Author: Larry Heath

Perhaps best known internationally as the ski resort that houses America’s largest independent film festival, Sundance, held annually in the dead of winter, Park City is a year round attraction in the heart of Utah. Located about thirty five minutes from Salt Lake City airport, entering Park City and its historic Main Street feels like…

Though the rain stayed at bay, the crowds weren’t kept away by the clouds nor the cold weather at the annual Reclink Community Cup in Melbourne earlier today, which saw the Rockdogs (“The Musos”) beat the Megahertz (“The Radio Presenters”) in a thrilling fourth quarter, 61 points to a respectable 49. Deborah Conway and She…

We’ve had a week now to sink our teeth into the eighth album from American group Portugal. The Man, an outfit I’ve been listening to now for almost a decade. Their evolution from 2009’s The Satanic Satanist to 2013’s Evil Friends is a remarkable one – seeing the group catapulted from unknowns to one of…

In breaking news 24 years in the making, the legendary Beatles and Wings musician, Paul McCartney, is finally coming back to Australia this December, making up for a cancelled 2002 tour and giving a whole generation of Australians their first chance to hear the iconic songs that have defined the last fifty years and changed…

The annual music conference and festival held in Cronulla, just outside of Sydney, Australian Music Week, has today announced the first 30 showcasing artists confirmed to play at the summit this November. Alongside this, the event has revealed their first group of delegates, a series of new partnerships and a brand new prize sure to excite anyone…

The Sydney Film Festival has come to a close for another year – and with it come all the great memories of the films that surprised us, inspired us and left us wishing the event would never end. Alas, it has – but here are five films we’re taking away with us as the best…

Making his directorial debut, penning the script and holding the starring role, Austrian actor Josef Hader has impressed festivals around the world with the dark comedy Wild Mouse – which has had its Australian premiere this week as part of the Sydney Film Festival. The film stars Hader as Georg, a classical music critic who…

Lazily touted in headlines as “The Hangover for women” by writers who couldn’t possibly find another film to compare it to from the last decade (Bachelorette or Bridesmaids immediately come to mind, both of which were also compared to The Hangover at the time of release – hell, even Bad Moms was!), Rough Night is…

Ahead of its season at St. Kilda’s Map 57 winter garden, we chat with Scott Maidment, the brains behind the wildly successful LIMBO and BLANC de BLANC productions. With both shows now worldwide events, Maidment brings us up to speed on where BLANC de BLANC is at. Firstly, a congratulations on the 600th performance of LIMBO. I’ve had the chance to see…

Today we fly from Oregon on the West Coast of the USA, back towards Australia as we touch down in Honolulu. You can choose to stick around the Hawaiian capital, or continue on to Australia; and for this trip we certainly stuck around Hawaii for a week. But we had to fly there first. Here’s…

Tasmanian group Heart Beach have been spending a lot of time in Canada of late – appearing earlier this year at the iconic Canadian Music Week festival as they toured the country with fellow Tasmanians Quivers (read our interview with Heart Beach during that tour HERE). And now they’re back on the road in the…

The Mummy Director Alex Kurtzman sits down in Australia with The Iris’s Larry Heath to talk about bringing Russell Crowe into the Dark Universe, the responsibility on him to launch the new cinematic series, working with Sofia Boutella, *that* airplane scene and more. Watch our full interview here: The Mummy hits Australian cinemas today, Thursday,…

Just under two weeks ago now, the classic Beatles album Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band – widely acknowledged as one of the best and most important albums of all time – celebrated its 50th Anniversary, with the release of a brand new remixed, repackaged and remastered special edition, produced by the son of the…

In this five part interview series, Rian Dawson and Alex Gaskarth from US rockers All Time Low sit down with the AU review’s Larry Heath to talk about their biggest Australian tour ever – and Alex announces that he’s ready for a name change. Yep, he’s doing a Prince thing. In part two, we talk about…

After 20 years, Air have become something of legends – making a space like the Sydney Opera House the natural fit for their suave style of electronica. And now in their first visit in nine years, their last being for the great V Festival (RIP), Air have finally returned to the iconic venue for two exclusive shows as part of Sydney’s…

