Between moments of beauty and confusion, Hannah Joy is embracing the unknown.
22–24 August
Arts Centre Melbourne, Hamer Hall BOOK
Friday 31 May 2024
Activist, musician, and visual artist Ya Tseen performs his album ‘Indian Yard’ live at Melbourne Recital Centre.
Ya Tseen is the Indigenous electro-soul moniker of Alaska’s Nicholas Galanin, one of the most vital voices in contemporary art and music today.
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The streets of Melbourne are once again filled with beanies and black puffer jackets, which can only mean one thing: fall has finally fallen. But not to worry – there’s plenty to keep our spirits high.
Æ Middle Kids feature on our cover, discussing beauty, belief and never getting to the bottom of anything. Elsewhere, Sydney’s Sam Fischer talks about his emotional homecoming and eating kebabs on Oxford Street, Ziggy Ramo breaks down the process of writing a book and an album at the same time and The Vaccines chat about nostalgia and honesty ahead of their Brit-rock double-header with Everything Everything.
Plus, The Hold Steady teach us how to craft a set from a 140-song archive, Fat White Family trades ecstasy pills for celery juice, Boo Seeka waxes poetic about life on the road and Peacemongers invite us for an awkward family dinner. And more, of course.
With news of a few of our favourite festivals sitting out this year, we’re more determined than ever to support the local scene we love so much. At bars, in basements, in smokers sections, on dancefloors and on stages…We’ll see you there.
Our magazine is published on the lands of the Bunurong Boon Wurrung and Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung peoples of the Eastern Kulin Nation, and we wish to acknowledge them as Traditional Owners. We pay our respects to their elders, past, present and emerging.
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Our May cover star is Middle Kids photographed by Michelle Grace Hunder.
THE DOLLY PARTON EXPERIENCE with Vanessa and The Jealous Guys DOORS 1PM // SHOW STARTS 2PM
BABE RAINBOW SAT 4 MAY
DOORS 7PM
OPEN
HENRY WAGONS
by WeManage, Cheatin Hearts Records, Spunk Records & Select Music 17/02 // DOORS 6:30PM // SHOW STARTS 8PM
LUCIE THORNE & HAMISH STUART AND MATT WALKER & BEN FRANZ 26/02 // DOORS 6PM // SHOW STARTS 7PM JON CLEARY & THE ABSOLUTE MONSTER GENTLEMEN (UK/US)
• DOORS 6:30PM
OPEN
19 MAY
DOORS 6:30PM
STARTS 8:30PM PARSNIP FRI 7 JUN
OPEN
STARTS 7:30PM THU 16 MAY
STARTS 8PM FRI 17 MAY
DOORS 6:30PM
OPEN
STARTS 8:30PM
STARTS 8:30PM TROPICAL F**K STORM
DOORS 7PM
OPEN
Ç
The Victorian music scene will receive a much-needed boost in the form of two new funding programs: the Live Music Festivals fund and 10,000 Gigs: The Victorian Gig Fund.
Ç FERDYDURKE SAYS FAREWELL AFTER 12 YEARS OF SERVICE
Melbourne’s iconic loft club has closed its doors for good, but it’s not all bad news: the team behind the venue has teased a new venture may be on the horizon.
After a banger debut last year, the winter festival dedicated to art, ideas, sound and technology will be returning from Thursday, August 22 to Saturday, August 31 with the curious theme ‘Look Through The Image’.
Ç HEAVY METAL CATEGORY ADDED TO APRA AWARDS AND NOMINEES
LA-based songwriting prodigy Sarah Aarons leads the 2024 award nominations, with APRA adding a new category for hard rock and heavy metal musicians. Nominations include Parkway Drive, King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, Polaris, Alpha Wolf and The Amity Affliction.
WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? COMES TO MELBOURNE
A critically acclaimed production of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is coming to the Comedy Theatre for a strictly limited season from 29 June.
Ç COUNTRY SUPERSTAR CHRIS STAPLETON IS COMING TO MELBOURNE
The Tennessee Whiskey singer has announced his All-American Roadshow Goes Down Under tour, with a massive date at Rod Laver Arena on February 25.
Ç YUNG GRAVY AND BBNO$ BRING BABY GRAVY TO FESTIVAL HALL
The dynamic duo with multiple platinum releases and billions of streams under their belts are set to bring their latest album, Baby Gravy 3, to Festival Hall on July 20.
A HIDDEN NEW BAR AND MUSIC VENUE HAS OPENED
Melbourne’s newest CBD bar, eatery and live music venue with a jazz focus, Mill Place Merchants, opened last month on Mill Place, just off Flinders Lane.
World-renowned ethologist and environmentalist Dr Jane Goodall will host a special fundraiser screening of her 45-minute documentary Jane Goodall - Reasons For Hope, followed by an intimate Q&A session at IMAX Melbourne on June 3.
- BOO SEEKA SELLING FAST
- CIRITH UNGOL & NIGHT DEMON (USA)
3-31
Ç UB40 ARE COMING TO MCA THIS OCTOBER
The world’s top-selling reggae group UB40 will be celebrating 45 years of chart-topping hits by bringing their Red Red Wine tour across the country with a show at Margaret Court Arena on October 17.
Ç A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM COMES TO MELBOURNE
Presented and reimagined by Bell Shakespeare, the timeless classic will show at Arts Centre Melbourne until May 11.
Ç MELBOURNE RECITAL CENTRE OFFERS AN INTIMATE MIX IN MAY
Expect a varied and extraordinary collection of intimate events at Melbourne Recital Centre in May, from the music of Jane Austen to Charles Maimarosia.
Ç GODFATHER OF UNDERGROUND ROCK BOB MOULD RETURNS
The former Husker Du and Sugar frontman will be heading down under for the first time since 2012 to perform three exclusive dates. Catch him at The Forum on November 28.
Ç MARLON WILLIAMS TO PLAY FIRST SOLO SHOWS IN A DECADE
Hailing from New Zealand, the country folk singer-songwriter is set to bring his mesmerising voice and captivating lyricism to Melbourne Recital Centre on June 20 and 21.
Ç TWENTY ONE PILOTS ANNOUNCE GLOBAL HEADLINING TOUR
The cross-genre duo will bring their distinct brand of dystopian alternative rock to Melbourne this November in support of their upcoming album, Clancy, set to be released mid-May.
Ç WICKED EXTENDED TO RUN UNTIL THE END OF JULY
Recently celebrating 20 years since its Broadway debut, the musical phenomenon inspired by the Wizard of Oz has prolonged its Regent Theatre run due to enormous demand for tickets.
WHISKY, WINE AND FIRE FESTIVAL RETURNS TO CAULFIELD RACECOURSE
Boasting world-class whisky and wine, smokey BBQ, live entertainment and dazzling fire sculptures, this four-day event is the perfect choice for staying warm this winter.
The rising pop punk stars are headed down under this winter to showcase their Life Under The Sun EP. They’ll be playing at Margaret Court Arena on July 5.
The Asian-inspired night market is back for five Wednesday nights only, with a different theme for each session. It’ll wrap up with the Full Moon Festival on May 8.
The breakout hip hop stars best known for their viral hit German will be playing Stay Gold on June 29.
The American indie folk star will be hitting Australian stages for the first time ever, bringing her soulful melodies and introspective lyrics to Margaret Court Arena on July 18.
Dave Gleeson of The Screaming Jets and The Angels, ARIA Hall of Famer, Russell Morris, Southern Sons‘ Jack Jones, and Rai Thistlethwayte of Thirsty Merc/Joe Satriani/ Sammy Hagar fame collide as The Caprettos. They’re playing The Palms on October 17.
The Bristol rock ‘n’ rollers are bringing their fervent energy across Australia next year in support of their new album, TANGK. They’ll be playing at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl on January 21.
After a five-year hiatus, the all-ages single-day festival is back in action. It’s on the hunt for a regional town to host the upcoming event and submissions are open now.
The three-time Grammy-nominated band will be heading out on a national tour in support of their forthcoming studio album Love Heart Cheat Code, kicking off at The Forum on September 17.
More than 4.5 million Victorians who are fully licensed drivers, motorcyclists or heavy vehicle operators will be the first eligible to download digital driver’s licences as part of the state-wide launch this month.
Following the astronomical success of their Mahal EP, the Melbourne-based band is set to bring their enigmatic blend of psychedelia, alternative, new age and jazz across the country, with a stop at 170 Russell on June 28.
The three-day electronic camping festival is now in its permanent Nagambie home and has revealed a prog-heavy lineup featuring Antix, D-Nox & Beckers, Frankey & Sandrino and more.
Over 10 days in May, the festival will bring contemporary theatre, live music, visual arts exhibitions, immersive experiences, installations, workshops and a big polar plunge to the seaside town of Frankston.
Battle of the Bands is coming to one of Melbourne’s best live music venues - the Bergy Bandroom - for a mammoth competition set to showcase the best of Melbourne’s live music scene.
The annual Sleep at the G slumber party returns on May 16, offering an entertaining and thought-provoking affair with live music, DJs, comedy and so much more for a good cause.
Anthony Callea and Tim Campbell join forces with John Foreman and the Australian Pops Orchestra to present a spectacular concert featuring the timeless hits of Elton John and George Michael at Hamer Hall on November 9.
Iconic independent music label Elefant Traks celebrates 25 years and bids farewell with a show at Melbourne Recital Centre featuring The Herd, Hermitude, Horrorshow, Urthboy, Nardean, Joelistics, Jane Tyrrell and more.
The ever-popular Australian band are joining up with the MSO and world-class flamenco artists for a limited performance at Hamer Hall this August.
Byron Bay’s metal titans will soon embark on their most monumental tour yet, accompanied by I Prevail, The Ghost Inside and Void of Vision. They’ll hit Melbourne’s John Cain Arena on September 22.
The Aussie techno favourites are poised to delight crowds at Melbourne’s PICA in Port Melbourne on June 7.
The global reggaeton superstar will be bringing his Que Bueno Volver a Verte (It’s Good To See You) Tour to Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena on September 4.
The busker turned multi-ARIA-award winning artist will be playing at Margaret Court Arena on September 7.
