The Jam’s original bassist Bruce Foxton is keeping the cult British band’s music alive through his outfit From The Jam. And the band’s making its way Down Under for some big shows this July.
From The Jam features founding member and frontman Russell Hastings, who has played with Bruce since 2006. Mike Randon rounds out the trio who promise to deliver all The Jam’s biggest hits including “Town Called Malice” and “Going Underground.”
Find out why From The Jam routinely perform to sell-out crowds around the world when they hit Australia this winter. Tickets are on sale now.
A rising talent with a voice that belies her years, Laura Frank has knocked it out of the park with her latest single “God Knows I Know.” This uplifting country-pop anthem is the perfect showcase for her honest, compelling vocals. The song’s all about pushing forward, which is exactly what she’ll be doing this year. Laura created “God Knows I Know” with her partner and long-time collaborator Nick Morrissey.
“’God Knows I Know’ came together in a really honest season for us. We’d been touring heavily through regional Australia, living in close quarters, juggling music, family and everything in between,” she said. “The song started as a conversation — the kind you have late at night when you’re tired but thinking clearly. We wrote it simply, just the two of us, chasing the feeling rather than trying to be clever. When we took it into the studio, the goal was to protect that rawness. We built the production around the vocal rather than the other way around. If something felt like it was distracting from the lyric, it went. There wasn’t a big dramatic moment in the making of it — it was steady, intentional and collaborative. Everyone who played on it understood that restraint was important. The process felt grounded. No overthinking, no chasing trends — just serving the song and letting the emotion lead.”
“God Knows I Know” is the first of many Laura Frank singles we’ll hear this year leading up to the release of her new album in October. She’s currently in the middle of a 60-date tour across the country with Tom Curtain. Here are all the remaining dates:
Nothing quite tickles my brain quite like good soul music. Give me emotive vocals and a deep groove and I’m yours. So I’m totally swooning over “You Won’t Call,” the latest track from Eora/Sydney sibling duo LamBros. If you’re into artists like Teddy Swims, Nathan Rateliff, and our own Teskey Brothers, I know you’ll vibe with this one.
“’You Won’t Call’ stemmed from our own experiences being led on and let down by someone important in your life,” explained Connor Lambrou, the duo’s lead vocalist, guitarist, and lyricist. “It comes from that sinking feeling that something is not right with your relationship, be it romantic or friendship. It comes from the internal conflict of loving someone while knowing deep down that they don’t feel the same way. Despite years of dedication, love, and patience, ‘You Won’t Call.’ Despite giving everything to keep this together, ‘You Won’t Call.’ Despite everything we’ve been through, ‘You Won’t Call.’ This is the essence of the song.”
Listening to this track, you know there’s no studio trickery going on behind the scenes. Connor and his brother Harry (drums, percussion, backing vocals) wrote, played all the instruments, produced, mixed, and mastered the track at their home studio. This music is so authentic and organic, so it’s bound to sound just as good live. Experience LamBros. for yourself at one of their upcoming free shows.
“Expect pure, unadulterated live music, and entertainment,” Connor said. “Our shows are an expression of ourselves in the purest way. We give everything on stage, and travel through genres and styles, telling stories and expressing ourselves through our own, and other artists’ music.”
After spending a couple of wonderful weeks in the United States, I think I needed to hear “My Hometown,” the latest single by country starlet Clancy Pye. While my hometown isn’t as small as Clancy’s hometown of Wiradjuri, Gundungurra, and Dharug Country/Oberon, the sentiment about appreciating the simple things and people around you resonates.
“My Hometown is a song that was largely inspired by where I grew up – it’s a town of less than 3,000 people,” Clancy explained. “There are no traffic lights or chain stores. There’s one main road into town, and one main road out. Without a big population, I think it’s so easy for people from bigger towns and cities to overlook rural towns for all that we might be missing. But what we don’t have is made up in spades by the people inside those tight-knit communities who are the lifeblood of every country town.”
“My Hometown” comes from Clancy’s forthcoming debut album Feels Like Home, which she’ll release later this year. Before that, she’ll play a string of shows around the Central West.
Queensland-based Jen Mize shares the lessons he learned from her “loose unit” father in her latest single with her band The Rough N’ Tumble, “Double Talk.” While it’s relatively new, this song’s Americana sound makes it feel like a classic from the first listen.
“My dad, Dan, was a bit of a known entity in Las Vegas in the early eighties,” Jen recalled. “Dad was the kind of guy who would walk up to the toughest fella in the bar, and with no provocation ask him if wanted to step outside just to see who was tougher. He admittedly got his ass handed to him more than once, but that was just who he was. A cowboy (with a way with the ladies) who might have had a few screws loose. How he ended up with my saint of a mom no one has ever understood, but by the time I came along he was turning out to be a pretty great dad. Dad wanted to prepare me for the potholes of the world. So, he warned me off guys like him.
“They say ‘write what you know’, and ‘you don’t have to have a good memory if you never tell a lie’… I really feel like when I’m doing that, lyrics and melodies pour out of me at a furious speed that I can barely keep up with. After writing the verse and chorus of this one, I felt it was time to open it up to the fellas in the band for a possible cowrite so, into the Dropbox folder it went in hopes that someone would bite.”
