With a bit of crafty sleuthing, FasterLouder can now reveal that rowdy raconteur The Streets is the first headliner locked in for the one-and-only Playground Weekender.

From his incendiary beginnings on Original Pirate Material, no one spins profound and witty tales of the daily grind quite like Mike Skinner. He mightn’t be on a council estate struggling anymore, but the man’s fourth album Everything Is Borrowed proves his storytelling smarts are undiminished. The Streets live band is well-attuned to the Australian festival circuit, too, so expect only the most raucous of parties at Playground.

So what should the uninitiated expect from Playground Weekender? Stretched across a weekend at the picturesque Del Rio Resort on the Hawkesbury River, it’s a true festival experience. This year’s event hosted the likes of Maximo Park, Ian Brown, The Wombats and Kruder & Dorfmeister, so you can expect an equally distinguished line-up in 2009.

Best of all, Playground Weekender took out the Best Crowd/Atmosphere category in the inaugural Festival Awards – a telling honour if ever there was one! To acquaint yourself, check out the review and photos from Playground Weekender ‘08.

Stay tuned to FasterLouder for the first official line up announcement on Thursday 6 November.

Playground Weekender
Del Rio Riverside Resort, Wiseman’s Ferry, New South Wales
Fri 6, Sat 7 and Sun 8 Feb 2009