Fresh outta Goatsound Studios recording their debut album, Choof are playing Nighthawks on May 25 with Spew Ballon, Hormagaunt, Good Time Aussie Bogalars and Overthrone.
Grammy-Award winning Musselwhite will be bringing his excellent touring band with him for the tour – Kid Andersen on guitar, June Core on drums and Randy Bermudes on bass. Catch him at Northcote Theatre on September 18.
Ç LAUREN DAIGLE IS ON A STADIUM TOUR IN NOVEMBER
Two-time Grammy winner and multi-platinum selling artist Lauren Daigle will bring The Kaleidoscope Nights Tour to MCA on November 12.
BART WILLOUGHBY
THE 2024 TED ALBERT AWARD
APRA AMCOS has announced No Fixed Address’ trailblazing drummer, songwriter, singer, actor, educator and artist Bart Willoughby as the recipient of the 2024 Ted Albert Award for Outstanding Services to Australian Music.
HYPERPOP GEM
IS PLAYING IN JUNE
San Francisco’s own Underscores is set to dazzle audiences with her debut Australian headline shows, playing the Corner Hotel on June 4.
Ç CANADIAN ALT-ROCKERS MOTHER MOTHER RETURN IN NOVEMBER
Canadian alt-rock powerhouse Mother
Mother is embarking on this tour in celebration of their latest release, Grief Chapter, which has been eagerly awaited by fans worldwide. They’ll be playing Festival Hall on November 21.
A sumptuous audio-visual experience and poly-stylistic song cycle, Rainbow Chan is bringing The Bridal Lament to Arts House until May 19, moving through electroacoustic chorales, propulsive dances and hauntingly beautiful laments across 13 original songs.
Can the Rockdogs finally break the Megahertz streak? The annual charity footy match that sees Melbourne musos go up against public radio personnel is scheduled to take place at Victoria Park on June 16.
Folk darling Jess Ribeiro will be celebrating Summer of Love on the road, stopping at the Brunswick Ballroom on June 28.
The 2024 Comedy Festival winners have been revealed at a special ceremony. This year’s champions include Sarah Keyworth, Noah Szto, Ben Russell and Dougie Baldwin. Aaron Chen took home the People’s Choice award.
The band announced their arrival on the scene in a massive way in 2017 with their EP From The Fires, which won Best Rock Album at the 61st Grammy Awards. They’ll be playing MCA on August 27.
Directed by one of Australia’s most accomplished opera directors Suzanne Chaundy, this new production of Donizetti’s wildly tragic Scottish opera is playing at the Athenaeum Theatre throughout May.
A house-hold name and a bona-fide comedy star, Rob Schneider is well known for his trademark blend of character and comedic acting. He’ll be playing the Athenaeum Theatre on June 6.
“Whilst things are hard and gnarly and bad and dire, it's really important to hold that intention with the beauty of people and the beauty of life.”WORDS BY JULIETTE SALOM
“Honestly, the Forum is probably one of my favourite venues,” Hannah Joy tells me over Zoom, speaking from her home in Sydney.
Æ After the release of their third studio album earlier this year –Faith Crisis Pt 1 – the lead guitarist and vocalist of indie rock darlings Middle Kids is ramping up for two shows at the iconic CBD venue on May 10 and 12, the first having already sold out and the second not far behind.
“They’re the first shows of the tour, as well,” Joy says. “I’m kind of scared.” For a rockstar from one of Australia’s leading indie rock bands to be scared of anything feels, to me, a bit surprising. Since the release of their debut single Edge of Town in 2016, Middle Kids have been working towards the kind of career alt-rock dreams are made of. Consisting of lead vocalist and guitarist Joy, bass guitarist Tim Fitz and drummer Harry Day, the band has filled just under a decade with international tours, charted songs, album awards and sensational music. Surely, that gives Hannah Joy grounds for feeling like a superstar.
But she’s human, too, Joy reminds me, when I point out a line in the radiant rock anthem from Faith Crisis Pt 1, Terrible News. “I don’t know who I am / What I’m supposed to prove,” Joy chants on the track, between declarations of fearlessness. “Does it ever stop?” I ask her, referring to the constant confusion of the self that most creatives – most anyone – can relate to. Joy laughs at my naivety. “You’re like, ‘When do we resolve this?’” she jokes.
The answer is maybe never. “I think there’s definitely parts of myself that I feel much more like, ‘Oh okay, this is kind of my deal,’” Joy says, “but I still think that there are lots of things that I’m very confused by all the time.” You can hear it on Terrible News – the duality of self-assurance, the flipping between asserting that “I’m not scared / so brave” in the opening lines, juxtaposed against the crisis of confidence that rears its head in later verses. And you can hear it on the entirety of the album, these small, sometimes big, sometimes all-consuming, crises of belief—of faith.
While Faith Crisis Pt 1 feels, on the surface, like an album about ideas of belief being challenged and reckoned with, it also feels intrinsically like an exploration of holding onto faith during times of crisis.
“It’s actually still full of a lot of curiosity and hope and joy,” Joy says about the album. “It’s not just doom and gloom crisis, it’s kind of the wrestle with faith and belief.” The ‘part one’ of it all, she says, is almost like a wink or a nod toward the idea of all that’s to come. “We were trying to lighten it up a bit, to almost say that there are gonna be more faith crises. It’s just one of many, probably.”
This is the kind of art Middle Kids are best at making – the kind that shows they take their work seriously without taking themselves too seriously.
The winks, nods and eye rolls work as an attempt to cut through the bullshit of the world they’re surrounded by while sending home the sincerity of their music. This is heard most aptly on the phenomenal Your Side, Forever. “Choirs of voices on my phone / just make me feel alone,” Joy croons before the chorus hits with the plea that “It’s alright, I’m on your side, on your side forever.”
“You go on the internet and everyone just thinks everybody’s shit,” Joy tells me. “And whilst things are hard and gnarly and bad and dire, it’s really important to hold that intention with the beauty of people and the beauty of life.” The world can be shit, things can be hard, Joy says, “But there are very real beautiful, life-giving things happening at the same time.” One of those beautiful, life-giving things has just happened in Joy’s own life, with the recent birth of her second child. While Middle Kids’ music has always been reflective in a way that consults past histories and intertwines memories, there are notedly a plethora of tracks on Faith Crisis Pt 1 that seem to use the process of looking back in order to look forward. “I found I became deeply reflective [upon having kids] and I still am, because you’re just faced with different things,” Joy says. “You start having to think about what you think is important and true because that’s what you’re giving to this little person.”
One of the standouts on the album comes at the midpoint in the track list, like a peak in the mountains that lets Joy look down and around and reflect on where she is now. Highlands is a story of moving on and moving forward, but not without looking back, and not without knowing that this moment is, in some way, another beginning. “Wherever you are, we’re just getting started,” she sings.
“I think that we often have memories that still haunt us, or we are still confused by,” Joy reflects. “And then also [we’re] trying to predict other parts of our stories, looking ahead or trying to think about what you might want or what you’re afraid of.” Fear, and reckoning with it, was in many ways the catalyst of Faith Crisis Pt 1. After just having her first kid and with the pandemic still shuttering our cities and music venues – Joy began writing in a time in which everything that was once thought solid started to feel fragile. The album was born as a result of writing through these moments, trying to figure it all out. “ I think the more I’m living,” Joy says, “the more I realise you never really get to the bottom of anything.”
Having missed out on a proper album tour because of the pandemic for their 2021 release Today We’re the Greatest, touring Faith Crisis Pt 1 holds an extra sparkle to the shine of the upcoming shows. Beginning at Melbourne’s Forum on May 10 and 12 – one of Joy’s most loved venues – the tour will be full of new favourites, old goodies and maybe even some deep cuts from the band’s discography.
“And it’s different every single time,” Joy says about Middle Kids’ shows. “You are always in a different place with different people in a different moment in time.” She pauses, trying to sum it all up – all that energy and chaos and sound and colour. “That’s what’s cool about live music,” she says.
WHERE:
THE FORUM
WHEN: 10–12 MAY
For 13 years now, English outfit Fat White Family have been equally described as one of the most vital, singular and innovative groups out there.WORDS BY TYLER
JENKE
Æ Alongside their stellar discography, which – as of April – now includes their first album in five years, Forgiveness Is Yours, Fat White Family have been renowned for their volatile behaviour and presence, both on and off the stage.
Most notably, a 2022 biography of the group saw author Adelle Stripe label them “a drug band with a rock problem”, though frontman Lias Saoudi admits that things have calmed down a little bit these days.
“I’ve stopped getting fucked up on school nights. I avoid it most weekends,” he notes. “I’ve decided I want to live beyond 50, so I’ve had to change tack last minute. Now I’m all about celery juice and boxing. Celery juice for the inflammation, boxing for the incandescent rage that playing in this band for over ten years has left me with.” This rage is far less visceral than he lets on though, and while boxing might be a cathartic release, so must be the triumph that comes with the release of their latest record. After all, a lot has changed between albums.
In addition to founding guitarist Saul Adamczewski leaving the band acrimoniously during recording, Saoudi reportedly hasn’t spoken to his brother and bandmate Nathan in months. Though Saoudi admits that triumph is something the likes of Spotify have ensured no longer truly exists, it does feel like a success to have emerged with a new album out of the morass of these past years.
“I guess it’s a response to the hive mind insanity that kicked in around the time of the pandemic, or reached fever pitch around 2020 at least, when the world was stuck on its phone, wrapping itself up in an eternal crusade of extreme sanctimony, finger pointing sententious horse shit, a never round of Maoist denunciation and counter denunciation,” he says.
“It became clearer to me than ever that we’d given up on the idea of forgiveness, and had wandered instead into a far more sinister period of self-surveilling, crotch-sniffing, curtain-twitching metaphysical alienation. Our atomization was complete. We were now just nodes in a machine.”
Sonically, Saoudi notes there are entirely no external influences on the new record owing to an inability to listen to new music because of the “heartbreak and pain” it inspires, though the record’s evolved lyricism was a result of his exposure to philosophers like Cioran, Nietzsche, and Schopenhauer amidst lockdown.
