Pond played to a packed out Carriageworks for Vivid Sydney on a very wet Sydney night and I’m calling it gig of the year 2024! Supported by the excellent Melbourne garage-punk outfit Delivery. With the imminent release of Pond’s 10th studio album Stung! we were treated to new songs “(I’m) Stung”, “Neon River”, “Black Lung”…
Luke Hemmings‘ show in Melbourne on Wednesday, June 12th, marked a significant milestone in his career. This was his first solo performance in Australia, a highly anticipated event for fans of the frontman of the beloved Aussie band 5 Seconds of Summer. The band’s latest album was released in 2022, while Luke’s solo journey began…
‘An Evening With Marlon Williams‘ was simply that, a seated theatre style show with Marlon alone on stage… sometimes acapella with his head covered by a hoodie and lit by dark orange lights, or joyously dancing around the stage with his soaring voice guiding us to another world. An intimate, personal and at times very…
Luke Hemmings has well and truly redefined himself. The Syndey-born musician’s career, who now spends most of his time in Los Angeles, was born out of the successful boyband 5 Seconds of Summer. Though remnants of their adoration were clear at his Melbourne show on Wednesday, with an ample amount of screaming fans – it’s…
In 2004 MF DOOM released Madvillainy and MM..FOOD, often cited as the two best albums of his career, in 238 days. For the years following up until DOOM’s death in late 2020, these two albums and the entirety of his discography have garnered consistent critical acclaim, frequently appearing in year and decade-end lists. Universally accepted…
We’re somehow nearly at the halfway point for the year and we’ve added ten more tracks to our Discovery Playlist on Spotify and Apple Music. This week our Track of the Week is “Calm The Sea” from folk artist Kim Churchill. Fresh from a European tour and following the release of previous single “Hobbies”; “Calm…
San Francisco’s experimental awesome foursome rock band Deerhoof played at the newest and coolest Sydney venue Machine Hall for Vivid Sydney supported by the wonderful Annie Hamilton playing solo. Deerhoof dazzled with their punchy eclectic pop tunes with bassist and lead vocalist Satomi Matsuzaki dancing and kicking her way for what was a delightful fun…
Following the widespread acclaim of her debut solo record Distance in 2020, New Zealand-born, Melbourne-bred, and now Los Angeles-based indie artist Jess Cornelius is set to release her sophomore album CARE/TAKING this Friday through Tender Loving Empire. With a strong 10-song offering, CARE/TAKING continues Cornelius’s style of heavily biographical and vulnerable songwriting, with reflections on…
Upbeat pop songs covering love and politics aren’t usually a natural mix, yet with Brisbane-based producer and vocalist Minn Aung, aka as Aqver, it just feels ever so right, in his latest high-energy bop, “WON’T CHANGE ME”. We’re super excited to be premiering this new track ahead of its release on Friday. “WON’T CHANGE ME”…
Today, Sydney singer/songwriter Abbey Lane has released her debut EP, the fabulous Afterthoughts. Relationships are the central theme of the record, and the highs and lows of letting ourselves be vulnerable through love are artfully captured by the talented songwriter. There are many highlights here. One of my favourites is “Stuck in that moment”, which…
Last Friday, New Zealand/Aotearoa’s Georgia Lines released her stunning debut album, The Rose of Jericho. This record is bound together by stunning vocals and mature, well-crafted songwriting drawn from life experiences. Lush instrumentation, with piano and sparkly synths to the fore, permeates throughout this gem. The album was written over two years in response to…
It’s always a thrill to be showcasing music from bands very much in their infancy, and today we are stoked to be premiering “All Night Long”, the second single for Brisbane duo STAHR. STAHR is an alternative rock band born from the collaboration of folk artist Gracie Lou and alt-rock visionary Sam Syrah. “All Night…
RISING Festival this year, as much as any other year, is well known for its headline acts. The winter festival takes place in the heart of Melbourne city for only two weeks and never fails to deliver a stellar selection of music and arts programming. Good Morning reunited for a special hometown show this time…
Freemantle’s San Cisco are on the tail end of a two-week blast around Europe, touring their fabulous new album, Under The Light. They’ve hit Amsterdam, Berlin, Hamburg and Munich, followed up by a handful of shows in England. I caught them last night in Manchester, and they were on top form. It was a packed…
Despite it being quite a warm day, there were threatening clouds on the horizon at the start of the third day of Porto’s Primavera Sound festival. On the main Porto stage, Best Youth, Portugal’s indie pop band showed that a little rain was not going to dampen their enthusiasm. They played their infectious music and…
On the final date of her North American tour for her latest album – the brilliant Cyan Blue – Canadian R&B artist Charlotte Day Wilson sold out one of Toronto, Canada’s most popular new venues, History. “You know it’s a big night, right?”, Wilson said as she stared out into a crowd full of fans,…
I love my hometown. I know its ins and outs, the traffic to avoid, best food and drink spots and most importantly, it is comfortable, familiar and feels like home. For Middle Kids, their Enmore Theatre show was a triumphant homecoming showcasing the best from their recent album Faith Crisis Pt 1 and their ever…
The second day of Porto’s Primavera Sound Festival was marked by threatening rainclouds overhead. Despite this the rain stayed mostly away and raincoats were not really needed. But the action on stage was what people were there for. The Vodaphone stage was strangely under construction which meant that artists such as Justice did not perform….
