Fans of the Damien Rice gentle folk phenomenon will be disappointed to hear that he has withdrawn from the upcoming Splendour in the Grass Festival due to ill health.

His management insists he has never cancelled a show before and Rice himself sounded less than chirpy when he delivered the news.

“It is with a heavy heart that I make the announcement not to appear at Splendour in the Grass festival this year” he wrote on his MySpace page. “This is not a decision that I made lightly, but the busy touring / travel schedule this year has taken its toll on my health and my voice and I'm sorry to say that I am exhausted and need to take some time off right now to recuperate and get my voice back in shape. I wish you a beautiful festival this year.”

Replacing him is one of the gems in Australia’s songwriting crown, The Waifs. Straight off the back of a US tour, Josh Cunningham, Donna and Vikki Simpson will sprint back onto home soil to perform their first ever Splendour gig.

The band recently won an impressive 4 ARIAs and has enjoyed huge success with debut album Up All Night, released in 2003. A new offering is scheduled for September 1, so those lucky enough to have secured a ticket to Splendour will be the first to get a listen.

Current line-up is as follows:

SATURDAY AUGUST 4TH
Powderfinger, Kaiser Chiefs, Lily Allen, Grinspoon, Hot Chip, The Waifs, Cat Empire, Sarah Blasko, Ash, Paul Kelly, Sneaky Sound System, The Beautiful Girls, Blue King Brown, Editors, The Herd, The Horrors, Planet Asia, Howling Bells, The Panics, Tilly & The Wall, Lost Valentinos, Old Man River, Muscles, Operator Please, Wild Marmalade, Sara Tindley + DJs sets from Cut Copy DJ’s (club mode), Riot In Belgium, Purple Sneakers DJ’s and Sean Candy aka AB.

SUNDAY AUGUST 5TH
Arctic Monkeys, Bloc Party, Hilltop Hoods, The Shins, Hoodoo Gurus, The Dirty Three, Spiderbait, Cut Copy, Hot Chip DJ’s (club mode), OK Go, Josh Pyke, Midnight Juggernauts, Gotye, Magnolia Electric Co, Kisschasy, Bumblebeez, Expatriate, Holly Throsby, Teenager. Airbourne, Mellow Gold Rolling Thunder Revue, The Ride, and Mellow Gold Rolling Thunder Revue + DJ sets from Funktrust DJ’s Mark Murphy and Sean Candy aka AB.