Author: Bruce Baker

Bad Pony have just dropped their album, Forever Up & Coming, and it’s hard to believe that it is their debut long play record. They’ve long been a favourite at the AU, and we have have celebrated their various milestones along the way.. On the path to this release they’ve performed twelve national tours, three…

Marlon Williams brought his My Boy Tour to the Enmore Theatre in Sydney on Wednesday night. Marlon was in fine voice, supported by his band The Yarra Benders. In an era when many performers crank out a dozen songs and disappear, Marlon had a generous 23 songs on his set list, including covers of “Come…

Producer Cadence may hail from Melbourne, but has a very international sound, and he has recently released the classy “Be What I Need” featuring the sublime vocals of Brooke Williams. Cadence gives us some insight into the track: ”Brooke & I wrote ‘Be What I Need’ about that first night out after a breakup, when…

It’s bang on twelve months since Melbourne-based indie rockers Junior Bones released their debut EP, the wonderful Late Night Luxury. They are back with a new tune, the cathartic and very danceable “The Fallout In You”, and we are thrilled to be premiering it ahead of its release on Friday. The song was written after…

The Gum Ball festival is an absolute gem of an event and will be held amongst the eucalypts at Dashville at Lower Belford, over the last weekend of the April school holidays, 21-23rd April 2023. The final round of announcements has been made with the legendary Baby Animals being added to the bill. Featuring Suzi…

It’s fair to say that MAY-A has had a massive last few months. She opened for 5 Seconds of Summer on their Australian headline tour in November / December and performed at the Falls Festivals and Lost Paradise. She has just returned from Europe where she opened for Wallows on their UK and European tour. And…

Twilight at Taronga kicked off at Taronga Zoo on Friday night with Melbourne’s The Living End and Sydney’s Dead Witch performing to a sold out crowd. There were a few drops of rain threatening proceedings, but thankfully it didn’t last long. Dead Witch were first up and their psych rock won them many new fans….

Yorke brought her 10 feet tall EP tour to Sydney on Thursday night, headlining at The Lansdowne in Chippendale.  It was the first time I’d seen her perform live since 2019, and it was exciting to see the progression for the talented singer/songwriter. All five tracks from the EP were played, and many patrons already…

Nashville is famous for being the home of some of the finest musicians on the planet. Some are filthy rich and famous (Hi Keith!), and there are others who are perhaps not quite as famous (or rich!), but have led a full life and are highly revered amongst their contemporaries. One of these troubadours is…

girl in red (Marie Ulven) is currently in Australia for the Laneway Festival. She managed to squeeze in two side shows along the way, one in Melbourne and the other was in Sydney. We were lucky enough to be at the Sydney show. Betty Taylor opened the show. It was one of those gigs where…

Meanjin (Brisbane) based vocalist Hannah Macklin is back with “Stars”, her first release of 2023. The track is a heavenly slice of neo-soul, with a passing nod to jazz amidst a restrained sonic palate. The instrumentation is predominantly acoustic which allows Hannah’s soaring voice to shine. With strings in the mix, it has a lushness…

On Sunday, Sydney had its first Laneway Festival since 2020 at its new home in the Sydney Showground. The new surrounds may lack in atmosphere, but the proximity of the four stages to each other was welcome, and with three of them being indoors, on a warm summers day, this was much appreciated. The bill…

Yorkshire quartet Yard Act are in the country at the moment for the Laneway Festival, and have managed to sneak in a few sideshows along the way. We’ve been massive fans at the AU since their debut album The Overload dropped early last year. They turned up the heat in the Oxford Art Factory last…

If you need to get dancing again after the rigours of January then have we got just the track for you. Today we have the premiere of “Rockstar” from Melbourne-based producer Arty Ziff. The track features the dreamy vocals of alt-pop artist, Lemonade Baby.  “Rockstar” follows on from their previous release “ByeByeBaby” that featured Jade Alice….

