Still riding the high from their third studio album TOY, which reached number 1 on the ARIA albums chart, Aussie favourites Dear Seattle are thriving right now. Friday night saw them pack out Melbourne’s Croxton Bandroom for the second show of their TOY album tour, with supporting sets from local indie-rock artist Lucky, pop-punk duo…
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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…
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“Lisa, I don’t think you’ve ever sung this as beautiful as just now. It’s like you need to be here. You are a miracle and I love you with all my heart,” says Hans Zimmer as he looks up to Lisa Gerrard, the Australian singer who famously vocalised his score for Ridley Scott’s 2000 classic,…
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Aussie post-hardcore/metalcore legends Behind Crimson Eyes are just a few days away from wrapping up their final tour. But before one last hurrah in hometown Melbourne this weekend, they bid a fond farewell to the River City, tearing up The Brightside with a little help from friends Nervous Light, The Last Martyr, and Patient Sixty-Seven….
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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Melbourne’s beloved Slowly Slowly took to the stage at Margaret Court Arena on Saturday night to deliver a performance that will go down in the band’s history. This show marked a huge milestone for the group- their first ever headliner at an arena, and in their hometown no less. Joining them were Philly boys Greyscale…
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Johnny Rotten described Sex Pistols with Frank Carter as “karaoke” in a fiery pushback against the revival earlier this year. That’s not a good look for the reformed band, with original members Steve Jones, Glen Matlock and Paul Cook now playing alongside the legend-in-his-own-right as Carter sinks into the skin that once fit Rotten like…
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Saturday night saw pop-punk icons Yellowcard play to an almost sold-out Margaret Court Arena, their biggest headline show in Australia. Joining them were Plain White T’s and Motion City Soundtrack– a lineup for the pop-punk ages. Though it’s technically two-years overdue, this tour celebrates the 20th anniversary of their highly regarded 2003 record Ocean Avenue,…
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The beauty of pop music is that it is (or at least should be) lawless, ungoverned by any stringent definition aside from the need to have mass appeal to a wide variety of demographics. It’s not niche. But it rarely sets trends. By definition, it follows them. It’s a viral TikTok dance, a phrasal template,…
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In 2004, actor Zach Braff, best known for fronting the TV sitcom Scrubs, released his debut feature film Garden State to critical acclaim. The film – co-starring Natalie Portman, Peter Sarsgaard, the late great Ian Holm, and many others – was praised for its smart script (penned by Braff), clever editing, endearing performances and an…
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Nelly’s legacy is an interesting one when we’re discussing hip hop’s most successful ambassadors. When the born-and-bred St Louis representer came out with his debut single, “Country Grammar,” in June 2020, the charts responded immediately. This was at a time when Ja Rule figured out trying to sing with that unmistakably croaky voice could earn…
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You’ve got to hand it to Alexisonfire and Underoath. With Cyclone Alfred postponing and cancelling gigs across Brisbane a few weekends ago, it would have been very easy for them to skip the city altogether, wrap up the tour, and head home. Instead, they switched out one night at Riverstage for two at the Fortitude…
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PJ Harvey knows exactly how much each of her songs weigh. The soft, flittering folky genius of numbers like “Lwonesome Tonight” and “Autumn Term” paint a wistful walk in Dorset’s woodlands with Harvey’s newfound penchant for world-building so achingly tender and lightweight. 2023’s I Inside the Old Year Dying cracked open the spectral ballads that…
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Looking through someone’s record collection can be a great way to get a sense of their musical influences. But a guided tour provides deeper insights still. And while David Harrington’s Listening Party is surprisingly light on tunes, it provides enough context to function as a mini autobiography of the rule-breaking violinist and founder of Kronos…
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The Boys In The Better Land are back in Australia and they’re better than ever. Back in the country supporting their Romance album, Fontaines D.C lit up a sold out Sydney Opera House Forecourt, treating fans old and young to a career spanning set. Now four albums deep and touring their universally acclaimed most recent…
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If you have read just about any review of a JPEGMAFIA show, you’ll see that everyone uses the word ‘raw’ to describe the experience. I would know; I’ve used it every time I’ve reviewed his shows. It’s used because, at every show of his, you’ll find Peggy on stage alone – no crew hype man…
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Well, this is pleasantly familiar. Anyone who has seen Nils Frahm live before would be used to witnessing complete and utter ambient perfection. If you want to know if I enjoyed his latest sojourn down to Sydney Opera House, that’s the only sentence you need. Because it’s mighty difficult to describe just how staggering Frahm’s…
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Alt/punk/art rock icon PJ Harvey might’ve looked out of place among the towering gums and native flora of Kings Park’s botanical gardens– not to mention the thousands of picnic blankets and content couples sipping drinks– but Harvey has never wanted to play to type. In fact, the subject of her new tour– her latest album,…
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35 isn’t old, but some days it feels it. And I’d definitely head-banged a little too hard for someone my age the night before at A Day to Remember. Returning to the Fortitude Music Hall for my second show in as many days (something I’m gradually finding I may also be too old for) the…
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The day after a raucous Knotfest Brisbane set, Florida pop-punk/metalcore act A Day to Remember were still in the River City, gearing up for a sideshow at the Fortitude Music Hall. The show would be their only Aussie headline appearance, so it’s no surprise that it sold out quickly, with the line to get in…
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Big names like Bjork and PJ Harvey have headlined at the Perth Festival. They draw you in with a little international renown and spectacle; then they surprise you with their selection of local artists too. But in this metaphor, home-grown Jordan Rakei isn’t the local artist. His five albums, hundreds of millions of listens, and…
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The Kooks arguably became one of the most popular British indie rock bands of the early 2000s with their debut album Inside In / Inside Out. Over the years, they’ve gained a massive following right here in Australia and have since made it home, quickly rescheduling their cancelled shows from last year and coming right…
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A History of Hip Hop lesson that gives more weight to Arrested Development than Big Daddy Kane (possibly the most seminal rapper of all time), Geto Boys (the first to really rap about mental illness and trauma with mainstream impact), or the likes of Queen Latifah, MC Lyte and Mobb Deep. That doesn’t sound very…
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Prinnie Stevens has been part of the Adelaide Fringe for several years, with her successful Lady Sings the Blues tribute to women in music and as one of the 2024 Fringe Ambassadors. For the 2025 season, in her latest cabaret show, Stevens has bought the music of Tina Turner to life. The Woodville Town Hall is…
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Rock legends Green Day kicked off the Aussie leg of their Saviors tour at Marvel Stadium last night, and what a night it was. Celebrating not only the release of their 2024 album Saviors, but also the 30th anniversary of Dookie and the 20th anniversary of American Idiot, with the band playing both revolutionary albums…
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Max Richter is less interested in your Pre-Frontal Cortex as he is in your limbic system, hippocampus and amygdala. The postminimalist piano man is as much a neuroscientist as a musician, taking a scatter shot for the subconscious with dreamy, evocative classical music designed to destroy and rebuild. Max Richter is my most trusted travel…
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