Thundamentals were here to not just bring the music over the weekend, but support it to, as the hip-hop trio hailing from the Blue Mountains – Tuka, Jeswon and Morgs – brought along Australian hip-hop legends of the future to open the celebrations of their I Love Songs album at The Forum in Melbourne. The…
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Thursday night saw Didirri’s Measurements Tour hit Fremantle, for the first of two shows across in the West. Joining the Melbourne singer-songwriter were fellow Victorian Merpire and Brisbane’s Emerson Snowe. Merpire, tasked with kicking off proceedings, did a good job of warming up an already substantial crowd. It was a wholly stripped back affair with…
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Bootleg Rascal came out firing on Monday night at the Howler, showcasing their newest album Anònimo. Along for the ride were blossoming RnB artist Zac Slater and Alternative pop rock band, The Moving Stills. Beginning with some emotion and passion, Zac Slater opened the evening. The man and his guitar were impassioned and his short…
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Brunswick’s centrepiece venue was happy to host the young, eclectic rising indie dance pop star E^ST on a chilly spring Saturday night. With a steady Spotify presence that has over a million streams on his single “Red Rental Car”, Queensland’s Jack Gray was the first act supporting the headliner. Bringing his new age alternative indie…
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King Princess has been bouncing from strength to strength since releasing her international hit “1950” in February. In anticipation of her debut album, the Brooklyn 19-year-old is in town to give Australian audiences their first sneak peak of what to expect. Drag queen Paris opened the night, dressed in a red sequin gown with large…
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Pop powerhouse Taylor Swift is on her second visit to our fair country having graced our shores as part of her 1989 World Tour three years ago, flaunting a larger than life stadium show that somehow entertains and inspires without completely losing those moments of intimacy and connection Swift fans treasure. Swift wisely showcases a…
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Let me tell you a little story of megaphones, neon masks and confetti. Once upon a time, in a town called Berlin, people started dropping into a cosy little underground bar in the middle of Kreuzberg. The vibe is relaxed and the small crowd of mostly young hipsters is lounging on steps or on chairs…
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It was always going to be a special night in Melbourne as Gang Of Youths returned to the city to grace the stage of the Forum Theatre for the opening night of their long string of tour dates across the country. The band, just returning from the US opening for the Foo Fighters, were happy…
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Much like how actors and actresses have trouble getting out of a typecast roles, musicians are often unable to get out from under the music of their previous bands. This is especially true for artists who have been involved in massive bands, bands say for example, like Powderfinger. Yet, Darren Middleton is one artist who…
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It was only a week or so ago that their latest album Rue was released, and already the pillar of modern Australian punk that is Hellions have hit the road, playing three intimate album release shows along the East Coast this last week. Melbourne was a major stop on the tour, and the packed out band room…
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The Bronx swept into Sydney’s Metro Theatre last night as part of their current Australian tour, which sees them playing in intimate venues across the country. Melbourne’s High Tension are a welcome addition to any show. Playing songs from their new album Purge, the post-hardcore band showed a deeper, heavier more metallic sound. Though they…
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I am about 98.98% sure that we almost made Tom Lanyon cry. From the moment Ceres walked onto the stage for their Viv in the Front Seat tour and launched into their first song, the entire crowd was singing along to every word. The Howler was packed to the brim, there are definitive bruises forming…
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The third stop on a month long tour of the US see California’s Sir Sly and New York’s Joywave fill out Warsaw in Brooklyn. Both regulars of the US touring circuit and members of the Coachella club, Warsaw seems like quite the exclusive venue to catch these guys, nobody was complaining though. They could have…
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It was a big night for any music loving Melbournian on Saturday as Trophy Eyes completed their national tour for the release of their The American Dream album. The band, who have been in the middle of a genre shift over the course of the past couple of years seemed to have completed it through…
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A legend across contemporary classical, electronica and experimental music, Ryuichi Sakamoto has had a long an illustrious career. Spanning a number of collaborations, it’s his sixteen year partnership with German composer Alva Noto that has stuck, garnering five albums, along with the soundtrack to the movie The Revenant. A largely improvised affair, the duo meshed sparse…
