Live Review: Air light up the Sydney Opera House with a gleeful set celebrating Twentyears

After 20 years, Air have become something of legends – making a space like the Sydney Opera House the natural fit for their suave style of electronica. And now in their first visit in nine years, their last being for the great V Festival (RIP), Air have finally returned to the iconic venue for two exclusive shows as part of Sydney’s…

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Live Review: Sampha + PAULi – The Forum, Melbourne (29.05.17)

What do you get when you mix a beautiful voice, with a beautiful venue and a beautiful band? One hell of a beautiful night! UK Artist Sampha achieved just that, bringing his soulful goodness to The Forum in Melbourne last night, delivering an unforgettable performance. Opening the night was PAULi with his soulful tones and…

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Music Video of the Day: Citizen Kay “These Kicks” (2017)

Citizen Kay returns with a new music video, this time for “These Kicks” – directed by Elder and shot in Sydney, the video’s narrative follows a homeless man with an endlessly positive outlook. As Citizen Kay describes, the video’s concept ties in with the song’s central themes of ‘faking it til you make it’. “I’ve been beginning…

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Get a taste of WA’s finest with this exclusive SOTA Festival playlist

The 2017 SOTA Festival is celebrating everything great about WA music on June 5th, with a huge free event coming to Elizabeth Quay on June 5th, from 12pm. Headlined by Karnivool and Drapht, the epic live music event also features performances from the likes of Tired Lion, Gyroscope, Abbe May and Katy Steele – a great array of artists, both emerging and established, all set to…

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Red Deer Festival’s ‘Space Mission’ for 2017 brings two beloved Australian artists back into orbit

This year’s Red Deer Festival returns to Brisbane this October for another surefire blinder of a BYO weekender while also providing a platform for some great emerging, and greatly-missed, Aussie talent to do their thing on this ‘Space Oddity’. Sure, the theme of Red Deer this year may be shooting for the stars but bear in mind,…

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Single of the Day: Didirri “Blind You” (2017)

The now Melbourne based Didirri has released his new single “Blind You”, today, and it’s another striking release from the artist who has had us charmed for a little while now. His songwriting boasts earnestness and a certain uninhibited nature that draws the listener in – with Didirri’s music, you’ll be wanting to know more. At…

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Sarah Blasko talks touring solo and the development of her new album

One of Australia’s best known and celebrated singer-songwriters, Sarah Blasko is touring around Australia, but this tour is special because she’s playing completely solo at all of her shows. We caught up with Sarah to find out why she’s decided to play solo now, and get the insider information about her new album. I saw…

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Comedian Damian Callinan’s live show The Merger green lit for film adaptation

A classic comedy film with added heart is about to hit the silver screen. Screen Australia and Create NSW have announced production investment funding for The Merger, about a country football coach who hatches an unorthodox plan to rebuild the local football team by recruiting recently settled asylum seekers. The film is based on Melbourne comedian Damian…

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The CheckPoint Kickstarter only needs another 4K to hit their goal

The Kickstarter for  CheckPoint, an Australian webseries that intends to use video games as a way to spotlight mental health issues and the people who live with them, is nearing its goal of $55,000 AUD. With just under $4000 AUD remaining and three days left on the clock, Dr. Jennifer Hazel and the CheckPoint team are…

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Australian Box Office Report: Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales sails to top spot

The fifth film in the Pirates franchise lived up to expectations, earning $5.88m at the box office in its opening weekend and shooting straight to no. 1.  Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales  is also the best performing opening for a film since Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2 opening at the beginning of May with $8.61m….

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The Champ Is Here: John Cena Set To Tour Australia in World Exclusive Event

WWE Superstar, rapper and film star John Cena is set to tour Australia’s east coast in July for a series of world exclusive evenings, where he’ll be discussing his life and career. Fans will be able to hear Cena’s untold story in his own words, from his childhood aspirations to his eventual rise in the professional wrestling…

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Jeremy Renner and Elizabeth Olsen hunt a murderer in first trailer for Wind River

Over the last couple of years, screenwriter Taylor Sheridan has quickly established himself as one of the most exciting voices in cinema. His debut screenplay Sicario brought critical reverence with the harrowing cartel drama, for many, considered one of the best films of 2015. Only to go one better the following year with the immense…

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Tech Review: JBL Charge 3 Portable Speaker (JBL, 2017) is a noisy, robustly-designed speaker for noisy, robust people

The number of bluetooth speakers on electronics store shelves today sits somewhere between Too Many and Possibly Infinite, and the audio and build quality of each varies just as wildly. As a result, when genuinely good speakers do appear, they tend to stand out. Of these speakers that sound great — your Bose’s, your B&O’s,…

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VIVID Ideas Review: The Rise of the Cat Memes Empire with Buzzfeed’s Jonah Peretti

The first fifteen minutes of the live discussion saw Jonah Peretti, CEO of Buzzfeed, probed by Leigh Sales, anchorwoman of ABC’s 7.30, Dr Phil-style. This was Vivid Ideas’ first Game-Changer talk for 2017, and quoting Peretti, following questions on where he was born, what his childhood was like and which teachers supported him the most,…

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Jamie Morton of My Dad Wrote a Porno talks celebrity fans, maritime disasters and “Rocky’s Lost Chapter”

What would you do if your father told you he’d written an erotic novel?  Would you cover your ears and ask him to never speak of it again?  Or would you invite some friends around for a reading, and record it for the world to hear… Jamie Morton chose the latter, and so the podcast…

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This new Circular Quay bar is dedicated to using only Australian produce (Sydney)

