For some amazing Australian music in one of the most beautiful parts of the world, look no further than the Wildwood Music Festival, which is hitting Port Macquarie this October.
Now in its third year, this boutique festival boasts an exciting line-up featuring Blue King Brown, Montaigne, Claude Hay, The Lyrical, Mar Haze, and heaps more. The musical acts will be complemented by market stalls and children’s activities.
“Last year we knew we had reached new heights with the festival which has traditionally been attended by local folks. It’s been so well received we decided to ramp it up a notch and encourage like-minded festival people from Brisbane to Sydney to come,” explained Simon Leigh, the man behind Wildwood.
“At the conclusion of last year’s event, the whole forest filled with fireflies as punters were leaving the venue and adults and kids alike were covered from head to toe illuminated in their sparkling aurora. It was truly a magical ending to a really special day.”
Wildwood Music Festival is at Cassegrains Winery in Port Macquarie on October 2. Tickets are available from the LiveTix website.
The Amity Affliction will make its long-awaited return to regional Australia in early 2017. Gympie’s biggest metalcore act hasn’t toured regional centres since early 2015, but they’ll make up for it with this 13-date jaunt to celebrate the release of their fifth album This Could Be Heartbreak.
This Could Be Heartbreak shot to number one on the iTunes chart on its release. It’s been hailed their “personal-best album” by Kerrang! and scored them the cover of this month’s Rolling Stone.
Make sure you arrive early to catch the stellar supports, Hellions and Ocean Grove. These shows will likely sell out, so make sure you get your tickets soon.
2 January 2017 – HQ, Adelaide
18 January 2017 – The Jack, Cairns
19 January 2017 – Dalrymple Hotel, Townsville
20 January 2017 – Civic Centre, Gympie
21 January 2017 – Lake Kawana, Sunshine Coast
22 January 2017 – Gold Coast Convention Centre, Gold Coast
25 January 2017 – Ex Servos, Coffs Harbour
26 January 2017 – Bar On The Hill, Newcastle
27 January 2017 – Waves, Wollongong
28 January 2017 – ANU Bar, Canberra
2 February 2017 – Chelsea Heights Hotel, Frankston
3 February 2017 – The Arena, Geelong
4 February 2017 – Hobart Uni, Hobart
Image used with permission from Warner Music Australia
Dance music fans are in for a treat this November when the Mystery Mark festival makes its debut in Sydney.
Joel Fletcher, Yolanda Be Cool, Bombs Away, Uberjak’d, SCNDL, and Brooke Evers are among the big names scheduled to take the stage.
Mystery Mark hits the Sydney Showground on November 19. It’s a 15+ event, but there’ll be licensed facilities for the adults in the crowds. VIP and early bird tickets are available now from the Mystery Mark website.
Quirky doesn’t even begin to cover “Kimchi,” the groovy new single from Fremantle’s Formidable Vegetable Sound System. Both entertaining and informative, the song will make you want to get up and dance and make your own fermented Korean cabbage. Thankfully the lyrics tell you how!
“It’s basically a recipe of how to make it yourself so that everyone can experience how awesome it is!” frontman Charlie Mgee explains. “The food-ninja challenge is getting past the smell, but once you’ve achieved that, everlasting deliciousness is your reward!”
“Kimchi” is just a taste of the ecological electro-swing you’ll find on Formidable Vegetable Sound System’s debut album Grow Do It, which drops on September 2. The band will promote the album with a tour around the country. In keeping with their sustainable philosophy, they won’t be clocking up any frequent flyer points. Instead they’ll travel around the country in their beloved van Norbit, which runs on used fish and chips shop oil sourced from fast food joints around the country.
Charlie promises “The shows will be full of the world’s maddest chicken impersonations, hyperactive trombones, trumpets and violins, songs about dirt, eating weeds, recycling and lots of crazy dancing (on and off stage!)” If you want in, make sure you get to one of the following gigs. All shows are all ages events.
2 September 2016 – Daylesford Town Hall, Daylesford
3 September 2016 – Theatre Royal, Castlemaine
9 September 2016 – Camelot, Marrickville
10 September 2016 – Canberra Musicians Club, Canberra
11 September 2016 – The Spotted Mallard, Brunswick
17 September 2016 – Mt Gambier City Hall, Mt Gambier
18 September 2016 – The Governor Hindmarsh, Adelaide
21 September 2016 – Hannans Club, Kalgoorlie
2 October 2016 – Permafest @ Swan Valley Adventure Centre, Perth
After a late night glued to the discus finals and with a cold that’s lingering, I’m struggling to get moving even more than usual this Hump Day. Koi Child’s latest single “Touch Em” is just what I needed to get my butt into gear.
