Hamish Watts and Ben Carroll of Applejack Hospitality, the folks behind two of the year’s stand-out small bars - Bondi Hardware and The Botanist - have expanded into the underrated suburb of Neutral Bay with SoCal, tucked away at the top of Young Street right off Military Road.

Andrew Wade brings us this gallery featuring the explosive METZ supported by hometown heroes DZ Deathrays and The Mercy Beat at The Rev in Brisbane. Enjoy, at your own risk:

Songs That Made Me brings together four of Australia's finest female singer/songwriters in the one show. The concept was created by Katie Noonan with Abby Dobson, Angie Hart and Martha Marlow. The setlist contained songs that impacted the four women's lives and stories of their time in some of Australia's most successful bands. Photos by Johnny Au

Celebrating the 10th anniversary of his Feeler album, Pete Murray is set to embark on a special run of shows in the New Year, bringing the album to life for Australian crowds. Murray tells the AU about the record, having it sent to Abbey Road and more!

Kicking off his Australian tour tomorrow in Melbourne, the sound of cameras was fierce as Jon Bon Jovi entered the Crown Casino and held a press conference to celebrate the seven date stadium tour. He remarked a simple "Hey Folks" as he and the band stood for photos and answered questions from Australia's media. There are also hugs and... threesomes? Some of the highlights from the conference are below with photos and audio from the full event.

I walk into The Gov's beer garden for an interview with Lance Ferguson ahead of The Bamboos' show in Adelaide tonight. He's restringing his guitar while his bandmates and crew are chilling out in the Friday afternoon sun, but promises he won't be much longer ("Once you start, you can't stop."). "Ah, you're my natural enemy," he jokes when he discovers my Samoan heritage (a Tongan himself, you can Google the history) and before long, we're chatting about the last time the band played Adelaide, for WOMAD earlier in 2013.

the AU review presents Martha Marlow, currently on tour with the "Songs That Made Me" concert series, performing the tracks "Train" and "These Days" exclusively and acoustically on the AU sessions. Both tracks are off her These Days EP, which is available on iTunes now.

Hey Geronimo are out and about in Brisbane touring their latest EP Erring on the Side of Awesome. But I’m not going to take the fall back and call this particular EP "awesome" because Hey Geronimo have earned a more unique adjective for their transparent and fun tunes.

Electronic duo Röyksopp are officially releasing their single "Running to the Sea" on December 16, their first new single since 2011. The track features the vocals of Norwegian artist Susanne Sundfør, who has also collaborated with M83.

Jimblah's video for his track "Fireproof" has just been dropped, the second single from this year's album Phoenix. The album is available now through Elefant Traks.

Eight years before, Kanna experienced a tragic loss in her teen years which left her heart shattered and confused before she was old enough to truly understand love. Now in her twenties, she is making her way through life in her film company and enjoys hanging out with her co-worker at the local bar. One night, they are enjoying a meal when a drunken Akazawa tries to hit on the two ladies. Her co-worker claims Kanna always attracts the weirdos but is surprised when most of the attention goes to her.

the AU review talks to one of Sydney's finest emerging electronic artists, Kilter, ahead of his appearance at Stereosonic. We talk about how he turns his music into a live experience, what we can expect from his 2014 EP, his dislike of the term "EDM", how Flume has helped open to the door for artists like himself on an international level and much, much more.

Don’t lose heart,
Listen, even in sorrow,
Do not give in to sighs.

(An excerpt from “Don’t Lose Heart” by Toyo Shibata)

Larry recently caught up with good friend of the AU - and winner of Canada's best beard - Ben Caplan to find out what he's been up to since he was last in Australia for Bluesfest, and to get a taste of what we can expect when returns over New Years, performing with his full band The Casual Smokers for the first time, with stops that include Sydney Festival and Woodford! Read on and then find out how you can win tickets to the tour at the end of the interview!