Who Could Be Playing Splendour In The Grass 2023?

With Splendour In The Grass officially coming out of the gates strong, announcing that Lizzo will be coming to Australia to headline the July event, rumours have already begun to swirl about who might be joining her. 

Today we’re taking a look at artists from all over the globe, from those showing potential to those that have been ruled out, to see if we can pin down who might be heading to Australia in 2023 to perform at Splendour In The Grass. 

Foo Fighters

Likelihood - Confirmed as not performing

Foo Fighters have been on an absolute rollercoaster over the past few years. In March 2022, the band tragically lost beloved drummer Taylor Hawkins, leading to the cancellation of their entire world tour. Since then, the band have done everything from taking much-needed time off to releasing a pinball machine, cooking food for homeless people in LA and jumping back on the road. 

And while the band would have ample time to hit Byron between their set at the Harley-Davidson Homecoming Festival and Fuji Rock Festival. Unfortunately, Splendour In The Grass officially came out last week to shut rumours of the band's appearance down for good.

Lewis Capaldi 

Likelihood - Very Likely

While sonically, it might be a slight deviation in sound for Splendour In The Grass to enlist Lewis Capaldi for a headline spot; it wouldn’t be the first time the event has placed a stadium-level pop act at the head of the bill (IE: Coldplay in 2011). 

Given that Capaldi will have semi-recently dropped his new album at the time of Splendour and has open dates in his schedule between a massive sold-out arena tour in Australia (excluding Brisbane) and New Zealand, and his next date in the UK, it seems highly likely we’ll see Capaldi’s name included in the next announcement.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Likelihood - Likely

Initially set to perform at the now iconic Splendour In The Mud edition of the event, the New York indie three-piece announced in mid-July that, due to health concerns, they would not be attending in 2022, later being replaced by The Avalanches. 

With the band back to full health, an album less than a year old under their belt and a gap in their touring schedule between their final show in the US and their next scheduled set in Japan, it seems likely Yeah Yeah Yeahs will be looking to make up for their missed slot in 2022.

SZA

Likelihood - Possible

It’s been several years since SZA performed in Australia, and a lot has happened since then, going from an acclaimed act to a global force. 

Her new album, SOS, debuted at number one with 20 songs in the Billboard Hot 100, and the entire record has spent more than ten weeks atop the charts. Given on data alone that SZA now rivals the likes of Taylor Swift and Adele, becoming one of the three female artists to spend more than nine weeks on the charts, it seems implausible that a festival would land an artist like SZA. But, there is a gap in her tour schedule. So maybe Splendour is the one to make it happen!

Gorillaz + Blur

Likelihood - Highly, highly unlikely

Similar to Yeah Yeah Yeahs, British act Gorillaz were also set to perform at Splendour in 2022, but due to massive onslaughts of rain, were unable to actually hit the stage before they flew out of Australia. And while Gorillaz will be in Australia for just two sold-out shows after Splendour in The Grass wraps up (one in Sydney on the 26th and one in Adelaide on the 28th of July), Albarn's other band, Blur, will be performing in Italy at the Lucca summer festival on 22 July. 

Given Blur are set to hit the stage at 9 pm in Italy, it doesn’t seem physically possible - short of the band having access to some weird Elon Musk alien technology - that crowds will be seeing either Gorillaz or Blur on stage on Sunday night.

The Kid LAROI

Likelihood - Possible

Another name that’s been floating around the rumour mill recently is Sydney artist The Kid LAROI. 

By the time Splendour rolls around in July, it will have been over a year since The Kid LAROI’s END OF THE WORLD TOUR, which saw multiple sold-out shows around Australia. To date, the final reported show for The Kid LAROI is Wednesday, 3 May, at the State Farm Center in Illinois, leaving ample room in the tour diary for a quick jaunt to Byron Bay to perform.

Skrillex

Likelihood - Possible

It’s been several years since Skrillex performed live in Australia in any real capacity, last out here in 2018 for Listen Out. It’s also been several years since he dropped a new album. But with 2023’s Quest For Fire officially out, and thanks to some genius collaborations with artists like Fred Again.. and Four Tet, there’s been a slow transition away from his iconic in-your-face-dubstep sound to something slightly more subdued that wouldn’t feel out of place on mainstage or in the mix-up tent. At the time of writing, Skrillex's last confirmed tour date is 13 July at Badlands Music Festival in Canada, leaving a decent hole in his itinerary.

Denzel Curry

Likelihood - Highly Unlikely

While Curry was originally announced for the 2020 edition of Splendour In The Grass and was later missing from what would eventually become the 2022 Splendour line-up, combined with the fact that he has an opening in his tour schedule makes him a prime candidate for the 2023 announcement. However, given he’ll be appearing at Groovin The Moo in April / May, it seems highly unlikely he’ll return in such close proximity.

Weezer

Likelihood - Likely

Taking a cursory glance at Weezer's upcoming tour schedule, the iconic indie-rockers have ample space between their 13 July show at Forest Hills Stadium, New York, with Future Islands and Joyce Manor, and their appearance at Fuji Rock Festival in Naeba, Japan, on 30 July. Enough space to play at Splendour between 21-23 July? Yes. We'll just have to wait and see.

Boygenius

Likelihood - Possible

Boygenius, the supergroup consisting of Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers, and Lucy Dacus, are currently in the midst of releasing their new album, The Record. They’re set to appear at the likes of Coachella, Pukkelpop and Lowlands… and there’s a perfectly placed gap in their tour schedule between late June and early August. Even though Phoebe Bridgers was recently in Australia for Laneway Festival, the trio are yet to perform together in Australia.

NxWorries

Likelihood - Possible

While Anderson Paak. has made his way to Australia several times over the years, his side project with fellow producer Knxwledge has never landed on our shores. Despite only having one album from 2016 under their belt and their latest single, Where I Go (feat. H.E.R), landing back in 2022, the duo will be out on the road around July, with a nice gap in their schedule for a small tour run that might include Splendour.

Matt Corby

Likelihood - Possible

By the time Splendour In The Grass rolls around in 2023, Matt Corby will have released his new album Everything's Fine. It will also be his first live set in Australia in any real capacity since performing at A More Perfect Union in January 2022. While on paper, it looks like a no-brainer, Corby’s solo tour of Australia in May (which includes a Brisbane show at the Fortitude Music Hall) may rule him out.

Foals

Likelihood - Ruled Out

Plenty of rumours are floating around about the appearance of Foals at Splendour 2023. And although Foals are no strangers to Australia or the Splendour In The Grass family, they’re going to be in the midst of a west coast tour run in America, so they are totally ruled out.