“Touch Em” is a magnificent fireball of brassy energy that showcases the unique funky sound of this Western Australian quartet. Its laidback vid was filmed in Koi Child’s hometown of Fremantle at the legendary Mojos Bar and surrounds.
“Touch Em” comes from Koi Child’s self-titled debut album, which is in stores now. The band will play “Touch Em” and other album tracks on their Aussie tour which kicks off in Mandurah this week.
19 August 2016 – ‘Hooch’ Players Bar, Mandurah
20 & 21 August 2016 – Mojos Bar, Fremantle
26 August 2016 – Volumes Festival @ Oxford Art Factory, Sydney
27 August 2016 – Howler, Melbourne
With her debut album The Ocean of Everything set for release later this month, Melbourne songstress Phia has given us another teaser of what’s to come with the release of the poppy new single “Open/Closed.”
Pop is a bit of a dirty word on the modern musical landscape, but this song is a world away from the manufactured music that gave the genre that bad reputation. “Open/Closed” is everything good music should be, catchy as hell with real charm. I also love the music video which Phia shot in the Australian outback.
The Ocean of Everything drops on August 26. Phia will support its worldwide release with some shows abroad. Hopefully it’s not too long before she treats local fans to some dates too!
19 August 2016 – Artlake Festival, Lichterfeld
25 August 2016 – The Gladstone, Brighton
27 August 2016 – The George Tavern, London
28 August 2016 – Hagglers Corner, Sheffield
30 August 2016 – The New Adelphi, Hull
13 September 2016 – Blue Shell, Cologne
14 September 2016 – Objekt 5, Halle
15 September 2016 – Gruene Zitadella, Magdeburg
16 September 2016 – Privatclub, Berlin
20 September 2016 – Ostpol, Dresden
22 September 2016 – Noch Besser Leben, Leipzig
23 September 2016 – Forty One, Saalfeld
24 September 2016 –Wandertheater Festival, Radebeul
With Tash Sultana preparing to play a slew of shows overseas and here at home, it seemed the perfect time to make sure you all knew about this exciting local talent.
This Melbourne singer-songwriter was a triple j Unearthed featured artist and her online content has racked up millions of streams and views. That content includes this video for Tash’s most recent single “Notion,” recorded in her bedroom.
It takes serious talent to make a bedroom session sound this good! There seems to be plenty of global interest in Tash, as she’s just signed deals with Paradigm/Windish Agency in North America and Free Trade Agency in UK/Europe.
If you’re in Australia or living abroad, here are the places you can catch this dynamic performer in the coming months.
19-21 August 2016 – Townsville Cultural Festival, Townsville
12 September 2016 – Badehaus, Berlin
14 September 2016 – Birthdays, London
15 September 2016 – The Borderline, London
17 September 2016 – 7 Layers Festival, Amsterdam
18 September 2016 – Rotown, Rotterdam
22 September 2016 – The Northern, Byron Bay
23 September 2016 – Woolly Mammoth, Brisbane
24 September 2016 – Listen Out, Melbourne
25 September 2016 – Listen Out, Perth
28, 29, & 30 September 2016 – The Corner Hotel, Melbourne
1 October 2016 – Listen Out, Sydney
2 October 2016 – Listen Out, Brisbane
6 October 2016 – Mojos, Fremantle
7 October 2016 – Settlers Tavern, Margaret River
13 October 2016 – Baha’s Tacos, Rye
14 October 2016 – Torquay Hotel, Torquay
15 October 2016 – Uni Bar, Adelaide
18, 19, & 20 October 2016 – Newtown Social Club, Sydney
22 October 2016 – Swagger Music Festival, Bright
27 October 2016 – Sooki Lounge, Belgrave
4 November 2016 – The Homestead, Hobart
11 November 2016 – Kings Arms, Auckland
17-20 November 2016 – Mullum Music Festival, Mullumbimby
25 November 2016 – The Palais, St Kilda (with The Temper Trap)
26 November 2016 – Rochford Wines, Yarra Valley (Day on the Green with Garbage, The Temper Trap, The Preatures, & Adalita)
27 November 2016 – Leconfield Wines, Yarra Valley (Day on the Green with Garbage, The Temper Trap, The Preatures, & Adalita)
30 November 2016 – Enmore Theatre, Newtown (with The Temper Trap)
1 December 2016 – WIN Sports and Entertainment Centre, Wollongong (with Garbage and The Temper Trap)
2 December 2016 – The Solbar, Maroochydore
3 December 2016 – Bimbadgen Estate, Hunter Valley (Day on the Green with Garbage, The Temper Trap, The Preatures, & Adalita)
4 December 2016 – Sirromet Wines, Mt Cotton (Day on the Green with Garbage, The Temper Trap, The Preatures, & Adalita)
10 December 2016 – The Pleasure Garden, Melbourne
Corey Harris is one of the great unsung talents of the blues genre. He doesn’t have the global profile of a BB King or a Buddy Guy, two of the many artists he’s toured with, but he deserves it. Something tells me he doesn’t mind his lack of superstar status. The unassuming performer can quietly go about what he does, creating music which blends blues with soul, rock, reggae, and more.