Sydney now has a bar which exclusively stocks only Australian beverages and produce, nodding heavily to this country’s abundance with a strong dedication to keeping it local. Three Bottle Man is the name, and it’s opened as part of the lush Sydney Harbour Marriott down in Circular Quay and the property’s $15 million transformation, offering…

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A big Tasmanian food and wine festival is coming to Sydney and Melbourne this August

A huge showcase of Tasmania’s famed produce will once again hop on over to the mainland when Vin Diemen returns later this year. The traveling food and wine festival will bring a very comprehensive platform for Tasmania’s finest producers to both Sydney and Melbourne, celebrating the event’s third year with an extended lineup. Some of…

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Paddington’s iconic Lord Dudley Hotel has opened a new restaurant (Sydney)

One of Sydney’s most beloved and charming pubs, The Lord Dudley, has introduced The Garden, a new restaurant headed by chef Paul Medcalf. Opening after years of planning, the new addition to the quaint family-run English-style pub is committed to maintaining the strong reputation for food which has seen The Lord Dudley become a destination…

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A sensory Fifty Shades Darker dinner is being held at Bar Machiavelli this weekend (Sydney)

Universal Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is teaming up with Sydney’s theatrical Italian hotspot Bar Machiavelli for a one-night-only event, designed to create a unique dining experience based on Fifty Shades Darker. Inspired by the film’s erotic themes, patrons will have the chance to dine like Anastasia and Christian Grey in a six-course degustation based on…

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New Music You Have to Listen to This Week (29th May 2017)

Kick off a brand new week with some of our favourite cuts from the likes of SAINt JHN, Night Drive, Mikhael Paskalev and Overcoats! If you missed out on what our writers and editors were loving in terms new music last week, simply hit ‘play’ on our playlist below for a refresher course in some awesome cuts of pop,…

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Single of the Day: Merpire “Holding Breath” (2017)

Winning the Telstra Road to Discovery in 2015 gave Sydney songwriter Merpire a great platform to launch her music from and since then,she ha become a live performer in demand and a songwriting talent to be reckoned with. Most recently heading into the studio with Andy Bull, Merpire has released a new single in “Holding Breath”. The tune…

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Welcome To Kings Cross kicks off Vivid 2017 with spectacular celebration of Sydney nightlife

Returning for its second year to kick off Vivid Sydney, Kings Cross Hotel was transformed on Saturday into the 6-floor, multi-genre extravaganza known as the ‘Welcome To Kings Cross’ party. Curated by Adam Lewis,  for whom the event was a dedication to the diversity and vibrance of Sydney’s nightlife, the lineup featured party favourites including…

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Sia enlists incredible all-female lineup to support her first Australian tour in five years

It’s come as no surprise that when Sia announced her return to Australia yesterday, the tour announcement was nothing short of huge. For her first shows back in the country in over five years, the Adelaide native has plotted out her debut Australian stadium run for the east coast this November & December (as well as adding…

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Live Review: The Ocean Party + Golden Syrup – The Tote, Melbourne (26.05.17)

Playing to an adoring crowd, Golden Syrup and The Ocean Party served up a delightful Friday night filled with seductive sounds at The Tote in Collingwood on May 26th. The cosy, old band room upstairs played the perfect host, creating a laid back atmosphere that complimented the local Melbourne artists. Kicking off the night was…

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A two-night festival of improvised and experimental music is coming to Carriageworks

Biannual experimental music festival Open Frame: Room40 will return to Sydney’s iconic Carriageworks this year, set for two nights at the end of June with a line up curated by composer and artist Lawrence English. Eclecticism is the main aim here, highlighting various electronic, experimental, improvised and conceptual performances from world-class musicians who make a…

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Live Review: Northeast Party House + Mosquito Coast – Factory Theatre, Sydney (26.05.17)

When was the last time you had a bad time listening to a party band play party tunes? This is actually a trick question and the answer for you and anyone else is and forever will be ‘never’. That’s right, you never have a bad time listening to a party band. And if Northeast Party…

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Music Video of the Day: The Smith Street Band “Shine” (2017)

If you’ve been living under a rock, you may have missed the fact that The Smith Street Band are killing it at the moment. The four piece from Footscray are right smack bang in the middle of their Australian tour for their latest album, More Scared of You Than You Are of Me, which is arguably one of the…

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Album Review: Hachiku – Self-Titled (2017 EP)

Hachiku’s upcoming self-titled EP is dreamy. That sounds like a disingenuous, relatively vague description of the fuzzy beats and twinkly melodies, but Hachiku – otherwise known as Anika Ostendorf – has these deft, light vocals, sung in a clipped, wide-eyed accent are just that – dreamy. It’s an early summer, soft-lights-and-cool-water kind of sound, and…

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Video Games Preview: The Elder Scrolls Online: Morrowind Feels Like A Worthy Next Chapter

Last week, I was given the opportunity to journey into the newest expansion for The Elder Scrolls Online, and explore the island of Vvardenfell, the gorgeous Vivec City and the surrounding mountains. For those who follow The Iris on Twitter or Instagram, you may be aware of the beautiful trip a number of Australian games…

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Win a double pass to see Edward Scissorhands at In The House in Sydney

Credited as his most personal film, Tim Burton tells a gothic fairytale about the ultimate outsider: a half-finished artificial man with scissors for hands. Stars Johnny Depp, Winona Rider, Diane Wiest, Alan Arkin and the great Vincent Price in his final feature role. Edward Scissorhands is the final film in this season of In The…

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