales after Defqon.1 media attention gravitated towards it.[46] As a result of the increased police presence, 159 people were charged with drug offences and 5 charged with drug supply.[47] 12 people were taken to hospital at the NSW festival and 7 of these were found to be drug related issues.[48] At the Melbourne leg of the tour in the same year 30 were charged with drug possession and one charged with trafficking cocaine.[49]

Following a successful drug checking trial at Groovin' the Moo earlier in 2018,[50] the Australian Festival Association suggested to implement this at more festivals as a preventative measure to lessen deaths at music festivals, this was met with a "no tolerance policy" from New South Wale's premier Gladys Berejiklian.[47] Fuzzy representatives replied that governments should be more open to pill testing in order to create safer festivals.[51]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Listen Out 2018". Fuzzy. Archived from the original on 17 May 2019. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  2. ^ "Listen Out attendee figures revealed". The Music Network. 4 October 2016. Archived from the original on 17 May 2019. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h "Listen Out 2013 - Competitions". Triple J Unearthed (Australia Broadcasting Corporation (ABC)). Archived from the original on 28 February 2014. Retrieved 13 March 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. ^ "No Parklife in 2013; Fuzzy launches bold new national event". inthemix. 19 June 2013. Archived from the original on 29 May 2019. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  5. ^ Hohnen, Mike (12 September 2013). "Listen out 2013 releases set times for Brisbane Melbourne Perth Sydney". MusicFeeds. Archived from the original on 14 September 2013.
  6. ^ a b "Listen Out 2014 (NSW) ♫". theMusic.com.au. 27 September 2014. Archived from the original on 28 February 2015. Retrieved 13 March 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. ^ "Red Bull Crate Diggers at Listen Out". Red Bull. 19 January 2017. Archived from the original on 17 May 2019. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  8. ^ Store, Universal (5 July 2016). "Listen Out x Universal Store". Universal Store Blog - Fashion, Entertainment & Lifestyle. Archived from the original on 17 May 2019. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  9. ^ "Listen Out 2018". triple j Unearthed. Archived from the original on 17 May 2019. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  10. ^ "Listen Out Festival Drops Lineup For New Adelaide Event 'Listen In'". Music Feeds. 10 July 2018. Archived from the original on 7 May 2019. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
  11. ^ Al Newstead (16 June 2021). "Listen Out festival won't go ahead this year, promises 2022 return". ABC. Archived from the original on 8 August 2021. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  12. ^ "Listen Out 2013 Releases Set Times For Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney". Music Feeds. 12 September 2013. Archived from the original on 8 May 2019. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  13. ^ Arnold-Garvey, James (2013). "listen out line up official announcement disclosure azealia banks to headline". Music Feeds. Archived from the original on 17 November 2023. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
  14. ^ "listenout 2013 set times announced with minimal clashes". Tone Deaf. 12 September 2013. Archived from the original on 17 November 2023. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
  15. ^ Baroni, Nastassia (2014). "Listen Out 2014-Timetables and Maps". Music Feeds. Archived from the original on 27 May 2018. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  16. ^ staff writer (17 June 2014). "Flume Leads Listen Out Festival Line-Up Announcement". theMusic.com.au. Archived from the original on 24 March 2016. Retrieved 13 March 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  17. ^ "Listen Out 2015 Set Times Unveiled". Music Feeds. 16 September 2015. Archived from the original on 8 May 2019. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  18. ^ "Listen Out 2015s Massive Lineup Has Leaked". Tone Deaf. 2015. Archived from the original on 17 November 2023. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  19. ^ "Listen up for the Listen Out 2015 Lineup". Scenestr. 16 June 2015. Archived from the original on 17 November 2023. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  20. ^ "Everything You Need to Catch at Listen Out 2016". Tone Deaf. 23 September 2016. Archived from the original on 17 May 2019. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  21. ^ "listen Out 2016 Set Times Announced". 2016. Archived from the original on 17 November 2023. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  22. ^ "Listen Out 2016 Is Almost Here - Topics". EntertainmentScene.com.au. Archived from the original on 23 March 2019. Retrieved 13 March 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  23. ^ Williams, Tom (6 September 2017). "Listen Out 2017 Lineup Expands Again, Set Times Announced". Music Feeds. Archived from the original on 11 September 2017. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  24. ^ "Listen Out 2017 Feat: Future, What So Not, Mac Miller, Duke Dumont & More". Australian Music Scene. 20 June 2017. Archived from the original on 18 March 2018. Retrieved 13 March 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  25. ^ LeFevre, Jules (6 September 2017). "Listen Out's 2017 Set Times Have Landed". inthemix.junkee.com. Archived from the original on 10 September 2017. Retrieved 13 March 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  26. ^ Williams, Tom (13 September 2018). "Listen Out Festival 2018 Set Times Announced". Music Feeds. Archived from the original on 22 September 2018. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  27. ^ Newstead, Al (21 May 2018). "Listen Out 2018 Line Up Announce". Triple J (Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC)). Archived from the original on 20 August 2023.
