Now that the dust has (kind of) settled on the incredible Splendour In The Grass lineup announcement, I thought it’s as good of a time as any to express the absolute elation I felt fortuitously stumbling upon another leaked post from Triple J. If the hottest 100 wasn’t enough, Triple J decided to be extra generous by posting the article roughly eight hours before the intended release on Triple J brekkie. While the Hottest 100 leak was a little more should I/shouldn’t I, this time round I couldn’t click on the link fast enough!

It is quite possibly the best lineup of talent we’ve ever seen on our shores.

The Splendour lineup is as reliable as ever. Aside from the absolute mess that was qjump.com.au, year-after-year the lineup is always spot-on. Emerging acts intertwined with Aussie favourites and global superstars, the organisers should be thoroughly commended, and 2010 is no different. Actually, when I think about it, it is different. It is quite possibly the best lineup of talent we’ve ever seen on our shores.

While the US has Coachella, the UK has Glastonbury… I guess Australia has the Big Day Out. These festivals are internationally renowned and draw a swathe of big names, year in year out. However there is a key reason why The Big Day out is clearly limited in it’s capacity to reach the heights of it’s overseas counterparts. It’s a touring festival.

It’s for this reason that Splendour has the potential to overtake BDO as Australia’s premier festival. The addition of a third day obviously coincides with an increase in acts, with the downside being an increase in ticket price ($450 for a three day camping pass). While the festival has temporarily transplanted to the splendiferous surrounds of Woodford on the Sunshine Coast hinterland, it will return to the larger 660 acre North Byron Parklands site at Yelgun in the Byron Shire. Glastonbury’s 900 acre ground attracts upwards of 180,000 patrons, which is promising when compared to the new Yelgun grounds, for the hordes of Splendour fans who miss out every year. However, is this expansion a good thing?

Splendour is known and loved for it’s atmosphere. An atmosphere built around the people who attend, the artists who perform and the site it has called home for just shy of a decade, Belongil Fields. So will a new ground change all this? Personally, I don’t think it will. The expansion will only serve to increase the capacity and, in turn, the quality and quantity of acts.

Given this years lineup, I think it’s safe to say, Splendour is Australia’s number one festival.