During their Sunday evening set at Splendour In The Grass over the weekend, Bad//Dreems were joined onstage by King Stingray, who were also on the bill, for a rendition of Warumpi Band‘s ‘Blackfella/Whitefella’.
Bad//Dreems notably covered ‘Blackfella/Whitefella’ during an appearance on triple j’s Like a Version segment in 2019, joined by Midnight Oil frontman Peter Garrett, singer-songwriter Emily Wurramara and Mambali’s Brad Bura and Don Murrumgun.
Reflecting on the live collaboration at Splendour in an Instagram post earlier today (July 27), Bad//Dreems called it “one of our most cherished moments as a band”. Watch fan-shot footage of the performance below:
This year’s edition of Splendour in the Grass marked the Byron Bay festival’s return after the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of its 2020 and 2021 events. The festival featured performances from the likes of The Strokes, Tyler, the Creator, Glass Animals, Violent Soho, Liam Gallagher and more, but was hampered by severe weather conditions.
Mainstage performances scheduled for day one of the three-day festival were cancelled due to heavy rainfall leading to site flooding. Several ad hoc shows took place in the surrounding region that evening, with The Buoys, Baker Boy, Yungblud, Wet Leg and more announcing separate pop-up gigs.
Transport delays and bogged campgrounds also affected patrons. Organisers announced this week that ticketholders will receive “proportionate refunds” for the Friday event, and addressed the hurdles in a statement following the festival, apologising for “any inconvenience” patrons experienced.
“It certainly wasn’t our easiest show but even with the trials and tribulations we are so happy to be back with our Splendour family of patrons, our awesome event team, and our Australian music industry colleagues,” co-CEOs Jessica Ducrou and Paul Piticco said. “As always, we really did try to provide the best experience possible under some extremely tricky conditions.”
Ducrou and Piticco added that they “have the best festival team in the country” and “did everything we could considering the circumstances”, promising a return in 2023.
Meanwhile, King Stingray are currently gearing up to release their debut, self-titled album next month. Set to arrive on August 5, the band have previewed the record with a slew of singles: ‘Hey Wanhaka’, ‘Get Me Out’, ‘Milkumana’, ‘Camp Dog’ and ‘Let’s Go’.