“I’ve always been a big reader, but the lockdowns were sort of like being given a chance to go back to college,” he says. “Only there were no parties to go to this time, so I didn’t fuck it up chasing girls around campus while doing shit ecstasy pills and speed.”
For a band whose existence has long been seemingly underlined by tumult, to release an album of such ferocity is a masterful achievement. But what is it that keeps the group driving forward to greatness? For Saoudi, it appears to be years of negative reinforcement and a desire to rise above the mess.
“[It’s] a grave lack of imagination on my part,” he says. “My dad’s voice in my head telling me I’m a failure over and over again as well, that’s always been key for me.
“It’s amazing how far you can get on sheer negativity, like, in trying to negate it, you lumber yourself deeper in the mire, the thing is to find a way of making love to negativity, then you have this spawn of ill hope,” he adds. “That’s what these songs are, the spawn of hopelessness, nascent dreamless-ness, new ruins, etc.”
With a new album out now, could we finally be seeing the long-awaited return of Fat White Family to the country? The cogs are indeed in motion for their sole Aussie venture in 2016 to be complemented with more shows in the future.
“If the good people at Beat Magazine can generate sufficient hype your end, we promise, we swear on our lives to fly out there and disappoint that hype, and disappoint it in style,” he says.
“But in all seriousness, there’s two weeks in my calendar in October that my manager has coloured in blue that have the words ‘Oz TBC’ written on them,” he adds. “TBC is a pretty big word in the music industry, so let’s not get too excited just yet, but if Allah is up there smiling down on us, then we might just be heading towards round two. Let the games begin…”
“It became clearer to me than ever that we’d given up on the idea of forgiveness, and had wandered instead into a far more sinister period of self-surveilling, crotch-sniffing, curtain-twitching metaphysical alienation. Our atomization was complete. We were now just nodes in a machine.”
ALBUM: FORGIVENESS IS YOURS
LABEL: DOMINO
RELEASE: OUT NOW
This article was made in partnership with Domino.
Valley
The Vaccines are the kind of band that’s impossible to avoid.
WORDS BY PRIYA FRANCIS
Æ Not that you’d want to – their music is effortlessly likable, with just the right balance of old-school alt-rock charm and earworm pop melodies. After the release of their explosive 2011 debut, What Did You Expect From The Vaccines, their hit singles blared everywhere from house parties to cool cafes, and The Vaccines wedged themselves into the upper echelon of British rock.
Now, six albums and more than a decade later, they’ve proved they weren’t just a flash in the pan. In May, they’re heading to Australia on a whirlwind co-headline tour with fellow UK rockers Everything Everything, hitting Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Castlemaine, Brisbane and Sydney. The Vaccines’ Timothy Lanham (guitars, keys and vocals) credits a shared eagerness to get back to Australia and the rollout of a new record for each band as two of the main reasons behind the group making their return to the country for the first time since 2019.
“It was a serendipitous aligning of schedules and a shared eagerness to get back to Australia. We are both currently touring a record and knew it’d be fun to continue our history of playing shows together,” he says.
Over the years, the West London group has cemented themselves as one of England’s most adored and iconic indie rock bands. One only has to look at their hefty discography, packed with gritty singalongs and instant mosh pit igniters, to see just why fans have stood by the band for all these years.
With their tour fast approaching, the boys are especially keen to soak up the wild atmosphere Aussie crowds have become famous for. “There’s a real party mood that you can find in an Aussie crowd,” says Lanham. “I remember Triffid being a particularly rowdy one.” With a setlist that includes the anthemic choruses and infectious hooks The Vaccines have become so well known for, fans across the country are in for a treat.
They shared their latest release, their sixth studio album Pick-Up Full Of Pink Carnations, in January this year. The record takes a walk on the fun side sonically, showcasing some of the UK outfit’s pop smarts, while also covering very raw and honest themes. The result of this combination is a 10-track album packed with energy and passion, choruses too singable for their own good and melodies that’ll find their way into your head long after you’ve finished listening. Lighthearted and playful, the new material is sure to shimmer when the band takes it to the stage.
Lanham describes the album poignantly. “It’s like a big farewell celebration; it’s loud, it’s energetic and it’s fun, but when you really think about why you’re there, the nostalgia sets in,” he says.
Songs like Heartbreak Kid, Sometimes, I Swear and Love To Walk Away tick all the nostalgic boxes, reminiscent of that tell-tale Vaccines sound, with a fresh injection of pop sentimentality. “Live response is the best barometer for an effective arrangement”, Lanham says. “Our audience seems thrilled to hear a return to roots as we embrace a band-in-the-room ethos. The raw and less polished approach from our end feels more honest and the audience senses that. We’re all good players and it’s good to utilise that too.”
Lead vocalist Justin Hayward-Young’s lyrics have inspired many a festival field and band room singalong. Songs from their first record, like If You Wanna, Post Break-Up Sex and Norgaard still hit just as hard as the day they were released and the latest album is packed with fresh bangers guaranteed to set the crowd alight.
The co-headline tour is one the band is particularly looking forward to, with the reward of playing with a band they have such a long history with so much too good to pass up. “We all love Australia. The sun, the food and the people are so much fun. We’re all just excited to be there. Sharing a headline is rewarding because you get to share each other’s audiences,” says Lanham.
Fellow UK rockers Everything Everything will be touring on the back of their highly anticipated seventh album, Mountainhead, finally bringing them back to the country, The Vaccines are guaranteeing “extreme energy and enthusiasm from the stage”. What’s more, the band isn’t opposed to taking requests: “We often respond to persistent enough fans on the evening, if they heckle for a song hard enough and we can remember the chords we will deliver.”
THE VACCINES
WHEN: 9 MAY
WHERE: THE FORUM
“We all love Australia. The sun, the food and the people are so much fun. We’re all just excited to be there.”
When I ask actors Zachary Pidd and Samuel Gaskin about their production Peacemongers, which theatre collective The People are bringing to the Darebin Arts Centre in April and May, Pidd is quick to refer to the performance as the real, live, breathing thing that it is.
WORDS BY JULIETTE SALOM
Æ “Peacemongers is a massive beast that we love. It lives outside because we can’t fit it in the front door anymore, but we built a shelter for it and adorned its mane with flowers we found on our travels,” Pidd says, before adding, “It’s also a documentary theatre musical about utopia and having difficult conversations.”
While the idea of documentary theatre may be new to some, the idea of having difficult conversations around the dinner table will be familiar to most. Presented as part of the Darebin Arts Speakeasy at the Darebin Arts Centre, Peacemongers will be showing until May 5 and will include a meal served alongside projected idealisations of a utopian world.
Infused with a dash of musical theatre, the show aims to tackle a range of serious topics plaguing our current moment and confront social polarisation through real conversations, and, of course, some songs. “The way that music has been implemented in the show is not as predictable as your standard musical theatre scenario,” Gaskin says.
If Peacemongers is anything, it’s sure as hell not predictable. This experimental project is exploring what it is to attempt a reallife utopia and does so all through the lens of documentary theatre. What is documentary theatre, you ask? “I’m honestly not sure what it means either,” Pidd jokes. “To me it’s about showing all the steps to how we got there.”
Just like the conversations at hand in the production – which have been circulating in the culture and political climate for years, decades, centuries, forever – the show itself has been a multi-year process. “We have built [into the show] a sort of chronology of real and fictional material to give a sense of scale and research we couldn’t do otherwise,” Pidd explains.
Pidd, who is also one of the co-creators of Peacemongers and has created some of the music for the performance, says the journey to getting the show on the road has been nothing short of “dreamy” with the crew of artists involved in its making. “We are all very different in our approach to making art, which is why we came together in the first place,” Pidd tells me. “The difference was integral to the success of this show; how could we find some sort of common artistic language?”
Finding a common language to connect with the people around you perhaps is what the show is all about: in the face of bigotry and polarisation, how can we come together to create utopia? Can we? And while these questions can exist on a global, world-consuming scale, so often they start with the people around our own dinner tables. “We’ve all been at those awkward family dinners with the racist uncle or aunty that take a turn for the worst at some point,” Gaskin aptly puts it. To replicate this exact scenario is the inclusion of dinner in the performance, just to make the events of the night feel that even bit more surreal. “Including a meal just seemed right,” Gaskin says, “when it came to trying to solve bigotry and build a utopia.”
Tickets to this unique kind of family dinner are selling fast, so best to grab them before you miss out on a seat at the table. The show’s run features a post-show talk on May 1 and an Auslaninterpreted performance on May 2 so that everyone can get a chance to ponder what it is to build a utopia in the face of a world that seems to be lacking any semblance of one.
Even still, despite the world sometimes feeling like it lacks any cause for hope, the team at Peacemongers aren’t without optimism. For Gaskin, it all comes down to working with a bunch of “heart-centred creatives” within the Peacemongers production. “Watching them all be brilliant whilst I’m being brilliant too has given me all the hopeful optimism that I reckon we will all be okay in the end.”
PEACEMONGERS
WHERE: DAREBIN ARTS CENTRE
WHEN: UNTIL 5 MAY
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Æ Bowers & Wilkins have all but solidified their name at the top end of consumer audio. Known for its sleek, high-quality builds and uncompromising sound production, the company has thrived under the Masimo umbrella.
With humble origins as a radio and television store in West Sussex, Bowers & Wilkins became a key innovator in consumer electronics during the late 20th century, eventually giving rise to the audio powerhouse we’ve come to know.
The products are often congruent with a brand identity characterised by efficiency of concept and a stellar build quality, one exemplified in Bowers & Wilkins’ expansive range of headphones. Frequently setting the bar in the field, Bowers & Wilkins’ has a headphone model for everybody, offering sharp designs, incredible technology balanced with practical interfaces and sound quality that can only be expected of the very best.
The brand’s latest effort, the Px7 S2e, seems to offer more of the same excellence, promising to take inspiration from its flagship models to provide a remarkable listening experience.
Bowers & Wilkins claim the ‘e’ in S2e stands for ‘evolved’, so what makes the new Px7 S2e so next-gen?
When talking about consumer audio, it is often best to begin with the everyday advantages of cutting-edge headphones like the Px7 S2e.
