The festival was first held in 2003 to fulfill a campaign promise by the government to hold a Big Day Out-style youth concert in the territory.
[3] 5000 people attended the Darwin leg, with a further 1500 in Alice Springs, listening to headline acts The Living End, 30 Odd Foot of Grunts, and NoKTuRNL.
[7][8] Radio personality Jackie O had been meant to MC the event, but arrived nine hours late, and stormed off stage after being booed by the crowd and played over by Frenzal Rhomb in an incident that received national media coverage.
[11][12] BASS is a Darwin rite of passage, and in its 18 years has seen some of the country's biggest acts perform to sold-out crowds.
In 2019, the festival moved to a bigger, new seaside location at Mindil Beach (famous for its sunsets) and hasn't looked back since.