John is a passionate photographer and reviewer, focused on Australia's vibrant music, culture and arts scenes. His vibe is one of infectious enthusiasm. Also enjoys romantic strolls on the beach.
It felt like magic was in the air on the final day of the 2025 Mundi Mundi Bash. The weather had been perfect all week, the music was universally loved. The attendance and money raised for Beyond Blue and the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) was outstanding. A large part of the success of this…
Friday morning opens to a bright sunny day on the Mundi Mundi Plains. Perfect weather for the traditional Mundi Undie Run. One notable feature of the Mundi Mundi festival is the inclusiveness. People with disabilities, families, pets, Indigenous workshops are all celebrated and embraced. Bring out your strange. This year an incredible number of people…
Adelaide based singer My Chérie has matured her songwriting with her latest release, “Dishes in the Sink.” The song is described as “a haunting exploration of relationship friction, emotional cycles, and the longing for peace within complicated bonds.” And does it kick! It builds comfortably within the warmth and tenderness of a relationship that evolves…
This week, a record crowd of some 15,000 music lovers descended onto Belmont Station near Broken Hill in western NSW for the now iconic Mundi Mundi Bash. While the event officially started on Thursday, many took advantage of early-bird entry and were treated to acts such as Chocolate Starfish, The Headliners and the local “Mundi’s…
As part of their ongoing exploration of art and technology, ILA, Australia’s Centre for Immersive Light and Art have enlisted Berlin-based multi-disciplinary art collective flora&faunavisions to create an immersive and interactive experience. The experience, called TIMELIGHT ‘Beyond our ticking world’ allows visitors to interact with a virtual digital canvas to explore themes of time and…
Agatha Christie is a timeless story-teller, weaving intriguing stories about complex characters with dark secrets. With some 66 crime novels, 150 short stories and over 25 plays, she is regarded as the Queen of Crime. Director Robyn Nevin AO has bought And Then There Were None to life with style and humour. The play is set…
The musical offerings at this year’s Illuminate Festival have been nothing short of inspired. From the two night Unsound festival, to the melodic sounds of Faroese-Icelandic duo, Kiasmos, the music has been captivating. The crowd at Friday night’s Hindley St Music Hall are sure to agree. Opening act Juno Mamba is a Filipino born musician…
Grammy nominated composer Cheryl B. Engelhardt and Australian producer-artist GEM have collaborated on an ambient new-age album that takes inspiration from cosmic events such as solar eclipses and super-moons. They discuss working with 3x Grammy winner Producer Lonnie Park, the Dallas String Quartet, pop singer Robin Tucker and GRAMMY-winning vocalist and sound healer Johnaye Kendrick….
Lovers of alternative music look forward to Illuminate Adelaide‘s Unsound weekend as it always brings a wide selection of local and international musical artists. Held over two nights, it started at Lion Arts Centre on Friday and finished at Hindley Street Music Hall before the closing acts performed in the suitably grimy basement of Ancient…
It may be counterintuitive at a sound, light and music festival to disconnect from your phone for a few hours of quiet time, but it really helps reset the mind. The Offline Club as a concept started in the coffee shops of Amsterdam. It has trended (ironically via Instagram) to places such as Dubai, Berlin,…
For the fifth year in a row, Illuminate Festival has opened in Adelaide to shake off the cold winter chills. The opening night of Night Visions in the leafy Botanic Gardens was an ethereal adventure. Illuminate Adelaide Co-founders and Creative Directors Lee Cumberlidge and Rachael Azzopardi have assembled a team of artists including Chris Petridis,…
This year’s Queenscliff Music Festival is shaping up to be an amazing weekend of music in a beautiful cozy seaside town. Just an easy 90-minute drive from Melbourne and 35km from Geelong in Wadawurrung country, Queenscliff is a mecca for those interested in community and arts. The festival is held between 28-30 November and the…
This year’s Beer and BBQ Festival marked ten years of the event, and was the final one in the current format. Organisers have announced that the event will continue on in some form that is still to be decided. With that in mind, there was a mixture of celebration and sadness on the final day…
With the cold wind and rain that hit Adelaide for the King’s Birthday long weekend, it was good that there was plenty of warmth and shelter to be had at the Beer and BBQ Festival. With beer and craft stalls inside and plenty of open fires outside, it was a cosy place to escape the…