The headphones arrive in a simple, classy box that screams Bowers & Wilkins in more ways than just the text on the top. Pictures of the product and function and functions of the Px7 S2e are proudly laid out on the back. This is undoubtedly characteristic of the brand and with headphones like these, you need not shroud them in fancy graphics.
Upon opening the box, the fun begins. Your new set of headphones arrives in an inconceivably compact yet sturdy case that promises to feel right at home among the floating arrangement of goodies that plague your desk. Opening the case reveals the headphones themselves along with a USB-C charging cord and a USB-C to 3.5mm audio cable for the old-schoolers. Even the start-up and safety manuals are perfectly stowed away. A safety manual has never been more enticing.
The careful design of the headphones lends itself perfectly to a modern listener. They are compact, light, and to be completely honest, a work of art. It’s this exact meticulousness and attention to detail that we’ve grown accustomed to from Bowers & Wilkins.
At the end of the day, all this user-friendly pump-up wouldn’t mean a lot if the Px7 S2e didn’t deliver on sound quality. At the risk of wading through the discombobulating maze that is technical jargon, these headphones did not disappoint.
The Px7 S2e pack a powerful punch in the form of two 40mm drivers, a size that has become expected of top-tier consumer headphones. These tried and true drivers allow for the perfect balance between those juicy lows and the wavering highs that lend the Px7 S2e their punchy sound range.
The active noise cancelling is precise as ever, with the headphones providing four microphones to help drown out those unwanted noises that so rudely perturb your listening experience. If you don’t know how active noise cancelling works, don’t worry. Not many do. But it’s very cool and four microphones are more than sufficient to make it work very well.
Also provided are an extra two microphones for making phone calls and combined with the innovative and industry-leading Qualcomm aptX Bluetooth codec, your phone calls are poised to be as clear as ever.
Out of the box, the headphones promise fast charging as well as a battery life of 30 hours of playback.
The Px7 S2e really hold its own in the realm of digital signal processing. The Bowers & Wilkins Music app that is revealed in the (oh so beautifully packaged) Quick Start Guide is as receptive as ever, providing incredible customisation on both noise cancellation and equalisation fronts. However, this app goes a step further, almost forming its own streaming platform. You can receive personalised music recommendations, build playlists, and even funnel in music from many of your favourite streaming services. The Px7 S2e showcase the best of Bowers & Wilkins’ musical prowess.
Comfortability speaking, these headphones are a treat. It probably goes without saying, but an important trait of modern headphones is the ability to stay on for long periods. These are comfortable, light and feel like an extension of the ears. They also passed the shake-head-aggressively fit test.
These headphones are available in the equally enchanting Anthracite Black, Cloud Gray, Ocean Blue and Forest Green finishes. Seriously… look them up.
What more do Bowers & Wilkins have to prove? They sit contently at the top of the consumer audio industry and if they keep releasing headphones like these, they’ll be sitting there for years to come. The Px7 S2e live up to the ‘evolved’ in their name, and with an effort so eloquently efficient and functional, while still providing the best sound quality in the business, we are reminded why we should trust the experts.
The Px7 S2e retails for $599 at David Jones, JB Hi Fi and selected AV Specialist retailers. This article was made in partnership with Bowers & Wilkins.
As with all good things, evolution is inevitable. As proof, we need only look at Marshall’s continued growth in the headphone and home audio markets.
Æ Relying on the same high-quality and high-output modus operandi that has elevated the brand into the pantheon of iconic guitar amp manufacturers – it has been quite an interesting case study, watching them slowly build their reputation and legitimacy in what is a very different industry with very different conventions. At this point, it’s safe to say that Marshall has more than shaken up the field, becoming an extremely popular choice for personal headphones after dropping a bevy of awesome-sounding products over the last five years. Nowhere is the more prevalent than in the brand’s Major and Minor series of on-ear and in-ear headphones, the likes of which have continually upped the ante with every iteration.
Next in line, the Major V and the Minor IV, confidently promise “All sound, no fuss”. In a dynamic industry where so many products are being constantly released, it’s nice to have a name like Marshall’s to rely on and to help us wade through the confusion. Through the Major V and Minor IV, Marshall rewards our trust with two equally snazzy, aptly sized headphones, perfect for everyday listening.
In musical theory, a major fifth is an interval synonymous with power, colloquially known as a ‘power chord’ on guitar. Marshall must be well aware of the connotations here because the Major V on-ear option more than packs a punch, extracting plenty of output from their top-of-the-industry 40mm dynamic drivers, awarding it the rich balance of crispy highs and controlled, rumbling lows.
One big takeaway after a bit of time with these is that the battery life is beyond impressive. Offering a remarkable 100+ hours of wireless playback, and wireless charging options as well, the Major Vs are proof that we are moving closer to the wireless utopia envisioned since the dawn of Bluetooth.
For those of you wanting to rock the aesthetic of longevity and tenure that Marshall possesses in spades, the headphones come with a 3.5mm audio cord. Also included is a USB-C charging cable.
The headphones themselves look stunning and are designed in an undeniably Marshall way. The muffs look like mini amplifiers for your ears and they’re as comfortable as any. Even the included buttons are reminiscent of the knobs on old Marshall amplifiers, which is an incredibly rewarding touch for those familiar with the brand.
The sound can speak for itself, but it goes without saying that the Major V sits atop the industry of consumer audio. It feels almost entitled to expect such quality from a brand, but Marshall continues to deliver.
Along with the release of the Major V is the release of the smaller (only in physical size) in-ear Minor IV earphones.
These in-ear options promise an impressive 30 hours of battery life from a considerably smaller cell and add to the fold water resistance that makes them perfect for feeling like a main character on those rainy walks.
As with the Major V, the Minor IV pairs seamlessly with Marshall’s Bluetooth app, giving way to a customisability that music listeners can only adore.
The headphones themselves look spectacular. They arrive in their case, which is clad in that trademark Marshall tolex (you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about the second you feel it). The case is well-made and the case’s magnets are snappy, meaning there’ll be no headphones falling out of their given homes.
The Minor IV offers more than just an alternative to the Major V. They bring a storability that suits life on the go and boasts a design that provides an incentive to put the earphones in when headed out.
With both the powerful Major V and the lustrous Minor IV, Marshall has taken their next step in the headphone market. Bringing a product line that is designed to serve their customers, Marshall has showcased their indisputable knack for quality and paired it beautifully with an amazing brand of design, as well as a level of quality that’d rival any. The Major V and Minor IV are accessibly priced, with a scheduled release on the 7th of May at JB Hifi (but are available for pre-order now!) Both come in Marshall’s signature black, because, of course they do.
This article was made in partnership with Marshall.
Moonee Valley hasn’t typically been lauded as one of Melbourne’s live music hotspots, but things are about to change.
Æ There’s a brand new event series set to brighten the nights and lure us all out of our cosy homes this autumn.
Running from May 17 to 26, Valley Sounds brings incredible talent to various bars, restaurants and venues across the neighbourhood. And if that’s not enough to convince you, it’s also completely free, meaning your budget for drinks and nibbles just got a little bigger.
On the lineup, there’s a little bit of everything. And I mean everything. From Italian tantarellas to gypsy jazz, indie pop, flamenco, film scores, open mics, Irish jams, Brazilian boogies, blues and soul, the program is as multicultural as it is multi-dimensional.
On Wednesday, May 22, catch violinist and songwriter Xani laying down her electrified experimental pop tracks at Essendon’s Hold Bar. The following day, catch the Women of Soul showcase, bringing the sultry-sweet voices of one of Australia’s most talented collectives at Freddie’s. On Saturday, May 25, Swingin’ Valley Sounds offers punters the chance to groove to jazzy renditions of modern classics at the Clocktower Centre.
The rest of the program is studded with gems, including the rising funk group The CB3, Australian Idol finalist Emily Williams, Thomas Byrne and Ally Mack’s Pop Life and beloved crooner Ed Moon. The performances will be held at some of the area’s favourite locales, including the Mango Lounge, 400 Gradi, Pepper Cafe, Benny and Me and Lulu’s Social Club.
From relaxed seated performances to dancefloor parties, these events will breathe new life into the northwest suburbs. Whether you’re a Moonee Valley local looking to celebrate your neighbourhood or any Melbournian keen on checking out a new part of town, Valley Sounds is the perfect excuse.
Throwing legendary events since 2006, The Warehouse Project is a part of party history. Now, it’s taking on Australia.WORDS BY KAYA MARTIN
Æ There’s nowhere that does raves quite like the UK. Nearly two decades ago, Sam Kandel and Sacha Lord launched The Warehouse Project, an eclectic EDM club night that became a fixture of the Manchester scene.
Early this year, they announced their first foray down under, bringing the party to Melbourne’s PICA and Sydney’s Munro Warehouse. The lineup features UK gems Bonobo and Kelly Lee Owens and locals including Mall Grab, HAAi, Effy and Dameeeela. We caught up with Sam ahead of his Aussie voyage.
What was that first party like? Were you nervous?
Well yes, very nervous of course… The partners who were involved at the start had all been working as promoters in and around UK club culture for a long time but we all knew if this went wrong we would all be looking for a new career.
We had Public Enemy headline the opening night, which felt like quite a statement of intent! That first year we made plenty of mistakes but it was the start of a big learning curve – one we’re still [on] 17 years later.
How has the electronic music scene changed since the early days?
Obviously, electronic music is bigger now than ever before and there are constantly new sounds and scenes developing and also fading away… Sometimes it’s tricky to keep up!
I think around the world generally, music, and electronic music specifically, is now perceived as an important part of the culture of a city which certainly wasn’t always the case.
Was there something about Australia that made you want to hold an event here?
Well number one, I suppose Australia has a reputation for loving a big night out and has a huge history with dance music. I think romantically we love the idea that this scene that we are all connected to really is a global community.
Going as far away on earth as possible to host WHP and recreate the energy of what we see in Manchester just feels like something we have to do!
