Tag: year in review

As we prepare to say goodbye to 2023, I’m taking one last look back on the year that was. And for the first time in a long while, I’m doing it with some satisfaction. It’s the first year I’ve seen enough shows to create a top 10 since the COVID-19 pandemic struck. Of course that makes choosing my favourites a bit more difficult, but that’s a great problem to have. And of course there was, as always, plenty of incredible Australian albums soundtracking my year. Here’s what filled my heart in 2023. Have I missed any of your favourites? Let me know your 2023 highlights in the comments:

Top 10 Albums/EPs of 2023
1. Yasmin – Malaika Mfalme
2. AND ALL I LOVED, I LOVED ALONE – Clinton Kane
3. Rivers Run Dry – Ian Moss
4. Last Of Your Kind – The VANNS
5. Here They Come – Eliza Hull
6. Roller Coaster – Checkerboard Lounge
7. Revision for Regrowth – JK-47
8. Between Tonight & Tomorrow – Matt Joe Gow
9. Sunsoli – Sunsoli
10. Professional Misconduct – The Screaming Jets

Top 10 Concerts of 2023

1. Dermot Kennedy (The Doss House)
2. Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness
3. Carly Rae Jepsen
4. Darren Criss
5. Dermot Kennedy (Opera House)
6. LANY
7. Billy Ocean
8. Ben Lee
9. Katie Noonan
10. Richard Marx

Photo credit: Charles Haynes @ Flickr

What a year it’s been. I’ve written these end of year reviews since Sounds of Oz began, but they’ve never come together quite like this one.

Normally I look back with fondness on the gigs I saw, struggling to limit my choices to a top 10. This year sadly after so many cancellations and postponements, I can’t even name 10 shows I saw. Rest assured, the ones I caught were all worthy of their place.

The albums and EPs I choose always have a special place in my heart, but they have been my lifeline this year. I won’t pretend I’ve spent 2020 on an even keel, but I hate to think how unhinged I’d have felt without them.

This time last year I was getting ready to head to a local restaurant for a big disco party. This year I’m driving to Newcastle for a much more low-key celebration with my parents. I wish I could feel more optimistic that saying goodbye to 2020 will bring us all more joy. I guess we’ll just have to take it as it comes. But for now, I’m ready to let the bubbly flow and close this chapter. Who’s with me?

Top 10 Aussie Albums/EPs

1. Epiphonetics – Shayne Cook
2. Liberosis – Yorke
3. Home – Ben Witkowski
4. Nyaaringu – Miiesha
5. Once More – Lachlan Edwards
6. Everything – Camp 8
7. Running with the Wolves – Azure Ryder
8. Rome – Josh Pyke
9. Stevie & The Sleepers – Stevie & The Sleepers
10. Cover My Eyes – Little Quirks

Top 6 Aussie Tours

1. Fire Fight Australia
2. Cold Chisel
3. Conchita Wurst/Trevor Ashley
4. Red Hot Summer
5. Thirsty Merc
6. Greg Gould

Image source: Bennilover @ Flickr

It’s about time to put on our party clothes and celebrate the end of another wonderful year. Before we do, I thought it was looking back on the one that was, all the amazing Aussie music we heard and the great shows we saw. Here are my top 10s. Were these the acts that made your 2019 brighter, or did someone else excite your ears? I’d love to hear your views on 2019 in the comments!

Top 10 Aussie Albums/EPs

1. Through the Walls – The Vanns
2. Roar Like the Ocean – Esimorp
3. Now I’m Ready to Start – Sinclaire
4. Drinking Alone – Jack Runaway
5. Free Time – Ruel
6. 10 Steps to Cynical Thinking – The Barren Spinsters
7. Lonely Leaves – PLTS
8. Hold Yourself Together – Asha Jefferies
9. Building Blocks – THIA.
10. Why Don’t You Just – Bec Stevens

Top 10 Aussie Tours

1. LANY
2. Rob Thomas
3. The Eagles
4. Allen Stone
5. John Mayer
6. Tim Minchin
7. Phil Collins
8. Jack Jones
9. Megan Hilty
10. David Campbell

Image source: Rob & Jules @ Flickr

It’s that time again folks, time to look back on the year that was before ringing in the new one. I glanced back over my similar entry for 2013 and realised that 2014 has been pretty kind to me. No deaths in the family, relatively little drama, just plugging along. I rediscovered roller-skating and discovered that I am capable of doing some home repairs, even if I leave the heavy lifting to my husband and dad.) And of course there was music, my constant in an ever-changing world. Here’s the best of 2013 as I saw it.

Top 10 Aussie Albums/EPs

1. All But the Sun – Winterbourne
2. David Campbell Sings John Bucchino – David Campbell & John Bucchino
3. Demokracy – Citizen Kay
4. Time Has Come – 1200 Techniques
5. Local Football – Sleepy Dreamers
6. First Light – The Twoks
7. Acoustic Anniversary Album – Thirsty Merc
8. Echoes in the Aviary – Jane Tyrell
9. Sucker – Pluto Jonze
10. Understood – Baychimo Kin

Top 10 Aussie Tours

1. John Mayer
2. Tori Amos
3. Melanie Safka
4. Glen Hansard
5. Tim Freedman Does Nilsson
6. Queen & Adam Lambert
7. Day on the Green 100th Anniversary
8. John Farnham and Lionel Richie
9. Josh Pyke
10. Thirsty Merc

What did you love in 2014?

Image source: Rob & Jules @ Flickr

Another year is winding down, and we’re all looking forward to the next one. I’m not making any resolutions, because I figure I’ll have my hands full with house renovations and the concert plans already on the horizon. I’ll do my best to be nice to folks and remember to keep calm in a crisis, but there’ll be no grand promises. But before we break out the bubbles, let’s take a look back at 2013. I bought my house, but really that was one of the few sunny spots for my family. My mum had a hip replacement, my dad had a hernia operation, and we lost my last remaining grandma. But thankfully there was music to get us through. These were the best of 2013 as I saw it.

Top 10 Aussie Albums

1. The Magician’s Daughter – Mama Kin
2. Farewell Fitzroy – Busby Marou
3. Roadtrip Confessions – Buffalo Tales
4. Cold Lights on Curious Minds – Jordan Millar
5. Songbook – Katie Noonan
6. Chapter Seven – Damien Leith
7. In Rico Glaciers – Sons of Rico
8. Wake – David Bridie
9. A Tribute to Ray Charles – Darren Percival
10. Gofer Land – Mark Boulle and the Haba Dudes

Top 10 Aussie Tours
1. Idina Menzel
2. Keith Urban
3. Carole King
4. Counting Crows
5. Tony Hadley
6. Molly Ringwald
7. Jake Shimabukuro
8. Darren Percival
9. Mitchell Anderson
10. Richard Clapton

What did you love in 2013?

Image source: M Hooper @ Flickr