With the announcement that this year will be the final Adelaide Beer and BBQ Festival in this format, there was a mixture of celebration and sadness. Despite the wintry weather outside, there were numerous undercover spaces, warmed by copious open wood fires. There were plenty of stallholders, from beer producers to scented candles and all…
The 2025 Mundi Mundi Bash takes place outside Silverton (where Max Max was filmed) from the 21st to the 23rd of August. Unfortunately, if you were after the exclusive “Bound for the Bash” merch to display on your road trip, you’ve just missed that deadline. However, the good news is that there are a handful…
While Homer’s epic of Odysseus leaving his Ithaca home for ten years to fight for Helen’s honour in the Trojan war is well celebrated, what is not so well documented is the story of his devoted wife Penelope who was left behind. Booker Prize-winning author, Margaret Atwood penned the 2005 novella The Penelopiad, which was…
After a five-year hiatus, singer / songwriter Holly Cookie Baker is heading off for an extensive Where Do You Go In the Winter tour, taking in several New Zealand and Australian east coast stops. Raised on a sea-side farm in rural South Australia, she honed her country pop writing skills listening to the waves and the…
Tim Finn has been an adopted Aussie icon since bursting on the scene with Split Enz back in the 1970s. These days he lives a quiet life in Auckland with his wife. He’ll be heading over to our shores in June to play at Adelaide’s Beer and BBQ Festival as well as some other Australian…
Darwin’s Mindil Beach, nestled on the shore of Larrakia country, is known for it’s iconic tropical sunsets and night-time beach markets. It’s also home to the equally iconic BASSINTHEGRASS musical festival that has been a feature in Darwins music scene since 2003. This year was no exception, with the Hilltops Hoods proudly proclaiming that this…
Melbourne jazz-funk quintet Surprise Chef have just released Superb, their fourth album. Ahead of an expansive tour taking in Australia, North America and Europe, we chatted with Lachlan Stuckey, who plays a gritty mean guitar, about what drives him and the band to create the music that they do. Surprise Chef have been together since…
It’s hard to believe that The Offspring have been making punk rock classics for around forty years and are still going strong. Starting the Australian leg of their Supercharged tour at Adelaide’s Entertainment Centre, they had the sold-out crowd bopping and singing like it was their first time. The opening band, Canadian rockers Simple Plan…
Can you believe that Bass in the Grass has been running for 22 years? This year’s edition at Darwin’s Mindil Beach on Saturday 17th May has a packed lineup of cracker Australian artists. The list includes Hilltop Hoods, The Amity Affliction, Meg Mac, The Jungle Giants, 3%, Hot Dub Time Machine, Old Mervs, and so…
Once upon a time, Adelaide had the reputation of shutting shop for the winter. However, for the last five years, Illuminate Adelaide has been drawing people out into Adelaide’s chilly mid-winter streets. With a combination of lights, lasers, fires, interactive displays, music, food and dance, the event (or series of events) is a winner in…
Canadian rock duo, Death From Above 1979 released their debut album, You’re a Woman, I’m a Machine, in 2004 but subsequently broke up in 2006. However, the pair reunited in 2011 and are currently touring the album in Australia. We caught their show at Adelaide’s Governor Hindmarsh Hotel. The Aussie warmup band DZ Deathrays need…
By any measure, Bluesfest 2025 was a resounding success. Last year, there was an announcement that this could be the final year of the North Byron Bay event. However, the community rallied to support it, with over 110,00 people attending this year over four days. By the last day, it was announced that tickets were…
Saturday’s Bluesfest hosted a glorious sunny day for the sold out crowd. Thanks to the overwhelming support of this year’s event, it was announced that Bluesfest will continue into 2026, with specially discounted pre-early bird tickets available for sale at the festival. The overall mood is one of celebration of community, with a couple of…
One thing that you can’t control is the weather. With recent heavy rains in northern NSW, many were worried that this year would be another muddy Bluesfest. However, the weather has been glorious for the last week, including the Easter long weekend. With gravel being laid to ensure no muddy patches, festival goers this year…
This year could possibly be the final Bluesfest, but based on the overwhelming support for the Byron Bay festival makes it feel that next year’s event is possible. On opening day, three stages were in operation. Sydney band Velvet Trip opened the Crossroads stage with a psych infused indie rock set that had the crowd…
Anisa Nandaula is in the midst of her first Australian comedy tour entitled You Can’t Say That. She reflects on her journey from Uganda to Rockhampton, where she expected a multicultural paradise, but instead found cows and cultural confusion. We had an opportunity to chat with her and discuss her comedy experience. Hi Anisa. How…