VALLEY SOUNDS
WHEN: 17–26 MAY
WHERE: MOONEE VALLEY
WHEN: 25–26 MAY
WHERE: PICA
“ We honestly would play 365 days a week if we could ,” Ben ‘Boo’ Gumbleton beams down the phone with a thinly veiled laugh as if he’s joking. Just for the record, he’s not.WORDS BY JULIETTE SALOM
Æ Back home in the Gold Coast for just a few days before he heads off again for the final shows of his Midnight Highlight national tour, electro-pop superstar Boo Seeka says he’s already itching to get back on the road.
And fair enough he’s excited, with two major shows coming up in Newcastle and Melbourne to finish up what’s been an “incredible” experience.
“Just to be doing back-to-back shows every week since the beginning of the year,” Boo says, “it’s been awesome.” He means it in every sense of the word – awesome –like touring and playing shows is a magical source of human connection and inspiration permeating nothing short of awe. At a Boo Seeka show, that’s exactly what you’ll find.
Touring this third studio album around Australia over the last two months, with a run of Europe and UK shows supporting indiefolk darlings Boy & Bear for two months prior, Boo Seeka finds comfort in being on the move. “Jay and I, we love the road,” Boo says, referring to collaborator Jay Bainbridge. “Boo Seeka has very much been built on touring; it’s what we know and what we love.”
An important part of this national tour – and perhaps an important part of the foundation of the Boo Seeka project – has been bringing Midnight Highlight to all the regional bars and venues normally forsaken in favour of the capital cities. Boo’s managed to hit every corner of the country, from Maroochydore in Queensland to Margaret River in Western Australia to Hobart in Tassie, covering more states in two months than most Aussies would in their lifetime.
“When we first started, we were almost getting questioned why we were going regional,” Boo says. “I was like, ‘Why the hell not?’ You know? There are people out there that wanna see live music.” If there’s any one thing Boo seems to be most passionate about, it’s this: the undying love of live music.
“Especially in these current times,” he says. “We’re at a time in our industry where these incredible, iconic festivals are having to fold” – referring to the recent cancellation of Splendour in the Grass, as well as Bendigo’s Groovin the Moo earlier in the year.
“We need to support each other in the music industry and do what we can to help each other.”
At the end of the day, what it comes down to for Boo is “[getting] out there, [putting] on an amazing show for the people that [are] trying to keep this industry alive”.
And there’s no better place to put on a show – the grand finale of the Midnight Highlight tour – than Melbourne’s very own Corner Hotel on May 31. “The Corner holds a very special place in our hearts, and especially mine,” Boo says.
The iconic venue in Richmond was the very first place Boo Seeka pwerformed to a live audience, supporting Kim Churchill in 2015. “We always talk about going to other venues and I’m always the first one to push back and go, ‘No, I just wanna go back to the Corner Hotel,” Boo laughs. “It’s been an incredible tour and I couldn’t think of a better way to end the tour [than] going back to a very special place in my heart and hopefully another sold-out show.”
“I mean, look, regardless if there’s one person there,” Boo says, “we’re still gonna put on an incredible show and I’m still gonna have a great night.” Then, adding, “But I’m hoping we can end with a big bang.”
There’s no risk of the show at the Corner being anything but a big bang –every Boo Seeka show played at the venue has sold out since that Kim Churchill performance almost a decade ago.
It’s been a whirlwind of albums, releases and worldwide touring since Boo started the project as a self-proclaimed “singer-songwriter [who] wanted to write electronic music and had no frickin’ idea what I was doing”.
Three studio albums later, with Boo feeling like “nearly every release we do is different to the one prior” the project has touched almost every corner of the musical spectrum, toured with all kinds of artists and has signed on with Sony Music Entertainment venture Palm Tree Records.
But it all just keeps coming back to one thing for Boo, which he makes clear at the end of our conversation. “Honestly, just get out there and whether it’s Boo Seeka or it’s any other band, get out there and support your favourite artists,” he says, and you can tell he means it. “Every dollar helps,” he adds, “to keep this industry alive and keep the bands that you love on the road.”
“We always talk about going to other venues and I’m always the first one to push back and go, ‘No, I just wanna go back to the Corner Hotel,”
BOO SEEKA
WHEN:
WHERE:
“Then the world kind of said, ‘No bitch, you’re gonna come back into the game.’”
Sydney-born and raised, Sam Fischer, the pop prince known for his breakout hit single This City, is finally coming home.
Æ Following the release of his debut album, I Love You, Please Don’t Hate Me last December, Sam will soon hit Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne, keeping it short and sweet and performing in intimate venues for one night only. His tour will also take him internationally for the first time and fans all over the world can expect to hear some of his earlier songs and brand new music too.
In Virginia, over 15 thousand kilometres away from home, Sam tells me he’s stoked to return to Australia to perform. “The Oxford Arts Factory is somewhere I feel like I grew up so it’s going to be really special.
“I’m so sad it’s so short. I had so many people being like ‘What about LA? What about Perth?’ and you know, being real, if I could afford it, I would do the whole country and it would be fucking amazing.”
He says there’s just something about playing where he grew up that hits different. “Hometown shows are more special than any other show anywhere,” he says. “The setlist, the arrangements, the lighting, the flow, the energy… it’s everything I’ve wanted to give you for so long now.”
After being dropped by a major recording label, Sam could only describe being an artist as “something that was just only going to bring pain”. But that didn’t stop him. He independently released the soul-crushing ballad This City inspired by the challenges he faced upon moving to LA. The song marked the beginning of a remarkable chapter in his musical journey.
“What happened with This City blew my mind,” Sam says. The track, with heartfelt vocals that were recorded in his kitchen, sat unrecognised for a year. Then suddenly it was everywhere. In 2019, it blew up on Tiktok, used mostly as the soundtrack for wholesome, heartwarming videos.
During the Covid-19 pandemic when it hit the top radio charts, Sam legally wasn’t allowed to fly back home to Australia. “It killed me that I wasn’t able to be in the country that really lifted me up and that was my own country,” he says.
“The pandemic kind of ruined the moment but it was still pretty cool. Australian crowds are just better than anywhere else. I just feel like myself when I’m home.”
Now, The City has 750 million worldwide streams and 4 million worldwide sales. It’s double platinum in Australia and the UK and gold in the US, New Zealand and Switzerland.
“I didn’t have TikTok downloaded when it was going viral. I had no idea what the fuck TikTok was,” says Sam.
“It was a song that people come to my shows and before it was out and they’d be like ‘What’s that song? Is it out?’ Then they’d come back to a show and they’d be singing along and I knew it was special, but the people that I had around me at the time didn’t care for it.”
Sam tells me originally it wasn’t on the EP and he faced some hardships along the way.
“I put it on because I didn’t think that I was going to be an artist after I got dropped from my first label and I wasn’t allowed to put anything out. I got abused and I just looked at being an artist as something that was just going to bring pain,” he tells me.
“Then the world kind of said ‘No bitch, you’re gonna come back into the game.’”
He definitely did return to the game. He’s since collaborated with A-list artists such as Meghan Trainor, Demi Lovato, Keith Urban and Andy Grammer, and he’s just released his latest single, Antidote with Australia’s beloved, Guy Sebastian.
Written back in September 2022, the first collaboration from the pair showcases their impressive vocal ranges, with Guy taking over the powerhouse choruses to match Sam’s beautiful falsetto.
Accompanied by the piano, atmospheric guitars and complex drum loops, the track is a power ballad about an all-consuming love – something Sam explains is rare to hear from two male artists.
“I was just home promoting Antidote with Guy Sebastian and these past few years I’ve been able to spend so much time home and it just reminded me what I’m missing out on and being in the States,” Fischer tells me.
The song is about finding the kind of love that saves you. Whether that love comes in the form of a person or a passion like music or even self-love, it’s rare to find and once you do it’s life-changing.
It’s no secret his music is deeply personal and emotionally transparent. Sam’s goal is to remind his fans that that lonely feeling is only temporary and “though it might feel lonely now, you’ll get through it and time does really heal everything. That’s a lesson that I learned that people should take away.”
Full of heartfelt lyrics and and touching vocal performances, it’s no secret that Sam’s music is a form of an undeniable healing power. Training at one of the most prestigious music schools in the world, the Berklee College of Music, taught him the science of songwriting.
“I’ve learned through writing and putting out songs and receiving messages from fans about what the songs mean to them,” he says. “Whenever you feel alone in something, just know that nothing you’ve ever felt is unique and there are so many people out there going through the same thing.”
He tells me his musical inspiration can come from any aspect of his life experiences. Featured on his new album, the track Secondhand Happiness was inspired by a night out with a mate at a bar in London and a conversation about the connection of a mutual friend.
“It turned out to be my ex and I was like, holy crap I’ve been hearing about this person’s success and I was genuinely happy,” he says. “So secondhand happiness is just about being happy for someone’s happiness – someone you never thought you’d be happy for again.”
Sam says he will be dropping one of the most heartbreakingly personal songs that he’s ever written which has been teased on his TikTok –maybe we can expect another viral hit. “There’s actually going to be quite a lot of music this year. The plan for me is to drop new music before every start of a leg of a tour so people can expect that.”
Among the plans for new releases, the international shows and the hustle and bustle of being one of pop’s most fast-rising stars, there’s nothing like the simple comforts of home: “A midnight kebab on Oxford Street after the show is going to hit really hard.”
Sporting his signature baseball hat and thick-rimmed glasses, singer Craig Finn speaks from his Brooklyn home.WORDS BY
ANDREW HANDLEY
Æ He and his band, indie-rock stalwarts The Hold Steady, have been together for 21 years. To celebrate the milestone, they’re heading to Australia for an exclusive three-night residency in Melbourne.
Though Finn says it hasn’t been without its struggles, one of the secrets to the band’s longevity is adapting their touring style. “I think at the heart of it it’s fun, and we’ve maintained a way to make it fun,” he says. “We don’t do 200 tour dates a year anymore… we’ll probably only play about 25 or 30 shows and we’ll tend to do three in the same city.”
Not only is it gentler on the band, but it benefits the fans too.
“The soundchecks become much more musical,” says Finn.
“You’re not seeing if your amp works anymore, you’re maybe working out a song that you haven’t played in a long time and surprising the hardcore fans.”
“We have 140 songs so we can wildly change up the sets, and we do – we take great pride in not playing the same set ever.”
