Author: Larry Heath

The third annual Grulke Prize has been awarded in three categories to some of the showcasing artists taking part in SXSW this year. The special accolade, created in honour of the late Brent Grulke, who was the Creative Director of the SXSW Music Festival, recognises artists from both the US and abroad who have shown…

Our friends at Willow Wood put on a special showcase last night to help bring SXSW to an end, taking over Bethell Hall at St David’s Church with a group of artists who took full advantage of the venue to deliver an evening full of special performances. First up was Howard, a self described “folktronica”…

For the 8th consecutive year, Rachael Ray’s Feedback Party took over Stubb’s BBQ for the final afternoon of SXSW, seeing a mix of bands from around the world play across three stages, while four Rachael Ray recipes (which you can see HERE), were enjoyed by the masses (you have to try the tacos!) – some…

We had the privilege of capturing Canadian artist Frog Eyes (Carey Mercer) performing a brand new track “Rejoinders in a Storm” as part of our SXSW AU Sessions series last week. Filmed in Austin, Texas at the Buffalo Nickel on 19th March 2015, you can watch the video exclusively here: Find out more about this…

The Aussie BBQ returned to Brush Park on Friday, taking over the East and West sides of the venue to bring a day full of incredible Australian acts. Sosefina already brought you the full live review, but now here are some photo highlights from the day. First up, we start with the BBQ itself, supplied…

For the last four days, the Pandora Discovery Den at SXSW has been taking audiences through the world of music, starting with Electronic, moving through Hip Hop, Americana and closing the week out with a day dedicated to Rock. Performing through the final day were artists like Big Data – who earlier in the day…

Nestled in what we can only assume was the ground level of a car park on the west side of Austin’s downtown, UK electronic outfit Hot Chip tonight played the third and final night of the Samsung Milk Music Lounge as part of the 2015 SXSW Music Festival, following on from sets by Australia’s Iggy…

Following on from the venue’s opening day with an electronic curation, Thursday marked the day Pandora dedicated their SXSW venue to hip hop, with iconic artist Wyclef Jean closing out the stage. As part of his epic 90 minute set, Wyclef took the audience on a musical (and somewhat educational) trip down memory lane, not…

The Iris is proud to support the In The House series at Event Cinemas on George Street in Sydney – helping bring classic films back to the big screen. This week, Little Shop of Horrors was screened, and the trivia question was: Before Steve Martin featured as The Dentist in Little Shop of Horrors, what other on…

Image captured at Austin City Limits 2013 by Larry Heath As SXSW approaches – taking over Austin, Texas for some 10 days with music, film, interactive and video game components – we wanted to take a moment to address the fact that this isn’t the only festival that brings droves of people to Texas. And…

Wednesday at SXSW marked the first of four days of the Pandora Discovery Den, an annual party held at The Gatsby on 6th Street – featuring a mix of well established and up-and-coming artists from around the world. Australia’s own Peking Duk helped kick off the celebration with a day focused on electronic music. Closing…

Highlighting influential women may be the focus of Neiman Marcus’ “Make Some Noise” activation at SXSW this week, but it was New York duo The Knocks who had the privilege of helping kick the three day event off in style yesterday. The duo were joined, however, by Liz Nisitico, who fronts the ever-growing-in-popularity electro-pop duo…

Anticipating her performance at this month’s AU session taking place March 31, the AU review caught up with Rowen who is hot on the heels of a new EP. We talk about learning instruments, musical influences and the future. Further information about the performance below. How old were you when you started writing your own…

Earlier today at SXSW in Austin, Texas, the new USA Network series Mr. Robot premiered its pilot episode to a packed out Vimeo Theatre crowd. The series, a psychological thriller which closely follows the life of a computer hacker as he gets in deep in a world of corporate espionage, was followed by a Q&A…

After five days of talks, events and parties (…lots of parties), the Interactive portion of SXSW came to an end tonight with a massive party at Austin’s iconic Stubb’s BBQ outdoor amphitheater, presented by Media Temple. The drinks and BBQ flowed as Z-Trip, Ludacris and TV on the Radio performed in front of some two…

