Sydney, Melbourne Soundwave 2016 Venues Are Not Booked

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

In another foreboding revelation about the prospects of Soundwave 2016 actually going ahead, it seems like the festival’s advertised venues have not yet been booked.

A mere 37 days out from kickoff, there are no confirmed bookings for SW at the locations listed on the festival’s ticketing website.

Eventopia lists the official Soundwave venues as Sydney Olympic Park, RAS Melbourne Showground and Brisbane Showgrounds, but speaking with Music Feeds, none of the sites could confirm plans for the respective legs of the festival to be held there at all.

General Manager of Sydney Showground, Peter Thorpe, told us that there is currently “no booking for January 24th 2016” at the venue, the date of the festival’s Sydney leg. While he said there were talks with Soundwave “about 7 months ago”, nothing has ever been confirmed.

A spokesperson for Melbourne Showground has advised Music Feeds that there is no current contract for a booking between Soundwave and the venue. While the Melbourne venue say they have been “in talks” with Soundwave, they are awaiting confirmation that the festival has met certain requirements before they can proceed with a booking.

The listed Brisbane venue are remaining tight-lipped, referring all Soundwave-related inquiries on to promoter AJ Maddah.

The news does not bode well, as punters – many of whom have already bought tickets or even booked interstate flights and accommodation – await an announcement about whether Soundwave 2016 will actually go ahead.

International act L7 pulled the plug on their appearance today, citing “circumstances beyond their control”.

Earlier this week, Bring Me The Horizon said that they weren’t 100% confirmed for the event. And in a statement yesterday organiser AJ Maddah said that ticketing company Eventopia had failed “to give SW a scheduled advance to pay deposits to NOFX and [Bring Me The Horizon].”

At this stage it’s still unclear whether Bring Me The Horizon will play, even if the festival somehow does happen.

Maddah was expected to announce the fate of the 2016 event yesterday, but he’s yet to give an update.

Soundwave will not go ahead in 2017.

Gallery: 11 Unforgettable Soundwave Festival Moments

11 Unforgettable Soundwave Festival Moments

Gwar - Soundwave 2014

Interstellar gods of metal GWAR well and truly made their mark on Australian audiences at Soundwave 2014 when front-thing Oderus Urungus used his mighty sword to decapitate an effigy of our widely-loathed PM Tony Abbott and soak the cheering crowd in his blood. Not even Napisan Plus could remove those pink stains which, for many, would soon become a sweaty memento from one of the last performances Urungus would ever give. His human alter ego, Dave Brockie, died tragically just weeks later from a heroin overdose.
Mike Patton - Soundwave 2010

Nothing like a bit of mid-set nudity to make Faith No More’s headlining slot at Brisbane Soundwave in 2010 even more, uh, Epic. Frontman Mike Patton proved he was Just A Man by unleashing Mike Jr. from his trousered hideaway and literally rocking out with his cock out.
Bloodhound - Soundwave 2009

An honourable mention must go to the Bloodhound Gang, who took the stage in 2009 to effectively reduce the throng of adult metalheads into sexually frustrated 13-year-olds. They did it like they did on the Discovery Channel, with healthy dose of Foxtrot Uniform Charlie Kilo. Nostalgia was everywhere. As were bewbs.
Alexisonfire - Soundwave 2010

As anyone who was on the scene for Sydney Soundwave 2010 can attest, that was the hottest fucking day in the history of the earth. The festival, then-held out near Eastern Creek Raceway, was one giant dustbowl, and those who withstood the 40+ temperatures were coughing up dirt for the next three days. Alexisonfire must have pre-empted this outcome and decided: fuck it. Frontman George Pettit jumped into the crowd mid-set and gave himself a dirt-bath in the middle of the pit. Who needs sunblock when you’re covered in a 2-inch thick layer of dust anyway? Epic.
All Time Low - Soundwave 2015

When the sky opened up and unleashed a rainstorm of hell upon Sydney Soundwave earlier this year, right in the middle of All Time Low’s set, the Baltimore pop punk’s gear got wrecked, and the band were unable to play on. However, instead of letting the storm beat them, frontman Alex Gaskarth ploughed onward, leading fans in an a cappella singalong of his band’s track Weightlessas well as some of Queen’s We Will Rock You. Many people became All Time Low fans that day.
Dallas Green – Soundwave 2008

Dallas Green performed a musical screaming eagle in ’08 when he appeared as the frontman of both Alexisonfire and City + Colour. Crushing skulls and melting hearts. All in a day’s work.
Fucked Up - Soundwave 2011

The spirit of punk was alive and well at SW11 when Fucked Up gave an expectedly insane performance, complete with hair-ripping, sweaty hugging, and beast frontman Damien force-feeding the mic to members of the crowd. This set will probably go down in Aussie festival history.
Killer Be Killed – Soundwave 2015

After a hurricane of hype leading up to their global live debut at Soundwave 2015, metal supergroup Killer Be Killed – featuring Max Cavalera, Greg Puciato, Troy Sanders and Ben Koller – did not disappoint, delivering an absolutely pulverising set.
Blink-182 – Soundwave 2013

A Travis Barker-less Blink-182 shot their love all over the crowd during their headlining set at Soundwave 2013. With Bad Religion drummer Brooks Wackerman filling in on the skins, the pop punk trio capped off their first show in Australia since 2004 by wheeling out a massive confetti canon and opening fire on a sweat-drenched mosh pit, absolutely smothering fans in the coloured stuff. Many shower drains got clogged, that fateful night.
Slash – Soundwave 2012

Alter Bridge pulled a rabbit out of their hat during their Sydney set in 2012, and by hat we mean top hat and by rabbit we mean guitar legend Slash, who was wearing the hat. The ex-Guns N’ Roses icon wasn’t even known to be in the country at the time, but he majestically appeared to claim an unused Marshall stack and Gibson Les Paul and join his singer Myles Kennedy for a few choice AB jams. You really never can tell just when #wunterslaush is going to turn up somewhere.
Jane’s Addiction – Soundwave 2010

Soundwave 2010 was bittersweet for Jane’s Addiction fans, marking the band’s last ever tour. As ladies danced onstage and punters tried to mask their lonely tears, Eric Avery’s words rang home: “That’s it. With equal parts regret and relief, the Jane’s Addiction experiment is at an end.”