Finn says performing multiple nights in the same city also helps build a community. “We have 140 songs so we can wildly change up the sets, and we do – we take great pride in not playing the same set ever,” he says. “People who are into the band might come to two or three shows in a row because they know it’s going to be different each night and for that reason I think we have a lot of people who travel for the shows.”
With nine The Hold Steady records (not to mention the five solo records Finn has released and tours), the volume of lyrics to remember is immense. “Muscle memory is absolutely your friend… and it helps if you wrote them in the first place,” he says. Finn is the first to admit he might brush up on lyrics after soundcheck. “I probably Google The Hold Steady lyrics more than anyone else,” he laughs.
Before moving to New York City and forming The Hold Steady, Finn and guitarist Tad Kubler were in Lifter Puller in their hometown of Minneapolis. The harsher sound of their former band was inspired by hometown punk heroes The Replacements and Hüsker Dü. “Lifter Puller ended up being sort of a cult thing where people who didn’t see it seemed to have elevated it to something that they wish they’d seen,” he says. “But a lot of people didn’t because when we were touring around the shows were really small.”
Finn was surprised with the first The Hold Steady shows being made up of Lifter Puller fans. “There was a building of momentum,” he says. “What I’ve learned is to appreciate when people seem to be listening to your music, are excited about it and are coming to your shows… because that wasn’t always there.”
Along with fans, Finn also brought the distinctive vocal style he developed during Lifter Puller somewhat out of necessity. “In a rehearsal space when there was a bad PA and a lot of noise… loud talking directed in that way cut through in a real physical sense [so] you could hear it better than when I was singing,” he recalls. “I always liked stuff that was kind of talky already, like Lou Reed and Mark E. Smith from The Fall.”
“When we started The Hold Steady, I wanted to see if we could pair that with more grandiose music,” recalls Finn. “Try to make it a little more epic and a classic rock style, but still have that talky vocal.”
Known for his third-person, narrative lyrics, Finn astutely touches on themes of drugs, alcohol, relationships and mental health. As he ages, so do the characters in his songs.
“I was always writing with a looking backward angle, so when I started the band, I was 31 and a lot of the characters in the songs were more like 20,” he explains. “I could look back on myself with 10 years distance and find what was interesting, what was frightening, what was unique, what was terrifying.”
“As I’ve gotten older, I’ve maintained that 10-year lag, but now I’m 52 so 10 years ago is 42, which is still decidedly middle age,” says Finn. “I think that that’s interesting to me… and it’s easier for me to honestly write characters that are closer to my age.”
Titling their upcoming tour ‘Boys and Girls Down Under’ is a nod to their third record Boys and Girls in America. Released in 2006, Finn sees it as a turning point for the band. “We became a little more global… and so I think that’s a lot of people’s entry into the music,” he says. “We will be playing a little bit of everything… so it’s not like we’re going to recreate the record, but at the same time it’s always a big record in both our history as well as our setlist.”
Finn says Melbourne was an easy choice for their Australia visit. “It seems like the best rock city in Australia,” says Finn. “That’s its rep and it seems like the place to do it if we’re only going to do one.”
WHERE: VARIOUS LOCATIONS
WHEN: 24–26 MAY
Chicago The Musical, the multi-award-winning masterpiece of murder, greed, corruption and jazz, is an undeniable classic. Delve into the captivating storyline and timeless music of the longest-running musical on Broadway.
HER MAJESTY’S
THEATRE THROUGHOUT MAY
Discover the untold story of the Land of Oz in WICKED, a Broadway sensation exploring friendship and identity. Filled with spectacular performances and enchanting storytelling, the show highlights the extraordinary talent of its characters.
REGENT THEATRE THROUGHOUT MAY
Travel back to 1920s Melbourne with this celebration of the trailblazing spirit of Alice Anderson. This rip-roaring ride captures historical events and the indomitable courage of women defying conventions set against the backdrop of a changing world.
LA MAMA COURTHOUSE THROUGHOUT MAY
MIA: Missing in Action takes audiences on a wild and psychedelic journey of identity, queerness and forbidden love between two best friends. It’s filled with humour, campy twists and unexpected magical encounters with a sex therapist.
THE MOTLEY BAUHAUS UNTIL 8 MAY
Starring film, TV, and stage icons Nadine Garner and Max McKenna, this multi-awardwinning family drama explores mental health, identity and the complexities of relationships. Witness a tender yet powerful portrayal of a young woman’s journey towards self-discovery.
SOUTHBANK THEATRE UNTIL 18 MAY
In Lung, Anna’s determination to survive mirrors the resilience of her combative yet valiant lungs. Facing the realities of a potential transplant, Anna grapples with challenges, changing relationships and unfulfilled aspirations alongside her partner and mother.
LA MAMA HQ 7–19 MAY
Intertwining Australian Gothic themes with absurd humour, this production depicts the struggles of Hester and Bronwyn in a cramped studio apartment filled with quirky challenges. The play explores their compromises to avoid conflicts, complemented by a multi-instrumentalist quintet.
LA MAMA COURTHOUSE 8–19 MAY
Presented by the Victorian Opera, this family production is based on an original creation story from Wadawurrung Country. Follow the journey of Parrwang the magpie as she helps her friends Tjatjarrang and Koki lift the blanket of darkness from their world.
MERLYN THEATRE, MALTHOUSE 10–13 MAY
Join Lucy, Jane and Alice in Share House: The Musical, a comedic tale of friendship and self-discovery set in a quirky household. Watch the characters navigate differences and embrace new perspectives accompanied by Jude Perl’s infectious tunes and witty storytelling.
ARTS CENTRE MELBOURNE 16–19 MAY
Step into the golden era of radio mysteries with Mystery Radio Theatre, a fully scripted comedic murder mystery performed live each month. Actors in elegant attire will transport you to a world of suspense, intrigue and hilarious whodunnits.
THE BUTTERFLY CLUB FROM 18 MAY
Meurants Lane unfolds the complex dynamics between three brothers as they confront their inner demons, familial struggles and the legacy of cultural pride amid the ArmenianLebanese diaspora. This poignant play delves into hidden truths and the challenges of expressing genuine emotions.
LA MAMA HQ 21–29 MAY
The Audition is a poignant exploration of entry protocols and powers, drawing parallels between actors auditioning for roles and refugees seeking asylum. This production delves into themes of inclusion and barriers to entry in both art and society.
LA MAMA COURTHOUSE 22 MAY–2 JUN
This stage show blends burlesque performances with the life of Lady Shimmery, a dressmaker immersed in the art of tease. Witness dazzling numbers and glamorous settings, starring cabaret singer Abbey Paige Williams.
ATHENAEUM THEATRE 23–26 MAY
Experience opera’s greatest thriller, Tosca, a tale of passion and betrayal set in Rome over 24 hours. Renowned prima donna Tosca, in love with revolutionary Cavaradossi, faces the sadistic Chief of Police Scarpia in a gripping five-star production.
MARGARET COURT ARENA 24–26 MAY
Marking 30 years on from the fall of apartheid, the South African Film Festival brings some of the country’s cinematic masterpieces to picture halls across Melbourne.
VARIOUS LOCATIONS 2–30 MAY
Melbourne’s newest performing arts centre is hosting the inaugural Round Sound festival, featuring performances, industry workshops and networking opportunities for music lovers and industry pros alike.
THE ROUND 3–31 MAY
Celebrate unity and belief at the Buddha’s Day and Multicultural Festival! Enjoy traditional ceremonies, cultural performances, arts, music, spiritual lectures and more in a vibrant atmosphere.
FED SQUARE 3 MAY
TILDE FILM FESTIVAL
With a curated program of films by trans and gender-expansive storytellers, the Tilde Film Festival celebrates diversity and inclusivity in screen experiences. Join in for thought-provoking films and engaging conversations.
FOOTSCRAY 3 MAY
Get ready for a spudtastic celebration at The Great Trentham Spudfest! Enjoy a potato-themed festival with food, wine, music, kids’ activities and historical insights. Explore the town of Trentham and indulge in all things spuds during this fun-filled weekend.
TRENTHAM 4–5 MAY
Experience a week-long celebration of animation at the Melbourne International Animation Festival. Featuring forums, exhibitions and over 400 films from around the world, this festival is a paradise for animation enthusiasts and industry professionals alike.
SOUTH MELBOURNE 5–12 MAY
Readers, writers and everyone in between, prepare to expand your mind with talks and workshops by some of the world’s best writers. Hear from acclaimed writers including Anne Patchett, Toshikazu Kawaguchi, Paul Lynch and more.
VARIOUS LOCATIONS 6–12 MAY
Embark on an adventure through captivating films at the Banff Mountain Film Fest. Explore mountain culture, sports and environment through thought-provoking documentaries and shorts, showcasing the beauty and challenges of mountainous landscapes.
ST KILDA 7–8 MAY
Ignite your imagination at the Southside Festival! With world-class arts, performances, visual arts, comedy and family-friendly fun, this festival aims to inspire, engage and transform perceptions, making it a must-visit event in May.
FRANKSTON ARTS CENTRE 10–19 MAY
Some of the world’s best contemporary German language will soon touch down in Melbourne, including coming-of-age drama Langue Étrangère, WWII period piece From Hilde, With Love and Leigzip-based romance Dark Satellites.
VARIOUS LOCATIONS 10–29 MAY
Discover the rich heritage of Australia at the Australian Heritage Festival, hosted by the National Trust of Australia. This festival offers a range of events, performances and experiences that showcase the country’s built, natural and cultural heritage.
VARIOUS LOCATIONS UNTIL 18 MAY
Curated by PBS legend MzRizk, Resonate brings stellar contemporary music to Melbourne’s west, featuring Ziggy Ramo, Cool Out Sun, Immy Owusu, THNDO, the Halo Vocal Ensemble and more.
BOWERY THEATRE 17–31 MAY
Experience the iconic beauty of the Great Ocean Road while challenging yourself at the Great Ocean Road Running Festival. With breathtaking views of the ocean, cliffs and road, athletes of all levels can participate in various races across two days, making it a thrilling and scenic running event.
APOLLO BAY 18–19 MAY
Featuring the best acts from the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, this hilarious road trip brings world-class talent to audiences nationwide with a lineup of comedy royalty and fresh sensations.
