Amped Festival returns to Cherry Bar in 2018
If there’s one person who knows his metal in Australia, it’s Dave ‘Higgo’ Higgins and once again he’ll be putting on a day of epic metal proportions in Melbourne at Cherry Bar on October 6th, featuring an impressive lineup of upcoming and established metal bands from across Australia.
UPDATE – Never have had to pull out from appearing, in their place will be Frankenbok.
The 2018 roster features the likes of Figures, Harlott, Mason, Meshiaak, El Colosso, Headbore, Envenomed, Never, Frankenbok, Kill:Death:Ratio, Lillye, Primitive, Verona Lights, Red Bee and Shatter Brain who will be playing throughout the day, with doors opening at 12:00pm and the first band taking to the stage at 12:45pm
Headline act Figures put on one hell of a show last year when we caught them at the Evelyn Hotel after they released their Chronos EP, our reviewer stating “The five-piece hit the stage with a sonic boom that punched through your chest” with his opening opinion, so if that’s an indication of what you’re in for,
We grabbed Higgo to find out more about the event and why you should cancel other plans and attend:
Higgo, great to see Amped fest returning, give us a rundown of how the original idea came about?
The first Amped Festival happened in 2017. I’d been running metal gigs at Cherry Bar for a while with the Higgo’s heavy Cherry series, and one night in the venue was chatting to James Young (owner/booker of Cherry Bar) and he threw the idea out there that we do a whole day event. I’d never done anything like that, but within a couple of days we had a lineup and I asked lots of questions to people who had done all day gigs and it was a sell out success.
Well congrats on that and for bringing it back again. With all these big festivals popping up, why is it important to not forget about the upcoming acts like some of the bands you’ve got on the lineup?
For me, it’s all about promoting local bands that are every bit as good as internationals. Australia has an incredibly strong heavy music scene, and I just want people to love it as much as I do, so anytime I can do something like this, and hopefully get new ears and eyes on a band, I will. They all work incredibly hard, play their arses off, and create an energy and community that deserves a wider audience.
Judging by the success of last year it’s also one hell of a party, who have you got this year that we NEED to see?
Meshiaak would have to top that list. Amped will be their very first live gig, despite releasing a killer debut album (Alliance of Thieves) in 2016. I’m also stoked to have Lillye from Sydney on the bill, their latest album ‘Evolve’ is brilliant and I reckon they’re gunna surprise a lot of people. Same goes with Shatter Brain and Figures. Really, I want people to see ALL the bands, ha ha.
Spruiking done right mate, for those who missed Amped Fest last year, why should they change that in 2018?
It’s a helluva day! Just solid good times and killer tunes from start to finish in an iconic venue in the rock n roll capital of the world. That’s what I love about the heavy scene, everyone is so bloody nice, friendly, and supportive, it’s a good vibes day. It’s a brilliant way to support and discover local talent too, so even if you only know two or three bands on the line up, come along, I PROMISE you’ll find a new favourite.
Couldn’t have said it better myself, anything else we need to know about?
For those that have been asking, yes, there will be event t-shirts this year. Oh, and this sold out last year, and we’re expecting it to again, so grab ya tickets!
Counting down the days already.
Amped Festival 2018
feat. Figures, Harlott, Mason, Meshiaak, El Colosso, Headbore, Envenomed, Frankenbok, Kill:Death:Ratio, Lillye, Primitive, Verona Lights, Red Bee and Shatter Brain
October 6th @ Cherry Bar, Melb