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On a Thursday night at 7:45, the almost century-old venue in Kreuzberg, Berlin, starts filling up. Some laid back rock tunes play in the background as I watch an audience pour into Huxley’s that could not be any more diverse. Ten-year-old kids with their parents mingle amongst hipsters in their late 20s, and a couple…
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Melbourne’s favourite gritty garage rocker’s The Pretty Littles are back and providing the goods with an epic show, an epic line-up and a bloody good album to go along with it. The Corner Hotel crowd was churning for opening night and the bloke beside me chimed in to let everyone know that “The Pretty Littles…
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Fresh from a touring in the UK, Melbourne’s Olympia hit Fremantle, and the West Coast, on Thursday kicking off a run of shows around the country. Joining Olympia on the night were locals Noah Dillon and Felicity Groom. Noah Dillon kicked off the evening strongly. Backed by a the standard trio of drums, bass and…
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I’ve been looking forward to Kesha‘s Rainbow Tour ever since it was announced, and from the moment the stage lit up with Kesha making one hell of an entrance through an alien spaceship, there was absolutely no doubt that this would be an insane night of weird, whacky and wonderful fun. And as if that…
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I’ll be honest. Walking in to a Kesha concert, my expectations were pretty low. However, I can say that this gig was WILD (and I’ve been to Miley Cyrus). Melbourne act Ben Abraham opened the night and although his style is unlike Kesha’s, the crowd fell in love. The singer-songwriter oozed a humble charm that…
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The first iteration of Lost Picnic in Melbourne was greeted by a sunny day throughout Sunday afternoon in Flemington. The festival, cultivated around the idea of a loungey picnic with friends, good music and tasty food, would have been seen as a veritable success as thousands poured through the gates to enjoy the day. The…
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This weekend, I travelled about an hour outside of Los Angeles to San Bernadino, to experience the second year of the festival Cal Jam – an event programmed and run by the Foo Fighters, featuring an eclectic mix of rock bands from around the world, and celebrating the 25 years of the band’s career with…
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Thursday night welcomed the poignant music work of Laykn to the Northcote Social Club, the last stop on his &Pains EP tour down the East Coast of Australia. He was joined by RnB/Hip Hop artist Charlie Threads who pumped the crowd up before Laykn hit the stage. Charlie Threads brought an interesting tone to the…
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The second and final day of the Yours & Owls Festival in Wollongong promised another day of beautiful weather and even better music; with (in my opinion), an even stronger lineup than the preceding day. E^ST opened things up on the main stage, and then rising star Didirri – who has had an amazing 2018…
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The Corner Hotel was fortunate enough to welcome some young talent into its band room at the end of last week; the ceiling suspending multiple fluorescent light tubes giving the atmosphere quite a futuristic twist to the traditional spotlights and strobes. It was all in place for Ruel, the 15-year-old Sydney based singer-songwriter who has…
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The audience surrounded the square stage set-up in the middle of The Tivoli. It’s part of Brisbane Festival’s Tivoli In The Round programme, where fans experienced intimate performances from Australia’s best musicians. However, Gareth Liddiard found it unusual to have eyes on him from all directions, quipping to the crowd, “You’ve got to remind me…
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Upon the coloured light bulbs and mood lighting, the room filled up with an agenda of groovy beats and neo-soul. Allen Stone was in town, playing at the Croxton Bandroom in Melbourne’s sacred north. It would be his only Australian show before hitting the Byron Bay Blues Festival in early 2019. Not being familiar with…
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While it may just be her on stage alias, the brains, vocals and stories behind Jack River is so much more. An entrepreneur, promoter and musician, Holly Rankin brought to life her musical talents and journey as the Sydney leg of her Sugar Mountain album tour made its way to a sold out Metro Theatre….
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Thursday night saw fans of the TV series Nashville descend on Perth’s Astor Theatre for the opening night of Clare Bowen’s Australian tour. Bowen of course, best known for her role as singer-songwriter Scarlett O’Connor on the show. Earlier this year, the show wrapped up after six seasons, leaving Bowen free to complete and release…
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While most of Sydney’s partygoers were heading to Listen Out, I jumped on the train to Wollongong to check out the sold out Yours & Owls two day festival; an annual event which has become among the most anticipated and celebrated in the region. Often being overseas at the same time, it was my first…
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