Someone did bite, her bandmate Jeremy Edwards, who brings the male perspective to life in the second verse.
“Maybe it was the Stones of it all,” Jeremy said. “Maybe it was the killer chorus melody. Maybe I wanted a chance, now as the father of a teenage lad, to lay a few things out clear and straight for my son.”
“Double Talk” comes from Jen Mize & The Rough N’ Tumble’s sophomore album, which they’ll release later this year.
Image used with permission from Bec Gracie Publicity
Shake off those Monday blues and make space for a little me time listening to “Ready,” the gorgeous new single from Naarm/Melbourne-based artist Honey Blue. Combining elements of R&B, jazz, and neo-soul, this is the kind of track that wraps around you and helps every cell in your body feel calmer. It’s easy to get swept away by the sound of the lush production and Honey Blue’s sublime vocals, but make sure you listen to those relatable lyrics too.
“’Ready’ came from a place where staying the same felt heavier than changing,” Honey Blue said. “It’s about choosing growth over comfort, shedding old versions of yourself, letting go of what holds you back, and trusting what comes next.”
Amen to all of that! This is Honey Blue’s first release since she dropped “That Far” in mid-2023, and it sends a clear message to fans that she’s back and ready to start the next chapter. I’ll be listening.
Meeanjin/Brisbane-based Randy Thrill$ has set himself the ambitious goal of releasing a song every month this year. While I was overseas, he dropped his February song, “CHANGING ON ME,” and I’m vibing with it so much that I had to bring it to you now. Its cool fusion of R&B and Afroswing sounds is taking me right back to the Caribbean waters I’ve just left! If you’re determined to enjoy those summer vibes a little longer, I know you’ll love this tune.
“In the song you can tell my love life is kind of all over the place, but I don’t really care. One of these days I’ll find the right girl,” Randy insisted. “I wrote this song with the intention of being a bit vulnerable, but I still just wanted people to dance.”
If you respect incredible songwriting as much as I do, you’ll appreciate the opportunity to see three of Australia’s finest songwriters – Sara Storer, Shane Howard, and Shane Nicholson – for some very special shows later this year. Dubbed the For the Sake of the Song tour, these intimate events will celebrate the craft, power, and legacy of Australian songwriting.
The songs from these three artists will be front and centre, but they’ll also be joined by an all-star band who will help bring their music to life. Expect unforgettable nights of storytelling, musicianship, and authentic songs that speak to the heart of the Australian experience in some of the best and most intimate venues in the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, and Victoria. Tickets are on sale now for these shows:
When an artist goes solo, I appreciate a left turn. Don’t give me more of the kind of music you make with your band. I want to hear something new, out of the box. And you don’t get much more out of the box than the music that Naarm/Melbourne-born creative Flea, best known for his work with Red Hot Chili Peppers, has recorded for his solo album. His forthcoming album Honora features Flea on trumpet and bass making fantastic jazz music. I’m totally digging his version of “Thinkin Bout You,” originally recorded by Frank Ocean.
“Channel Orange! When that record came out, it really blew me away,” Flea enthused. “I listened to it ten million times. It was something I just couldn’t stop listening to. I loved it so much and still do. Just one of those real watershed moment records for me. ‘Thinkin Bout You’ is one of the many great songs on that record, and I thought it would be fun to play on trumpet. Then I went to Nate Wolcott, who plays keyboards on Honora on several tunes. He did that string arrangement for me. He stepped up to the plate and really did something beautiful. I just wanted to get the honest beauty of the melody because it’s a great song.”
Flea will release Honora on March 27 before embarking on a solo tour in May.
7 May 2026 – Thalia Hall, Chicago 9 May 2026 – The Opera House, Toronto 10 May 2026 – Théâtre Beanfield, Montreal 12 May 2026 – Webster Hall, New York 13 May 2026 – Black Cat, Washington, DC 16 May 2026 – The Fonda Theatre, Los Angeles 21 May 2026 – Heimathafen, Berlin 22 May 2026 – Paradiso, Amsterdam 26 May 2026 – Koko, London 28 May 2026 – Alhambra, Paris Photo credit: Gus Van Sant
Mulubinba/Newcastle-based country artist Chloe Gill has wowed me with her latest single “Pushing Punishment.” Her voice is so compelling, I could listen to her sing the phone book. But this empowering and deeply personal track is so much better than that.
“This song feels like me becoming me,” Chloe said. “Growing into my adult self, growing into my personality, being kind to myself and others, listening to my own heart and my own needs, accepting my neurodivergence and my personality and learning about how to pave my own life for how I want to live it and achieve my dreams. Learning to ‘fill my cup’ first or to ‘put my own oxygen mask on first.’ I can’t show up for anyone else until I’ve shown up for me first.”
“Pushing Punishment” comes from Chloe’s debut album I Have a Habit of Dreaming, which she’ll release on March 12. She’ll give us a little time to sit with her songs before touring the album from April. Tickets are on sale now from the links below.