Primavera Sound Porto celebrates ten years of music festivals with an amazing lineup. Created in Barcelona, the Porto, Portugal leg is held in the Parque da Cidade, a large park right on Porto’s shore. With four stages and numerous pop-up installations, there’s plenty to keep everyone entertained. The atmospheric pop and futuristic Portugese R&B artist,…
As we step further into June, we’ve added ten more tracks to our Discovery Playlist on Spotify and Apple Music. Our Track of the Week is “24 Hours in Paris” and comes from Naarm-based pop-trio Blusher. The track is lush and dreamy electro-pop, infused with a hint of melancholy. The band shares the background to…
With so many dancefloor anthems already under her belt, it’s hard to believe that I Hear You is Peggy Gou’s debut album. The South Korean-born singer, producer and DJ has risen to undeniable prominence amongst the house music scene and beyond, with her upcoming festival appearances including Glastonbury and Primavera Sounds. The 10 tracks on…
Swedish singer-songwriter Karin Dreijer under the alias Fever Ray and one half of the electronic music due The Knife dazzled with an impressive set at Sydney Opera House as part of Vivid Live. Pete Dovgan was there to capture the night.
Riding high off the success of single “Espresso’”(which, among other things, has at least corrected people who referred to the beverage as an “Expresso”) Sabrina Carpenter has announced the release of her new LP, Short n’ Sweet, with an August 23rd street date. The pint-sized popstar has put all her nights of working late (‘Cause…
Thom Yorke has chosen some iconic venues for his inaugural solo tour. The frontman for Radiohead will be heading down to Australia in October and November to play shows at the Sydney Opera House and Sidney Myer Music Bowl. He is best known of course for the nine albums of Radiohead, multiple Grammy awards, as a…
Angie McMahon returned to Melbourne in full force for night three of her sold-out Forum takeover. The hometown show was filled with warmth, the crowd holding space for McMahon just as much as she was for them. The trajectory of her 2023 record Light, Dark, Light Again is well known by now, earning her incredible critical…
Melbourne’s very own post-metalcore quintet RUN emerges with their sophomore EP, True Heaviness Is Time, dropping as a surprise release today. This six-track EP builds on the raw energy and emotion of their previous work, blending crushing heaviness with lush melodies. Self-produced by guitarist Lewis Noke-Edwards and mixed by the acclaimed Forrester Savell, the EP…
Last month, indie/alt/rock/psych-pop Le Shiv finally released the fan-favourite “I Remember” to the streaming services. They’ve been playing this sweet slice of rock since their early days, and until now the only place to hear it was at a show. Thankfully that has all changed. This is the first release since their fabulous debut EP,…
Pittsburgh-native Montell Fish touched down in Melbourne on Friday for the VIC leg of his AUS/NZ Intercession Before Charlotte tour. From the get-go, Fish’s performance is rife with emotion and vulnerability – the singer draped in moody strobes and a mask. The costume references his alto-ego dj gummy bear, the moniker he also releases music under. Throughout…
Cold Chisel announced this week a massive 50 year anniversary celebration with The Big Five-0 tour. The undeniable impact “Chisel” have had on the Aussie rock scene in their half century really goes without saying. So what better way to kick of the celebration of the bands legacy than to take it all the way back…
Electric dance wizards Underworld dazzled with visuals and a high energy two sets show that had the punters out of their seats dancing like a rave party from the 90s. Vivid Sydney again delivered an amazing light show, not to be missed. Pete Dovgan was their to capture the moments. Set 1 Low Burn…