VARIOUS LOCATIONS THROUGHOUT MAY
Æ This May, they’re set to take the stage as headliners at Groove Tunes, a mini-festival with a focus on accessibility, held at Melbourne’s beloved Corner Hotel. I had the privilege of sitting down with Kieran Lee and Will Scullin as they shared their inspiring journey and insights into life and music.
Will and Kieran’s friendship spans nearly 15 years, dating back to the formation of Big Words in 2017. In 2022, they welcomed Teon Catalano as their third member. Reflecting on their journey, Will shares, “We met at this café in suburban Melbourne... started playing music when we were 16, and it’s been quite an interesting journey. We lived together for about seven years throughout our early 20s, and yeah, it’s just quite crazy that we’ve never stopped.” Kieran adds, “We love writing songs and performing together. It’s just kind of meant to be for us, really.”
Their deep passion for music shines through their album, though the process wasn’t without challenges. Will recalls, “We spent a long time working on the album... it was quite painful finishing it through COVID and not having any money.” Kieran adds, “It was amazing to capture our 20s in a record.… Now we’ve just turned 30, so we’re just ready to move to that chapter of our lives. But it really encapsulated what it was like to be in your early 20s all the way through. It’s not always easy, it’s not always great, but there are parts [that are] beautiful about it as well.”
Due to limited resources, they pieced together their album in various locations. “It was a super, super, super tight budget, you know, with pretty much next to no budget,” Will admits. Some of it was recorded in a studio and other tracks were recorded at friends’ houses or on the fly, but in the end it all came together seamlessly. Laughing, they share, “The strings were all quite funny. Like, the strings for Tell Me That You Love Me, the first song, were recorded off the back of a Dancing With The Stars string session. That was for free.”
As the anniversary of their debut full-length album Nightmares of a Stardom Dream approaches, Melbourne’s R&B/funk trio Big Words continues to captivate the city’s music scene.WORDS BY SARAH DUGGAN
“We are all very different in our approach to making art, which is why we came together in the first place,”
With Groove Tunes coming up this May, the band has the honour of headlining. Hosted by Tibi Access, the mini-festival prides itself on being inclusive for fans of all ability levels, something we sadly don’t see enough at music festivals currently.
“Music is for everyone to enjoy, so it’s special at an event where people can be there and maybe in other settings they couldn’t, or they couldn’t get a good view or they couldn’t have the same access as everyone else,” Will muses. “And the Corner Hotel, in Melbourne, it’s one of the last Kingpin venues. It’s THE venue,” Kieran adds. If you find yourself in the city over the next few weeks, keep your eyes peeled, because the trio will be playing a few pop-up shows around Melbourne, treating fans and passers-by to free concerts. “I think it’s a really good way for us to showcase our art… These days it’s pretty expensive out there, so I think putting shows on is increasingly difficult. Just getting out there for free, I think it’s going to be really good for people,” Kieran says.
Kieran and Will have found the perfect balance between working their day jobs, making music and having a life outside of both of those things. “We both work in restaurants, the balance we’ve found is [to] work the least amount in the restaurant as you can,” says Kieran. “Trying to get a paycheck to support your art is very important, but having time to do your art is equally as important… Work the minimum hours that you’re gonna be able to pay your bills and rent, and that’s it… If you’re broke, it’s not the biggest deal, as long as you’ve got a passion to follow.”
BIG WORDS
WHEN:
You’d be hard-pressed to find an artist busier than Ziggy Ramo.
WORDS BY KAYA MARTINÆ When I call him, it’s morning in Perth and he’s about to catch a flight to Sydney later that day. His debut novel, Human?, was released at the end of April. He’s got an album of the same name scheduled to drop later this year. He’ll be celebrating the massive release with a talk at the Melbourne Writers Festival, where he also works as a program curator, in case you were wondering.
For some, this pace of life may seem unimaginable, but for Ziggy, it’s how he works best. “At the core of it, it’s just about having something to say,” he tells me. “For me, I kind of sit and stew on what I‘m thinking about until I feel like I can say it and then it’s just a big download and it all comes out pretty quick.” He started writing both the manuscript and the album at the same time in 2021. Over three years, Human? morphed into a multi-media megalodon – a memoir/historical non-fiction novel equipped with bespoke visual art pieces for each chapter and a full-length album that sees Ziggy pivot away from his hip-hop roots.
Through Ziggy’s lens as a Wik and South Sea Islander creative, the project centres around the history of Australia through colonisation, the narratives we choose to leave untold and the way we can move forward to a brighter and more unified future.
“The whole idea is the different mediums allow you to absorb the message in a much more three-dimensional way,” he says. “I feel like everyone should be a part of this discourse because we’re talking about our collective humanity and our country’s history, so the hope is that by putting this message in the three mediums, it really widens the pull of who can engage with it.”
After gaining recognition for the release of his 2020 album Black Thoughts, Ziggy became known for his punchy, politically-driven bars and old-school beats. However, on the upcoming album, he’s taken a pretty significant turn. “The music is very different than anything I’ve done. It’s a lot more folk, singer-songwriter-inspired,” he says. This is, in part, due to the process of writing a book and an album at the same time.
“Black Thoughts as an album was like 7000 words, which is very lyrically dense. The manuscript is like 70,000. I knew the chapters were saying so much, so in the music, it was more about capturing the emotion of what that feels like and allowing it to wash over you versus kind of punching it into you.”
“I kind of feel like I’m muzzling my creative spirit by doing the same thing.”
Never afraid to branch out, the album sees him play guitar for the first time and lean towards singing rather than spitting. The album’s first single, Banamba (meaning ‘change’ in the Birri Gubba language) gives fans a first glimpse of this new direction, with harmonies provided by singer and model Guyala Bayles and a simple beat driven by clapping and steel string guitar.
“I kind of feel like I’m muzzling my creative spirit by doing the same thing,” says Ziggy. “For me, going into different mediums and genres – what even are genres these days? I don’t know – but even going and exploring creatively is almost a necessity. By jumping into the deep end of writing a book or picking up a guitar and singing, taking those creative risks makes me really strip it back to ‘okay, what am I trying to say?’”
It’s quite fitting, then, that the theme for this year’s Melbourne Writers Festival is ‘Ghosts’.
“For me, it was a metaphorical ‘ghost’ in the fact that we have these things in our closet, parts of our history that we’re ashamed about that we either ignore or actively don’t teach,” says Ziggy. In curating the program, he cast a wide net, reaching out to a diverse assortment of writers who inspired him.
The result was one of the festival’s richest programs yet, packed with Pulitzer and Booker prize winners and some of our generation’s most exciting voices, including Ann Patchett, Toshikazu Kawaguchi, Paul Lynch, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Bryan Washington and Andrew O’Hagan.
“With my book and album Human? The whole exploration is ‘Well, what happens when we bring those ghosts to the front and centre and actually create a space to talk about them?’” he says.
“With generational trauma, the fact that we don’t talk about these lingering parts of our history, it compounds and then it’s felt today. These things that have haunted us from the past reverberate into the future and you can directly trace [that] it then comes into the present and is affecting our community and our country today.”
WHERE: MELBOURNE
WHEN: 10 MAY
EMMA DONOVAN
Æ We’re so glad Emma Donovan got bored during one of Melbourne’s endless lockdowns, picked up her ukulele and started creating this record. Like late greats before her, especially Archie Roach and Ruby Hunter, Donovan opens up important conversations and amplifies indigenous voices throughout Til My Song Is Done.
“No rest ‘til this voice is heard… Until the day that we see change/ Then I’ll keep singing my people’s pain…” – these title-track lyrics speak volumes about Donovan’s lifelong commitment to singing up for long-overdue positive change.
After almost a decade spent fronting the multi-award winning soul-funk outfit The Putbacks, this proud Gumbayngirr, Dhungutti and Yamatji woman is now primed to share her own stories and this breathtaking solo endeavour was co-written and produced by Mick Meagher (The Putbacks’ bassist and Donovan’s creative collaborator since their shared Black Arm Band days).
Blak Nation, Til My Song Is Done’s lead single, uses back burning (“cool fire”) as a metaphor for the “new generation of Blak voices in music industry today”.
Her exhaustion over having to spotlight the same issues through song over and over again – because, exasperatingly, there’s still so much work to be done – seeps into the bluegrass banjo-led opening number Change Is Coming (ft. Liz Stringer). You know Under Pressure’s sing-off section during which Bowie and Freddie Mercury just keep upping the ante with each line sung? Well, the combined vocal force of Donovan and Stringer is similarly jaw-dropping. Imagine experiencing this show-stopping duet live!
Yet another album highlight, Sing You Over (ft. Paul Kelly), is derived from Donovan singing for her own mother while she passed on. Donovan hopes this gentle, harmonica- and lap steel-enhanced waltz will be sung by mob at community funerals down the track, alongside her grandfather’s songs, to help families grieve.
She also does her bit to preserve language by singing closer Yibaanga Gangaa (Sweet By & By) – a tribute to her Nan and Pop, Micko and Aileen Donovan, who founded their renowned family country band The Donovans – in the Gumbaynggirr language.
Donovan is descended from a long line of musicians and sang with The Donovans, alongside her mother Agnes and five uncles, as a child. Her mother’s “baby brother”, Uncle Ash, was brought in to supply rhythm guitar on this record. In releasing Til My Song Is Done, Donovan honours her family’s country music legacy – they must be so damn proud of her!
From her humble beginnings as a young satin-and-sequins-clad talent quest contestant singing Tammy Wynette and Loretta Lynne songs at Tamworth Country Music Festival, Donovan has bloomed into an artist of integrity and one of our nation’s most important voices. Just when we think Donovan’s vocal performances have reached peak excellence, she goes and finds something extra. A once-in-a-generation voice such as Donovan’s must be heard, shared and celebrated.
Æ We had anticipated Nick Cave & Warren Ellis’ original motion picture score for Back To Black would be somewhat bleak – especially given that Amy Winehouse’s short life was marred by so much tragedy and anguish – but it’s quite the opposite. Instead, Cave and Ellis seem to mourn the late star’s unrealised potential (don’t we all!) through these graceful yet vulnerable compositions, which draw from a subtle, textured instrumental palette of chimes, airy flute, sawing violin, pensive piano, weeping strings, ambient drone and distant vocalisation (harbingers of doom, perhaps?).
