Live Reviews

Lorde is barely even legal, but her music and live performance speaks volumes for someone so young. Filled with an energy that radiates outwardly you can’t help but be amazed and a little entranced by what you see on stage. Tonight would be first of two shows at the Hordern Pavilion for this New Zealand singer…

Now in its 21st year, T in the Park sits as the most established music festival in Scotland and alongside Glatsonbury, Leeds and Reading as one of the most well known annual music events in the United Kingdom. Its 2014 event – headlined by the likes of Arctic Monkeys, Calvin Harris, Scottish heroes Biffy Clyro,…

One of the many buzz bands making their Australian debut at this year’s Splendour in the Grass festival are New York duo Phantogram, an electronic outfit who made big waves this year with the release of their sophomore album Voices – in fact, we named it among our best albums of 2014 (so far) earlier…

It wasn’t that long ago that Annie Clark – aka St Vincent – was in Australia as part of VIVID Festival, continuing the international celebratory tour for her eponymous fourth solo album. And this week, the run of shows brought her to Quebec in Canada for a special show as part of the Montreal Jazz…

Local singer-songwriter Riley Pearce spent the majority of the first half of this year in America on exchange. Saturday night saw Pearce and his band play their first headlining show since his return to Australia and Perth. Those of you who follow Pearce on Facebook are no doubt already be aware that his time overseas…

When I first heard of River Sessions a couple of months ago, I was positive it must have been a new festival. Even in the regional festival circuits I feel I have a pretty good idea of what’s happening around the country. But lo and behold, River Sessions has not only been running since 2008,…

All Our exes live in Texas. Mandolin, guitar, ukulele, accordion. All girls. All singers. Traditional sort of music. Hotel yorba cover That thing you do I’m not that lonely yet Our love won’t die – beautiful! Tell me you don’t love me anymore – high energy! Powerful stuff. Ends! — The Morrisons six piece Double…

Saturday night saw Fremantle’s Mojos play host to the third and final Little Bastard show of their album launch tour through Western Australia with a large rowdy crowd braving the stormy winter weather for an evening of good times and good music. Kick-starting it all was, the brilliantly named, Aborted Tortoise. It’s pretty safe to…

For anybody who thinks that going to a Keith Urban concert is going to be littered with a country-hoedown-experience, they’re way off the mark. It’s a fast-paced rock ‘n’ roll extravaganza with some notable guest-stars hopping on stage and some fine showmanship from one of the nicest guys in the music business.

Last week, UK buzz quartet The Bohicas (their name, a surprising acronym for “Bend Over, Here It Comes Again) made their maiden voyage to Australia off the back off their debut, self-titled EP and a couple of fantastic singles that came off its back, namely “Swarm” and “XXX” – which were released as an excellent…

It’s been a few weeks since Music Matters Live came to an end in Singapore, and we wanted to take a moment out of our regularly schedule Coldplay madness to look back at the final night of festivities. The mainstage of Music Matters Live in Singapore is the “Fountain Stage”, which takes over the central…

UK superstars Coldplay have returned to Australia for the first time since 2012’s massive Mylo Xyloto stadium tour, this time for a short promotional run following the release of follow-up LP Ghost Stories (out now), the widely acclaimed record that has become known as lead singer Chris Martin’s break-up record. Indeed, it’s a deeply personal…

It’s been a long while since I’ve spent a night in The Basement, but what better way to return to the iconic Sydney venue than with two of the finest Australian musicians around. Kicking off the night was Dan Kelly, performing solo and acoustic; a perfect support for the night’s headliner, The Drones’ Gareth Liddiard….

