AJ Maddah: Soundwave 2016 Will “Sell Out Instantly”

UPDATE 17/12/15 5.50pm: Soundwave 2016 has been officially cancelled.

If you haven’t already secured Soundwave 2016 festival tickets by becoming a member of the Soundwave Secret Society, it might be time to start planning ahead given AJ Maddah’s recent comment that at least one leg of the festival “will sell out instantly”.

Maddah made the comment when asked by a fan on Twitter which Soundwave city they should choose for their Secret Society membership. Maddah suggested Melbourne, saying that particular leg of the festival will sell out “instantly” when general tickets eventually go on sale.

Given that Maddah also recently suggested that the 2016 festival could feature just one headliner, the question now moves to which big act would be able to move that many tickets so quickly.

We already known that English rockers Muse will not perform as part of Soundwave 2016, due to their commitments in the US at the time, while Germany’s Rammstein have also been ruled out.

Other unconfirmed suggestions for possible Soundwave 2016 headliners include System Of A Down, now that it looks like they have finally started work on a new album. Maddah said he would “of course” bring them out to Australia, should the record eventuate in time.

Another possibility is Soundwave 2013 headliners Metallica, given that they’re already headlining this year’s Lollapalooza festival in Chicago and are at work on their 10th studio album. Another dream headliner – though a long-shot at this stage – is Tool, now that we know work on that long-awaited new album has “sped up”.

Maddah has previously said getting Tool to Soundwave “depends on new album”, but thinks the prog metal legends are unlikely to have the new record out in time to tour Australia by 2016. Of course all of this is speculation, and the festival is yet to confirm who they have in mind to lead the 2016 bill.

What we do know is that the 2016 festival will return to a single day format after a brief experiment as a two day event this year. Soundwave will only visit Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane in 2016 and will be held in January, much earlier than usual, around the same time the Big Day Out usually takes place.

Maddah has also said he’s aiming to get around 45 to 50 bands for the festival’s 2016 lineup. Two of those acts will likely be Aussies Violent Soho and Northlane, who have both already been given the nod.

Keep up to date with all the latest at the Soundwave 2016 lineup rumours and information page.

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