Soundwave Replacement Festival Legion Drops First Lineup Announcement

The first ever Legion Music Festival has given us a peek at its inaugural lineup.

Australia’s first fan-funded heavy music festival – which is coming together in flash-fire fashion following the cancellation of Soundwave – will feature appearances by ex-SW16 acts Devil You Know and Darkc3ll, alongside US metalcore outfit Darkest Hour and their extreme metal countrymen Battlecross, together with local bands Caligula’s Horse and Rick Dangerous And The Silkie Bantams.

“Each of these bands have offered their truly amazing support and are ready to get loud and sweaty on the Legion stages,” the festival’s organisers said of the first announcement. “Please know: We have many more set to announce and are very excited to bring you a complete line-up, including Headliners as soon as possible, this is just the start!”

Legion’s Pozible campaign has also launched officially today, with the festival only able to use the cash raised after it reaches its ambitious crowdfunding target of over $3 million. In the spirit of transparency, organisers have also included a budget showing exactly how all the money will be spent (if the campaign is successful) which you can check out below.

At the time of writing, Legion’s crowdfunded bank account is already sitting at $6,252.

Today’s news comes after the festival announced its official dates for Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth.

Hitting Melbourne on 26th March, Sydney on 27th March and Brisbane on 28th March, the first-ever Legion fest will also host smaller club mini-festivals in Adelaide on 1st April and Perth on 2nd April, with Devil You Know drummer and Legion mastermind John Sankey confirming that a selection of acts from the major bill will perform at both.

“We didn’t want you guys to miss out, didn’t forget about you guys, so we’re really stoked that we can bring you something,” he said.

As for the rest of the lineup, Sankey says the festival is keen to showcase both established acts and upcoming talent from Australia and from overseas, with over 20 more acts to be announced. A number of other bands that were billed for the now-cancelled 2016 edition of Soundwave are said to be confirmed.

Legion also has plans to become a full-blown five-state festival by 2017. Check out the official festival dates and lineup so far – as well as a breakdown of how the organisers intend to use the funds – below.

Watch: Rick Dangerous & The Silkie Bantams – The General

Legion Festival 2016 Lineup (So Far)

Devil You Know (USA)
Darkest Hour (USA)
Battlecross (USA)
Caligula’s Horse (AUS)
Darkc3ll (AUS)
Rick Dangerous And The Silkie Bantams (AUS)

Dream on Dreamer (AUS) Just announced!

Legion Festival 2016

Saturday, 26th March 2016
Melbourne

Sunday, 27th March 2016
Sydney

Monday, 28th March 2016
Brisbane

Friday, 1st April 2016
Adelaide (Club mini-festival)

Saturday, 2nd April 2016
Perth (Club mini-festival)

LEGION FEST 2016 BUDGET BREAKDOWN

Melbourne    $1,025,000
Sydney     $1,025,000
Brisbane   $1,025,000
Adelaide    $100,000
Perth    $100,000

Total: $3,275,000

MELBOURNE, SYDNEY & BRISBANE BREAKDOWN 

SITE COSTS   $250,000
Fencing
Toilets
Tents
Turf
Electrical
Vendors
Parking
Permits
Transport

PRODUCTION COSTS   $200,000
Audio
Lighting
Video
Staging
Generators
Backline
Barricades
Freight

STAFFING COSTS   $100,000
Police
Event Staff
Ticketing Staff
Cleaning
Runners
Ambulance
Doctor
Management
Security
Catering
Traffic Management
Sound Monitoring

ARTIST COSTS   $475,000
Artist fees
Visas
Riders
International travel
National Travel
Accommodation
Freight
Ground Transport

ADELAIDE & PERTH BREAKDOWN

COSTS BREAKDOWN (Adelaide/Perth)
Each mini-fest’s event costs can be broken down into the following:

PRODUCTION COSTS $20,000
Venue Hire
Audio
Lighting
Video
Staging
Backline
Barricades
Freight

STAFFING COSTS $20,000
Event Staff
Ticketing Staff
Cleaning
Runners
Management
Security
Catering
Sound Monitoring

ARTIST COSTS $60,000
Artist fees
Visas
Riders
National Travel
Accommodation
Freight
Ground Transport