If it’s cold, Gareth Liddiard’s breath will hang in the air, but the Drones’ frontman’s words will hang far longer.

Liddiard will perform as a solo act, rather than as part of his incomparable band, when he headlines the flagship festival at the Lower Belford festival on April 21.

Liddiard formed the Drones in 1997 and released seven studio albums, the latest – Feelin Kinda Free – just last year.

In 2005 Liddiard’s words cut a penetrating and permanent swathe through Australia’s musical history. The staggering and epic Shark Fin Blues from the band’s second album, Wait Long by the River and the Bodies of Your Enemies Will Float By, struck a nerve. 

In 2009 it was voted the greatest Australian rock song by contemporary musicians.

Grinspoon's Phil Jamieson described Shark Fin Blues as like ''having passionate sex on a boat in rough seas, all rolling and rollicking, missed kisses and missed holes.''

In 2010 Liddiard released his debut solo album, Strange Tourist. It earned him an ARIA nomination – an awards platform he described as a ‘cocaine-filled joke just for wankers’.

The near-spoken word songs, really brutal poetry set to an acoustic guitar, peer in on the smallest gestures in Australian homes before stepping outside to watch the largest actions of cultures and nations. 

It’s critical and, like all good writing, makes the reader wonder about their own place in the world more than the characters – no matter how captivating.

“But you are driving the Jeep Cherokee, And that's good enough for you, You are living among taxpayers, Who welcome brown folks with a moat, Conducting policy with the one free hand, While the other's round their throats,” - Gareth Liddiard The Radicalisation of D

Liddiard joins The Cat Empire’s frontman Felix Riebl, Regurgitator, Tripod, Boo Seeka, The Peep Tempel and Liz Stringer for the three-day festival.  Other artists include the Funk Hunters, Mick Thomas & The Roving Commission, The Meltdown, HITS, Flyying Colours, The Go Set, Irish Mythen, Dave Wells, The Bad Time Boys, The Dashville Progress Society, The Sea Gypsies and Leah Senior. The Gum Ball runs from April 21-23 at Dashville in Lower Belford. Tickets at dashville.com.au.