  28. ^ Langford, Jackson; Jones, Emma. "What We Learnt at Listen Out 2018". Purple Sneakers. Archived from the original on 9 April 2019. Retrieved 13 March 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  29. ^ Newstead, Al (21 May 2019). "The Listen Out 2019 line-up is here and it's epic!". Triple J (Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC)). Archived from the original on 8 November 2020. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
  30. ^ Langford, Jackson (7 October 2019). "Listen Out – Centennial Park, Sydney, 5/10/19". MusicFeeds. Archived from the original on 12 July 2021. Retrieved 13 March 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  31. ^ Madden, Ben (26 September 2022). "NME's Roundup of Listen Out 2022 in Melbourne". NME. Archived from the original on 21 April 2023. Retrieved 13 March 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  32. ^ "Listen Out Announces 2022 Dates and Cities". Music Feeds. 20 April 2022. Archived from the original on 14 September 2022. Retrieved 13 March 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  33. ^ Cribb, Dan (20 April 2022). "Listen Out Confirms 2022 Dates & Cities; Reveals When Line-up Will Drop". theMusic.com.au. Archived from the original on 15 March 2023. Retrieved 13 March 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  34. ^ Lynch, Jessie (16 May 2023). "Skrillex, Four Tet, Lil Uzi Vert, JPEG MAFIA and More Lead Listen Out 2023 Lineup". Purple Sneakers. Archived from the original on 25 October 2023. Retrieved 14 March 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  35. ^ Singh, Surej (16 May 2023). "Listen Out 2023 line-up: Skrillex, Lil Uzi Vert, Ice Spice and more". NME. Archived from the original on 21 August 2023. Retrieved 14 March 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  36. ^ Schultz, Amber (30 September 2023). "Listen Out 2023 Punters Slam NSW Police Presence, Sniffer Dogs". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 30 September 2023. Retrieved 14 March 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  37. ^ a b "Police seize $10k of drugs at Melbourne Listen Out festival". ABC News. 5 October 2013. Archived from the original on 31 October 2016. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  38. ^ "Police Charge 94 For Drugs At Listen Out 2013, Azealia Banks Storms Off Stage". Tone Deaf. 29 September 2013. Archived from the original on 6 June 2019. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  39. ^ "Drug busts at Listen Out". The New Daily. 4 October 2014. Archived from the original on 6 June 2019. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  40. ^ a b "Drug Arrests at the 'Listen Out' Music Festival". Sydney Drug Lawyers. Archived from the original on 7 March 2019. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  41. ^ "Police To Increase Listen Out Festival Security In Response To Woman's Death". Music Feeds. 21 September 2017. Archived from the original on 31 May 2019. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
  42. ^ "Dance festival 37 nabbed for drugs". www.heraldsun.com.au. 4 October 2014. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
  43. ^ "Police "Disappointed" With The Number Of People Found With Drugs At Listen Out Festival". Music Feeds. 25 September 2017. Archived from the original on 25 September 2018. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  44. ^ "Looking out for drugs at Listen Out". www.heraldsun.com.au. 17 September 2017. Archived from the original on 28 December 2017. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  45. ^ "Police Commend Behaviour Of Listen Out Sydney Festival-Goers Despite Over 100 Arrests". Music Feeds. 2 October 2016. Archived from the original on 1 June 2019. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  46. ^ Morgan, Cassandra (30 September 2018). "'This way to the festival of drugs and booze': Defqon. 1 deaths leave Listen Out revellers undeterred". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 2 September 2019. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  47. ^ a b "Police arrest over 150 people at Sydney's Listen Out". NewsComAu. 30 September 2018. Archived from the original on 4 September 2019. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  48. ^ "Over 150 People Arrested For Drug Offences At Listen Out Sydney". Music Feeds. 30 September 2018. Archived from the original on 28 May 2019. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
  49. ^ "30 drug arrests at St Kilda music festival". www.heraldsun.com.au. 23 September 2018. Archived from the original on 13 March 2019. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  50. ^ Healy, Jon; Sibthorpe, Clare (30 April 2018). "Arnica, metal paint and Polish toothpaste: Festival pill test comes back with all sorts". ABC News. Archived from the original on 13 April 2019. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
  51. ^ Thompson, Angus (9 January 2019). "'Young people deserve better': festivals push governments on pill testing". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 27 July 2019. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
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