Corey Harris hasn’t been to Australia in 16 years, but in a couple of weeks he’ll be back playing shows for local audiences. If you want an indication of what you’ll see at the show, check out this video which features performances from the North Sea Jazz Festival in April.
Here are all the places you can catch Corey playing while he’s in Oz.
19 August 2016 – Caravan Music Club, Melbourne
20 August 2016 – Harvester Moon Café, Bellarine
21 August 2016 – Lizotte’s, Newcastle
23 August 2016 – Brass Monkey, Cronulla
24 August 2016 – Harmonie-German Club, Canberra
25 August 2016 – The Basement, Sydney
26-28 August 2016 – Gympie Muster, Gympie
I think Montaigne is one of the most exciting acts to emerge from Australia in recent times. I must admit, some of her singles haven’t been to my tastes. But true artists don’t just create songs that please everyone all of the time. They push the boundaries and dare to be different. When her songs have connected with me, I’ve fallen head over heels. That’s the case with Montaigne’s latest single, “Because I Love You.”
It’s as catchy as any pop song, but under its upbeat tune there’s the dark postmortem of a relationship gone wrong. And Montaigne’s voice, always on point, is shown off to full effect here.
“Because I Love You” is the latest cut from Montaigne’s debut album Glorious Heights. She’s hitting the road next month to bring its songs to fans around Australia.
13 September 2016 – The Spiegeltent @ Brisbane Festival, Brisbane (ALL AGES)
16 September 2016 – Carnival of Flowers, Toowoomba (ALL AGES)
23 September 2016 – Fat Controller, Adelaide
24 September 2016 – Jack Rabbit Slims, Perth
1 October 2016 – Beyond Festival, Canberra (ALL AGES)
2 October 2016 – Wildwood Festival, Port Macquarie (ALL AGES)
3 October 2016 – Caloundra Music Festival, Caloundra (ALL AGES)
7 October 2016 – Uni Bar, Wollongong
8 October 2016 – Oxford Art Factory, Sydney
9 October 2016 – Lizotte’s, Newcastle (ALL AGES)
14 October 2016 – Workers Club, Geelong
15 October 2016 – Corner Hotel, Melbourne
Dead Letter Circus’ national tour is fast approaching, and tickets are still available. If you’ve been on the fence about catching them this time around, it’s worth noting the band will donate one dollar from every ticket sold to Sea Shepherd.
This money will help fund fuelling vessels for South Sea missions, feed the Sea Shepherd crew, and raise awareness about the importance of ocean conservation. If you’re passionate about the cause, you’ll also have the opportunity to match Dead Letter Circus’ donation when you purchase your ticket.
“It never ceases to amaze me the level of support Sea Shepherd receives from caring, compassionate people like Dead Letter Circus,” said Jeff Hansen, Sea Shepherd’s managing director. “Without this selfless support, our ships would remain idle at dock and not be able to defend our oceans. Sea Shepherd is delighted to have the support and on board partnership of Dead Letter Circus with a dollar from each ticket sold going straight to our fuel tanks, plus stalls at all their gigs that we encourage all to get along and see.”
And let’s not forget that your ticket also buys you a cracking night out. Dead Letter Circus is at the top of its game, with tracks like “The Burning Number” helping to propel the band’s most recent album Aesthesis to number two on the ARIA Charts. Add in Clint Boge, the former lead singer of The Butterfly Effect, appearing everywhere but WA and Melbourne band Rival Fire warming up the crowds every night and it’s an irresistible bill for hard rock fans.
18 August 2016 – The Gov, Adelaide
19 August 2016 – 170 Russell, Melbourne
20 August 2016 – The Metro, Sydney
21 August 2016 – The Cambridge, Newcastle
25 August 2016 – Brunswick Heads Hotel, Brunswick Heads
26 August 2016 – Sol Bar, Sunshine Coast
27 August 2016 – The Triffid, Brisbane
1 September 2016 – Players Bar, Mandurah
2 September 2016 – Settlers Tavern, Margaret River
3 September 2016 – Capitol, Perth
4 September 2016 – Newport Hotel, Fremantle
For some amazing Australian music in one of the most beautiful parts of the world, look no further than the Wildwood Music Festival, which is hitting Port Macquarie this October.
Dance music fans are in for a treat this November when the Mystery Mark festival makes its debut in Sydney.