WOMADelaide is just around the corner, kicking off in Adelaide on the 10th of March. As well as an incredible lineup of musicians and dancers, a key feature of the festival is the Planet Talks program. Planet Talks is a forum that runs over three days, featuring some of the brightest thinkers exploring the issues…

Seymour Nights in association with Sydney Festival has produced an outstanding series of free concerts this January at the Seymour Centre in Chippendale. Last night it was Elana Stone and Butternut Sweetheart who graced the stage. The weather nearly got the better of proceedings, with a downpour curtailing Butternut Sweetheart’s set.  The advantage of an…

The international tours are back and there are some incredible acts touring Australia in February. We’ve picked five of our favourites bands and artists  that are performing. Ed Sheeran Hundreds of thousands of tickets have been sold to Ed Sheeran’s upcoming stadium + – = ÷ x Tour – (pronounced ‘The Mathematics Tour’). It’s going to be…

Aussie-raised and London-based Thomas Headon has been gaining a legion of fans since he released his debut single “Grace” in 2019. His first two EP’s amassed over 40 million streams, and his 440+k TikTok followers are kept amused with his prodigious output. Last year Thomas embarked on a tour in the US with his good…

Marlon Williams will be bringing his My Boy tour to the East Coast of Australia next month, and has today announced that Isabella Manfredi will be joining him on all dates. This is a stellar addition to what was already promising to be a very special night. Isabella is well known from being the lead…

We’ve got the set times for Laneway Festival 2023, and some important lineup changes. Joining the bill is Windang’s favourite sons, Hockey Dad  – you will be able to catch them at the Brisbane and Sydney editions. Also, the fabulous Julia Jacklin has been added to Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney. Unfortunately Baltimore’s Turnstile won’t be…

We’re thrilled that the first slice of new music to be served up by the AU for 2023 is from newcomers Turpentine Babycino. The Mulubinba/Newcastle-based indie-punk rockers launched their debut track late in 2022 with the awesome gritty and catchy “Write A Song Sounds Shit”. Today we have the premiere of “Calamity”, an emotive salve…

The new year’s festivals have come and gone, and the next mighty explosion of music is the 2023 Laneway Festival. We’ve done the hard work for you, and assembled a list of all the sideshows. Many have sold out, but there are still a handful of shows with a few tickets left. Amongst the artists…

Magdalena Bay brought their Falls sideshow to Sydney last night, headlining at the Oxford Art Factory. Playing the hits from their highly acclaimed 2021 LP Mercurial World, the adoring crowd was vocal and in great voice. girli was in support, and with many in the audience knowing the words to many of her songs as well, it…

Lost Paradise festival returned to the beautiful Glenworth Valley in NSW on the 28th December for four days of music, dancing and all round good times. It was a young and friendly crowd, who were lured by the combination of great bands, cracking DJ’s and an epic location to see in the new year. Being…

Lovers of electro-pop are going to crush on “Down To Earth”, the most recent release from Melbourne DJ and songstress NUSSY. It’s packed to the gills with dance-floor vibes, her warm textured vocals bubbling along, shimmering and floating. The production is sleek and tight – add this to your end of year party playlist. About the…

2022 is the thirty-year anniversary of the opening of the Sydney Jewish Museum. The tagline for the museum is ‘Where History Has a Voice’, and this mission statement is perfectly encapsulated within their new exhibition, Reverberations: A future for memory. With the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI), visitors to the exhibition can experience an intimacy…

Sydney’s Charlie Gradon is a gifted songwriter and musician, and has recently released the razor-sharp “Black & White”. The end of a relationship is witnessed with laser precision and evocative nuances. The track follows on from “Turbulence”, which was a collaboration with Huck Hastings back in July. “Black & White” is packed with acute observations…

ARIA Award-winning, multi-platinum-selling singer-songwriter Conrad Sewell recently announced that his second album, PRECIOUS will be released on the 3rd March, 2023. It’s one to look forward to, from an artist who has garnered over one billion streams for hits such as “Healing Hands”, “Remind Me”, “Hold Me Up” and his ARIA-winning single “Start Again”. Since he broke through…

Indie-rockers Bad Pony are back with “Hand Me Down”, their first single since 2020, and the lead track from their forthcoming debut album, Forever Up & Coming. We are thrilled today to be premiering a live video of the track. The band has reconfigured into a four-piece, after their cherished guitarist Cron van Niekerk moved…

Australian singer-songwriter Tiali creates beautifully emotive and alluring indie rock. Earlier this month she dropped “Icicles” a track that takes us from a gentle melancholy into a rampant furnace and back again. With warm smoky vocals and grungy guitars, it’s a track that showcases the rare talents of Tiali. “Icicles” is totally addictive, and follows…