Hounds of Love, a genre-bending powerhouse thriller from Australian director Ben Young, has been wowing critics across the globe since its premiere at the Venice Film Festival in 2016. And earlier this month it had its North American premiere at SXSW. Featuring a cast of familiar and new faces, the film tackles deep issues of trauma…

Helping kick off the first weekend of Vivid Ideas today was one of the biggest names to ever grace the event – iconic director Oliver Stone, who spoke with Margaret Pomeranz in front of a sold out crowd at Sydney’s City Recital Hall as part of the event’s “Game-Changers” series that also includes Shepard Farey…

Tonight, Vivid officially kicks off in Sydney with the lighting of the Opera House sails and performances under them – with indie rock stars Fleet Foxes one of the big opening night attractions. Around the city, projections, lights and artworks will give locals and tourists alike the chance to explore Sydney in a new way….

First announced back in December, the first phase of a new strategic cooperation agreement between Virgin Australia and Air Canada has officially launched today, with three routes now providing seamless connections between Australia and Canada, via Los Angeles, while offering Velocity points to Virgin’s frequent flyers. Those routes are on Air Canada’s flights between Los…

The Church frontman Steve Kilbey and All India Radio’s Martin Kennedy have been releasing music under the guise Kilbey Kennedy since 2009, and today the prolific pair have released album number five: Glow and Fade. I caught up with Martin Kennedy to talk about the album, which they are calling their “Magnum Opus”, its cover…

As we arrived in the iconic, well coloured sails for the opening night of Vivid, the excitement for the return of Seattle outfit Fleet Foxes, who were helping opening the festival, was palpable. A screen sat at the back of the stage, and a note (presumably) from the band told us they missed us (“welcome to…

In cinemas today, Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Men Tell No Tales is the fifth film in the hugely successful series, and the first to be filmed here in Australia. Joining the cast – alongside fellow Australians like Geoffrey Rush – was rising star Brenton Thwaites, who plays Will Turner’s son Henry in the film….

Across two continents, over the last two months, I’ve caught up with Tom Ogden, lead singer of UK rising superstars Blossoms. We first sat down at Coachella, where they played an early set, and spoke again while they were touring Europe in their own headline shows, fresh from touring the USA with  Two Door Cinema…

Our friends at PBS 106.7 FM are holding their annual Radio Festival right now, driving subscriptions to one of Melbourne – and Australia’s – finest community radio stations. Entirely non-for-profit, PBS relies on subscribers to champion local and underrepresented music across Melbourne and Australia and so they’re festival drive is one of the most important…

In today’s flight review, we travel on board Hawaiian Airlines’ overnight service from Sydney, Australia to Honolulu, USA – one of only two overnight services on offer between Australia and the USA. Last year, the island carrier made good on their long promised upgrades for the Business Class cabin, starting to roll out lie-flat seats across their A330 aircraft…

Sydney trio Middle Kids, who are about to tour Australia with none other than Ryan Adams, are set to return to North America in July, announcing a massive headline tour in September that accompanies the already announced festival dates that litter their calendar through October. The dates follow on from the inclusion on lineups such as…

One film we’re particularly excited about here at The Iris is Wilson, a new comedy staring Woody Harrelson, Laura Dern and Judy Greer which hits select cinemas on Thursday, May 25th. The film chronicles the life of a lonely, neurotic and hilariously honest middle-aged man (Harrelson), as he reunites with his estranged wife and meets…

The In The House series at the Event Cinemas on George Street in Sydney brings back cult classics to the big screen. The next screening is on May 26th and will see John Carpenter and Kurt Russell at it again in the 1981 hit Escape From New York. To accompany the screening, David “Quinny” Quinn from…

You, Me and the Apocalypse was an underrated 10 episode mini-series that debuted on Sky 1 in the UK back in 2015, before making its way to the US the following year. Now, the show seems to be doing the rounds around the world – and having caught the series on some flights recently, I…

Brisbane’s Osaka Punch have spent the last nine years making a name for themselves as one of Australia’s best live acts, bringing together rock, prog, funk and everything in between to make a sound truly their own. Last year they released a seven track EP Death Monster Super Squad to critical acclaim and today we’re…