The Iris’ Larry Heath caught up with Will Ferrell, star of the new film Get Hard, at the film’s premiere at SXSW in Austin, Texas. It was the actor’s first time at SXSW, “it’s wild to see it unfold,” he said. He spoke about the film, whether he’d be ready for jail after being a part…

This morning at the SXSW Film Festival in Austin, Texas, a packed out Paramount Theatre enjoyed the World Premiere of the new music documentary Mavis!, telling the story of the legendary Mavis Staples. Making her feature length documentary debut with the film was Director Jessica Edwards, who joined Mavis and other members of the crew…

The Iris’ Larry Heath caught up with Ryan Gosling on the red carpet at the North American Premiere of his Directorial Debut Lost River last night. We asked Ryan about assembling a team of familiar faces for the project; people he’s worked with before – from Australia’s own Ben Mendelsohn to composer Johnny Jewel –…

Ahead of its US release on June 5th, the new action-comedy Spy had a special unofficial world premiere at SXSW tonight, with actors Melissa McCarthy, Jason Statham, Rose Byrne and Bobby Cannavale joining writer/director Paul Feig to show off the film to the Austin, Texas crowd. The room was filled with laughter from start to…

Earlier tonight, the upcoming Action-Comedy Spy, reuniting Melissa McCarthy and Australia’s Rose Byrne with Bridesmaids director Paul Feig, premiered at SXSW Film Festival in Austin, Texas. We were lucky enough to be on the red carpet at the screening, and briefly caught up with star Melissa McCarthy to talk about being an action star in…

For those who’ve never made the trip to Austin for SXSW, our best advice is to go with the flow; follow the crowds, take chances, give yourselves the ability to stumble across bands you’ve never heard of, in locations you don’t expect. It’s the best way to discover something new. But it doesn’t hurt to…

For those who’ve never made the trip to Austin for SXSW, our best advice is to go with the flow. Follow the crowds, take chances, give yourselves the ability to stumble across bands you’ve never heard of, in locations you don’t expect. It’s the best way to discover something new. But it doesn’t hurt to…

This morning at the SXSW Film Festival in Austin, Texas, a packed out Paramount Theatre enjoyed the World Premiere of the new music documentary Mavis!, telling the story of the legendary Mavis Staples. Making her feature length documentary debut with the film was Director Jessica Edwards, who joined Mavis and other members of the crew…

The annual celebration that is Spotify House returned to SXSW today, for the start of no less SIX days of live music, free food, free drinks and something called “SoulCycle”, which seems to include live music and a bunch of exercise bikes… you may have to head along to find out for yourself, should you…

A surprise appearance from Eva Mendes and a wedding proposal helped make for a memorable Q&A at the SXSW Film Festival tonight following the North American Premiere of Ryan Gosling’s film Lost River. Following a disappointing response to actor Ryan Gosling’s directorial debut at Cannes last year, it proved to resonate better with American audiences…

This week, we’re excited to present a special playlist from bassist and vocalist Tyler Richardson of Tasmanian rockers Luca Brasi, who are currently on tour around Australia celebrating the release of their Loose Threads 7″ EP. He has chosen five of his favourite songs for the special show, plus one of his band’s own. The…

Texas has produced more in its time beyond great BBQ, great football and cowboy lore. We take a look at some of the best pieces of film to be set in the Lone Star State in honour of the breakout hit of 2014 that is Richard Linklater’s Boyhood (filmed in Austin, pictured above); from vampires to NASA, from…

It’s just two days until the SXSW Film Festival kicks off in Austin, Texas – and it’s hard to know where to begin with the absolutely incredible lineup that – as usual – fills its program. Last year, both Boyhood and The Grand Budapest Hotel had premiere screenings at the festival and went on to win a myriad…

the AU review chats to American violinist, dancer, performance artist, and composer Lindsey Stirling about coming back to Australia to promote her album Shatter Me, “I’ve been touring non stop since releasing it” she says. Lindsey also offers her thoughts on the life of a musician “There’s so many other things that go along with…

Luke Escombe‘s latest album Creeper Vine is a vintage-sounding homage to artists like Chuck Berry, Freddie King, and Elvis Presley while traversing the themes of modern-day life. This splice of eras is fresh and unique, emphasizing the singer-songwriter’s innate sense of fun. Touring Australia during March and April, Escombe is ready to rock n roll….