Australian EDM Fest Stereosonic Expands, David Guetta & Armin van Buuren Headline

Australia’s Stereosonic has raised the stakes in the country’s EDM festival scene with an expanded two-day show across five cities, and a pumping line-up which includes David Guetta, Armin van Buuren, Calvin Harris, Axwell and Empire of the Sun.

The 2013 bill was announced today along with a new itinerary which starts Nov. 30 and Dec. 1 at the Sydney Showgrounds, and visits Perth, Adelaide and Melbourne before wrapping at Brisbane’s RNA Showgrounds on Dec. 7 and 8.

Sebastian Ingrosso, Afrojack, Afrojack, Nicky Romero, the Bloody Beetroots and Tommy Trash are also among the 70-plus artists confirmed to play.

Tickets for this year’s dates go on sale Aug. 1 and cost Australian $199.95 ($182) plus booking fee.

Stereosonic was founded back in 2007 and is now Australia's “fastest growing music festival," according to its organizers Totem OneLove. Promoters of the heavy metal and hard-rock focused Soundwave fest would debate that boast, though Stereosonic has certainly made its intentions clear – to be the country’s No. 1 EDM event.

Stereosonic will become part of Robert Sillerman’s SFX Entertainment empire, after Totem was snapped up for $55.3 million. And this time around, the fest will have less direct competition than usual. Its rival Parklife was recently yanked and replaced with the scaled-down “Listen Out” event, while the Good Vibrations fest hasn’t been seen since 2011.

Stereosonic’s other main rival, Future Music, is typically held in the later months of Australia’s summer (February and March).

Meanwhile, the Big Day Out has reinstated a New Zealand date to its 2014 tour. The alternative music fest had dropped its trans-Tasman leg in 2012 and 2013 to stem losses. Promoters of the BDO today announced it had struck a five-year deal with Auckland Council to stage the show at Western Springs.