Perth locals Runner played their second and final launch show for their debut album Cloud Kingdom in the intimate confines of the Astor Lounge on Friday night. Opening the show was the as ever ethereal Rabbit Island, performing as a duo, with Jake Webb on guitar duties alongside Amber Fresh. Whilst there were a few…

Kim Churchill’s national tour made it to Fremantle on Thursday night, with a packed out mid-week show at Mojos, the second of three shows in Western Australia. Impressively and a little surprisingly roughly 80-90% of the crowd were already milling about outside the venue before the doors had even been opened, guaranteeing a great atmosphere…

UK duo Royal Blood have something of a history in Australia. The project seemed to have been formed while lead vocalist and bass guitarist Mike Kerr was living in Brisbane, and started popping up performing with the likes of Tape/Off, DZ and many more Brisbane favourites. It wasn’t until he returned to Brighton and teamed…

It may be the unfortunate truth that when you have a history as long as Gary Numan, many older fans only want to hear the songs they know. Numan’s last visit to Adelaide saw him play his synth pop milestone album The Pleasure Principle in its entirety. While it was a fantastic show, the 2011…

There are few voices in the Australian music scene that are as ethereal, magical and awe-inspiring as that of Kate Miller-Heidke. We are all the more fortunate for her veering down the path of the alternative indie pop scene, than sticking with her classically trained operatic roots. Tonight’s performance is a fairy-tale showcase of how Heidke…

Sporting well-coordinated polo shirts and enthusiastic grins, emerging Vancouver based quartet JPNSGRLS (pronounced “Japanese Girls”) hit the stage at Crazy Elephant in Singapore last week as part of the Music Matters LIVE festival, taking over Clarke Quay. It was easy to understand why they were so excited: a great crowd had gathered, there was a…

In the first of two massive Australian showcases at Music Matters in Singapore (the other being the long running Aussie BBQ), the recent addition to Sounds Australia’s roster of events – Sound Gallery – made its Singaporean debut with four outstanding intimate performances at the Kuro Bar and Restaurant as part of Music Matters last…

Music Matters delegates moved upstairs for the final day of the Music Matters Conference in Singapore. Kicking off the day was a wrap up of one of the popular threads of conversation throughout the week: the growth potential in Asia’s developing markets, a discussion that naturally weighed heavily towards piracy issues in the region. Moderated…

Janice Koh kick started the second day of Music Matters as it moved into the Ritz Carlton ballroom, in front of a packed out room. The Nominated Member of Parliament talked about the actions the Singapore government are taking to work against piracy websites alongside the successes of Singapore bands at events internationally like Canadian…

Morcheeba are one of those bands who claimed their success in the 90’s, making a name for themselves all over Europe. Most folk would remember them from their hit single ‘Rome Wasn’t Built in a Day’ which albeit a sweet tune, does not holistically represent their fusion sound. Blending elements of trip-hop, rock and electronica amongst…

Following on from my overview of Toronto’s CMW for 2014, it’s time to get to the music. We start with one of the bigger shows of the week… New Zealand’s Broods headlining a night at the Drake Underground. Supporting Broods on the night was Tennessee singer/songwriter Meg Myers, on the road promoting her new EP…

We’ve already covered some of the smaller stages at the event, as well as our discoveries, but as for the rest, Bruce Springsteen wasn’t the only highlight among the main stages during the three days I was at the festival. Let’s kick things off with another of the five bands we recommended to catch at…

It’s evident that Michael Buble has a special place in his heart for his Australian fans, as this is where he got his first big break in 2000, just before he almost gave up on music. Thankfully he didn’t, as his popularity and success over the last 14 years has only grown, and with good…

Though our last two articles looked at some of the lesser known acts at Jazz Fest, let’s face it – it’s the headliners that get us through the door at these events. It’s their incredible and anticipated sets that we spend the day holding our breath for, while we enjoy weeks of anticipation in the…

The sun is beginning to set and the excitable predominantly young female crowd is getting antsy. Before the performance begins we get a super brief glimpse of the man of the night arriving onto our floating barge via a super cool speedboat and that sets off the crowd even more.

It’s not often that you come across an artist so unique and different that it’s almost impossible to categorise them. In this intimate setting at one of Sydney’s finest jazz clubs, we’re treated to just that from two intriguing and wonderful performers. One of whom is quite well known to Australian audiences in a different…

Yet another British singer-songwriter whose popularity seems to be growing exponentially, the sold out Enmore Theatre crowd consisted of about 90% British attendees. That would probably explain why this show was sold out, as I don’t think Jake Bugg is as well-known amongst Australian fans that would warrant such a packed room. Regardless those in the crowd…