Inside the Big Day Out podcast artwork

PODCAST · music

Inside the Big Day Out

For music fans across Australia, The Big Day Out was a rite of passage headlined by some of the biggest names in music. Like Lollapalooza and Glastonbury, it was a summer's day out in the sun with mates and an introduction to mind-blowing music. For the people who created it, it was a wild ride of legendary line-ups and backstage shenanigans — until it fell apart.In this 5-part series, Australia's ABC Radio's Double J takes you inside the story of this iconic music festival. Meet the characters who kept this juggernaut rolling and find out what really went down on tour;  from the coup of securing Nirvana in its first year in 2001, to its tumultuous downfall in 2014, and all the partying in between. Follow the story of the rise and rise, then sudden demise of Australia’s Big Day Out. Host: Gemma PikeProducer: Gab BurkeSupervising Producer: Mike WilliamsExecutive Producer: Meagan LoaderSound Engineers: John Jacobs, Tim JenkinsTheme music: Lindsay McDougallMusic: Hamish Camilleri

  1. 5

    05 | Give It Away Now

    Not able to agree on two headliners for the 2014 show, the duelling owners book three. To break even, the festival will need to break records. The original founder is on the verge of losing everything. Hasty decisions are made to salvage a cultural icon, but the ship is sinking.Host: Gemma PikeProducer: Gab BurkeSupervising Producer: Mike WilliamsExecutive Producer: Meagan LoaderSound Engineers: John Jacobs, Tim JenkinsTheme music: Lindsay McDougallMusic: Hamish CamilleriArtwork: Brad CookDigital Team: Dan Condon, Luanne ShneierPhotography: Sophie Howarth

  2. 4

    04 | Art Vs. Commerce

    While ticket sales soared to hundreds of thousands in the 2000s, artistic differences led to a breaking point in the founder's relationship. The manager, who has been holding everything together, ends up in rehab, and the festival starts to unravel.Host: Gemma PikeProducer: Gab BurkeSupervising Producer: Mike WilliamsExecutive Producer: Meagan LoaderSound Engineers: John Jacobs, Tim JenkinsTheme music: Lindsay McDougallMusic: Hamish CamilleriArtwork: Brad CookDigital Team: Dan Condon, Luanne ShneierPhotography: Sophie Howarth

  3. 3

    03 | The Age of Innocence is Over

    The 2001 Big Day Out ends in tragedy with the death of Jessica Michalik during Limp Bizkit’s Sydney set. Jessica’s best friend Liza Ryan was with her and shared the emotional story of the music fan behind the headline. Phil Jamieson from Grinspoon recalls performing at her memorial.Host: Gemma PikeProducer: Gab BurkeSupervising Producer: Mike WilliamsExecutive Producer: Meagan LoaderSound Engineers: John Jacobs, Tim JenkinsTheme music: Lindsay McDougallMusic: Hamish CamilleriArtwork: Brad CookDigital Team: Dan Condon, Luanne ShneierPhotography: Sophie HowarthWith thanks to Channel [V]

  4. 2

    02 | The Big Day Off

    The Big Day Out expands quickly and becomes a national touring circus. Every music fan wants to go, and every artist wants to play. There were raucous backstage antics, with many bands treating the tour like a holiday. But as the festival grows, so does the pressure.Host: Gemma PikeProducer: Gab BurkeSupervising Producer: Mike WilliamsExecutive Producer: Meagan LoaderSound Engineers: John Jacobs, Tim JenkinsTheme music: Lindsay McDougallMusic: Hamish CamilleriArtwork: Brad CookDigital Team: Dan Condon, Luanne ShneierPhotography: Sophie HowarthWith thanks to Channel [V]

  5. 1

    01 | A Vision Of Nirvana

    What started as a Violent Femmes headline tour with Nirvana supporting, ended in a one-day music festival with 21 bands. When Nirvana released Nevermind just before coming to Australia, the Big Day Out found themselves dealing with the biggest band in the world.Host: Gemma PikeProducer: Gab BurkeSupervising Producer: Mike WilliamsExecutive Producer: Meagan LoaderSound Engineers: John Jacobs, Tim JenkinsTheme music: Lindsay McDougallMusic: Hamish CamilleriArtwork: Brad CookDigital Team: Dan Condon, Luanne Shneier

Type above to search every episode's transcript for a word or phrase. Matches are scoped to this podcast.

Searching…

We're indexing this podcast's transcripts for the first time — this can take a minute or two. We'll show results as soon as they're ready.

No matches for "" in this podcast's transcripts.

Showing of matches

No topics indexed yet for this podcast.

Loading reviews...

ABOUT THIS SHOW

For music fans across Australia, The Big Day Out was a rite of passage headlined by some of the biggest names in music. Like Lollapalooza and Glastonbury, it was a summer's day out in the sun with mates and an introduction to mind-blowing music. For the people who created it, it was a wild ride of legendary line-ups and backstage shenanigans — until it fell apart.In this 5-part series, Australia's ABC Radio's Double J takes you inside the story of this iconic music festival. Meet the characters who kept this juggernaut rolling and find out what really went down on tour;  from the coup of securing Nirvana in its first year in 2001, to its tumultuous downfall in 2014, and all the partying in between. Follow the story of the rise and rise, then sudden demise of Australia’s Big Day Out. Host: Gemma PikeProducer: Gab BurkeSupervising Producer: Mike WilliamsExecutive Producer: Meagan LoaderSound Engineers: John Jacobs, Tim JenkinsTheme music: Lindsay McDougallMusic: Hamish Camilleri

HOSTED BY

ABC

CATEGORIES

Frequently Asked Questions

How many episodes does Inside the Big Day Out have?

Inside the Big Day Out currently has 5 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.

What is Inside the Big Day Out about?

For music fans across Australia, The Big Day Out was a rite of passage headlined by some of the biggest names in music. Like Lollapalooza and Glastonbury, it was a summer's day out in the sun with mates and an introduction to mind-blowing music. For the people who created it, it was a wild ride of...

How often does Inside the Big Day Out release new episodes?

Inside the Big Day Out has 5 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.

Where can I listen to Inside the Big Day Out?

You can listen to Inside the Big Day Out on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.

Who hosts Inside the Big Day Out?

Inside the Big Day Out is created and hosted by ABC.
URL copied to clipboard!