The final day of Byron Bay Bluesfest 2013 starts with Kim Churchill, Newton Faulkner, Current Swell, Allen Stone, Kitty Daisy & Lewis (pictured above) and Zac Brown Band. Photos by Johnny Au

It's not long now till the eighteenth Blue Mountains Music Festival kicks off in the middle of March. Heralded as a weekend of 'diverse musical discovery' and loved by music lovers for its beautiful and inspiring atmosphere this year promises no different. The line-up includes the breathtaking Gurrumul Yunupingu, Kate Miller-Heidke, Arlo Guthrie, Luka Bloom, Joseph Tawadros Trio, Zoe Keating, Natalie Haas and Kim Churchill amongst many, many more.

The Melbourne Zoo is about to get wild in a whole other way, with the announcement of their 2013 Twilight Zoo Program, with tickets available now. Kicking off on January 25 with ARIA Award winner Missy Higgins, the Zoo Twilight Program, sees the zoo put on a live music event every Friday and Saturday night through until March 9th.

Photo gallery of The Beards supported by The Snowdroppers and Kim Churchill at The Metro.

Pictured: The Beards.

In this issue: Paramore announce their only headlining show in Australia, Django Django announce three falls sideshows, Bluesfest announce their first line up of sideshows around Australia, and more!

Paramore announce only headline show in Australia

Paramore are no strangers to touring Australia. Whenever they announce a show here, it sells out almost instantly. This time will be no different.

One man 'swampy rock stompin' blues' explosion Claude Hay is happy to announce the release of his third record, I Hate Love You and an accompanying national tour! The album is a fitting follow up to Hay's critically acclaimed sophomore record, Deep Fried Satisfied, the sounds demonstrating a more variable outing and a harder edge than Hay's fans would have seen previously.

We can guarantee that you've probably heard at least one of the various 'end of the world' prophecies scheduled to be fulfilled by the end of this year; you've got the Mayans, Nostradamus, not to mention the plethora of prophecies raging through the internet. Here's one you probably haven't heard of though, as of 21st December, the world will have ended for the beardless.

Last week saw Kim Churchill's national tour roll into Western Australia, with a selection of dates, including Saturday night’s show at Fremantle’s Norfolk Basement. The venue’s intimate nature providing perhaps the perfect setting to see the evenings two acts at work.

In one of the most candid interviews, a flu-ridden and raspy-sounding Kim Churchill spoke to our editor, Larry Heath, about the new album, new single, touring, his connection with Canada, surfing, the weather and much, much more!

How many shows have you done? Three shows?

Yeah, done three shows now.

You’ve got nothing tomorrow?

Thank fuck!

So, you’re done, for now.

Yeah.

Do you get to hang around tomorrow as well?

More belated summer weather brought Byron Bay to life for the second day of Bluesfest, and you couldn’t help being drawn to the sunshine vibes of Queensland’s Bobby Alu, especially as his trademark percussion breaks lured more hip-shakers to the dancefloor.