If you’ve been mourning the loss of Soundwave, never fear. Fans of the festival are banding together and attempting to stage their own, and break a crowdfunding world recording in the process.
This is no mere pipe dream. John Sankey, the drummer of Los Angeles based heavy metal band Devil You Know is driving the festival he calls Legion Music Festival and he’s got the support of a number of industry bigwigs who believe the initiative could change the way music festivals work around the world. That’s because it reduces the financial risk for bands, fans, and suppliers.
“All the fans need to do is pledge – which gets them a guaranteed ticket to the festival BUT their payment won’t actually get processed until the goal is reached and the event is guaranteed,” John Sankey explained. “That way everyone involved can have complete confidence that all costs are covered and the event will go ahead before committing time, services or money to the festival”, he said.
Perhaps most importantly, the project also has the support of Aussie and international acts. Bands like Devil Driver, Frontline Assembly, Aversions Crown, Devil You Know, Darkest Hour, Caligula’s Horse, MofoIsDead, and 28 Days have already signed on.
If the crowdfunding goal of $3.27 million is reached, the festival will take place over the Easter long weekend in Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane. Smaller “mini” festivals will hit Adelaide and Perth on the following weekend. If you want to see this happen, put your money where your mouth is and pledge at the Legion Music Festival’s Pozible page.
As a Coastie I might be a little biased, but I think the opportunity to camp out in the Mount Penang Parklands at Kariong while catching some great live music is pretty difficult to pass up. Head to the 
“These artists have been handpicked by us,” The Lockhearts confirmed. “They’re not just our favourite local bands but some of our favourite bands full stop. Think of this festival as our mix tape we made you to show you our feelings and put it in your locker in our free period.”
This year’s theme is “Celebrate Women, Celebrate Community Life,” so as you can imagine there’s a kick-ass lineup of women scheduled to play including Courtney Barnett, Jen Cloher, Justine Clarke, and indigenous act Wildflower. Gurrumul will also be there in solidarity with the ladies. And this is just the initial music line-up; you can expect plenty more superb acts to grace the Barunga Festival stage next year.