Song For Amy, with its swelling string arrangement, is the only track to feature Cave’s vocals, which are fittingly drenched in pathos: “And I’d give you anything for you to stay/ But if you go now, I won’t stand in your way…”
Elsewhere, Tattoo Parlour’s flute riff channels Breathless (from Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds’ Abattoir Blues/The Lyre Of Orpheus double album, released in 2004) and Snooker Hall’s spectral, disorienting “oo-Oo-OO”s ascend from agitated strings.
The Proposition (2005), which Cave also scripted, was the first of many soundtrack commissions for these simpatico collaborators. And although their catalogue is vast and varied, the work of Cave and Ellis is always instantly recognisable.
Minimal and elegant, Black To Black’s hauntingly beautiful score perfectly encapsulates Winehouse’s heartsick longing while sustaining a simmering tension.
Æ Innovative, warped, unbridled and challenging, Gregor’s fourth album is a clash of contrasts as Gregor seeks to “draw attention to the similarities between heaven and hell”. Mad props to the presser writer, who described Satanic Lullabies thus: “Like if preMAGA [Make America Great Again] Kanye made a Disney soundtrack.”
The opening Prelude graduates from tinkling piano into a vibratory bass rumble that threatens to upend any objects sharing a surface with speakers: “Life is amazing/ Disturbed and elegant…”
Innovative sounds fire the imagination throughout, with The Magic Pony’s analogue drum machine beat evoking a ping pong game/popping the inside of your cheek with index finger. The Sparkle opens with meandering keys before percussive hiccups hijack the scene. Hold up, is that a kazoo or gumleaf solo during Royal Blues?
Lamplight transforms from a hypnotic piano meditation into a song fit for a dream sequence (Beauty School Dropout from Grease springs to mind).
“Hazelnut heartbreak”, “a pencil in the sand that was sharpened by hand” – tuning into lyrics activates the mind’s eye. For some reason, Reality Rings Loud makes us think of the artist Shag’s visual universe as Gregor sees “a band in the sky”: “And a delicately manicured haaaand slaps the drum…”
Darkness engulfs the soul during dramatic closer Sick Death – “If you’re sick of me, how do you think I feel about myself?... If you’re sick of me, you should kill me yourself…” – which finishes abruptly.
Intriguing is an understatement. File Satanic Lullabies adjacent to Kirin J Callinan.
Æ Deliberately scheduled to drop on Earth Day, The Green Album is Teeny Tiny Stevies’ response to endless requests on their socials for songs about sustainability; to back up what we’re already teaching the kiddies in our lives.
As Teeny Tiny Stevies, sisters Bethany ‘Beth’ and Sybilla ‘Byll’ Stephen (see also: their “adult band” The Little Stevies) lead the way when it comes to adult-friendly kids bands. Heck, even us so-called grownups will learn a thing or two by giving The Green Album a spin.
The upbeat Babyccino, our first sip of The Green Album, introduces/validates café culture and reusable cups. For the second single Energy!, Teeny Tiny Stevies took a crash course on what keeps the fridge cold and makes light bulbs glow so you don’t have to.
“Even though I’m just a kid, me and my friends care about this…” – Climate Change steers young minds toward solutions-based thinking.
The Green Album also brings the frequent LOLs: “First you have a few/ Then 102/ Now you need to spew..” – Too Much Of A Good Thing singalongs will certainly lighten the mood during long family drives. No more battling a chorus of, “Are we there yet?”s – hooray! While singing about how we can better nurture our planet, Teeny Tiny Stevies manage to keep things light and achievable as well (eg. “If you forgot your Keep Cup you don’t have to give up”).
Æ Inspiration for this record’s vast, filmic lead single, Wild To Be Sharing This Moment, struck while Emily Barker waited for the Hammersmith & City via Paddington train at London’s Kings Cross station: “I see a thousand worlds in the window/ Of a train as it passes me by/ Each one plugged into an orbit/ Their own pain, their own lullaby.”
Fragile As Humans was recorded at producer Luke Potashnick’s The Wool Hall studio – an impressive 16th-century stone building, which was converted to a studio by Tears For Fears in the early-’80s – near Somerset, England.
Having left Western Australia when she was a teenager, Barker arrived in England in the summer of 2000 – with just an acoustic guitar and a backpack – and ended up basing herself there for two-plus decades. This album was created as her time in the UK came to a close. Barker has since returned to WA.
The opening line of Emily Dickinson’s short poem ‘“Hope” is the thing with feathers’ inspired the central image of Feathered Thing, which was written while Barker navigated cumulative grief following a miscarriage. Oscillating piano, distant drums, vibrant strings and cymbal crashes underscore Barker’s vocals, which float and hover like a slipstreaming feather. During the meditative, crestfallen Loneliness, Barker’s aching lilt is cradled by felted piano, dulcimer and a string trio.
Fragile As Humans traverses some raw, sorrowful terrain. But there are also moments of reflection and gratitude, with Call It A Day chronicling the positive experiences –friendships, music connections – Barker accumulated while living abroad.
LIVE MUSIC: is deep in the bones of the Clocktower Centre. The landmark has been used to host many concerts, operas, plays, parties and dinners throughout its storied existence and the history can be felt as soon as you step into the building.
FAMOUS FOR: welcoming in the people of Essendon and beyond since it was first constructed in freaking 1880.
INFAMOUS FOR: a moment in 1914, after one of its countless renovations, when it was considered an “architectural monstrosity” by locals. A bit harsh, if you ask us!
Æ The Clocktower Centre has been a jewel of Essendon for as long as anyone alive today can remember. Despite all that’s changed over the past nearly a century and a half, the Clocktower has remained, providing the community with a much-needed public space for celebration and gathering. It began as a mechanic’s institute in the 1880s following the gold rush of the 1850s. Also, for those who are wondering, the clock was actually only installed in the 1930s. The tower has been providing Essendon residents with the time ever since. In more recent years, the building received a $5 million makeover, transforming it into a modern arts and culture hotspot. It now features a 500-capacity theatre space equipped with a stunning 1898 Bechstein grand piano, a 300-seat function room and creative spaces including a writing room and a podcast studio. There’s also a cute cafe for a pre- or post-show fuel-up. Typically, the stage welcomes orchestral performances, musicals, children’s performances, indie singer-songwriters, classical favourites and the like. The Morning Music series is a highlight, offering early birds the chance to see live performances at 11am. The team does an excellent job of curating a lineup of dazzling talent, outside-of-the-box productions and evocative, mind-expanding acts. This May, the space will take part in the Valley Sounds series, bringing live music and excitement to the Moonee Valley. With an impressive roster of after-dark entertainment locked in the calendar, it’s going to be a big month for the Clocktower Centre.
WHERE: 750 MT ALEXANDER RD, MOONEE PONDS
OPEN: MON–FRI 10AM–4PM + ONE HOUR BEFORE MOST PERFORMANCES
LIVE MUSIC: is on all weekend long at Merri Bar. The vibe is skewed towards rock ‘n’ roll, indie, acoustic and singer-songwriters of all stripes – the perfect smooth soundtrack to go along with your ice-cold drinks.
FAMOUS FOR: the open mic competitions on the first Thursday of each month, hosted by the charismatic visual artists and country folk musician Mr Alford. Do you think you’ve got what it takes to woo the crowd? Sign up if you dare.
INFAMOUS FOR: being one of the few bars lucky enough to carry Clean Break Brewing’s beloved beers. If you haven’t had a chance to sample them so far, beware. You might get hooked.
Æ Although the Merri Bar has only been around for two years, the Preston venue has already won over the hearts of many, local and beyond. Offering punters chilled-out live music on Saturdays and Sundays and a carefully curated selection of drinks all week long, it’s the perfect northside gathering point for a casual catch-up.
When the weather’s warm, the street patio makes for the ultimate people-watching spot, and when it’s cooler, the inside is as cosy as can be. Plus, it’s dog-friendly, so you may even have the chance to pet a pooch or two in the backyard beer garden. On the menu, find food from a rotating cast of favourites. In April, the bar hosted its neighbours Gills Fish and Chips and The Warehouse Pizzeria.
While we recommend hitting the taps to try out a selection from Clean Break, the staff are also well-equipped to whip up a well-balanced cocktail of your choice whenever the mood strikes. In the winter, a steaming cauldron of mulled cider or wine awaits any weary traveller.
And the roster of talent coming through the bar should not be overlooked either. Recently, Merri Bar has stepped up their game, booking acoustic acts from across the country. The intimate room is great for catching artists up close and personal.
WHERE: 15 GILBERT RD, PRESTON
OPEN: TUE–THU 3–11PM FRI 3–1AM
SAT 12PM–1AM SUN 12–11PM
LIVE MUSIC: is a priority for one of Melbourne’s youngest venues. Music Director Jerry Poon labels sound as “a major factor” in shaping the future of the venue, positioning Misfits as a hub for live music for years to come. Heck, their opening night featured DJ heavyweights like Dijok and Palazzo, need we say more?
FAMOUS FOR: its position above a pizza restaurant. Misfit’s location directly above Slice Shop Pizza may lead to one of Melbourne’s most iconic pairings. As proven by a Brunswick Street kebab, there’s nothing a tasty snack on a night out can’t fix. Order a whole NY pizza from the bar delivered to your table.
INFAMOUS FOR: its ridiculously tasty cocktails. Some would argue a venue is only as good as its drinks. If that’s the case, Misfits has one promising future. But don’t just take our word for it: look at the Cherry Ripe Boulevardier featured on the venue’s Instagram. Dangerous in all the right ways.
Æ Seemingly the next big step in Footscray’s transformation into a one-stop shop for all things nightlife, Misfits delivers on Melbourne’s insatiable need for more local venues. Misfits is the brainchild of the Avengers of Melbourne’s entertainment industry: Jacob Bell, Amber Hahipene and Jerry Poon.
If you don’t know them, you almost certainly know their contributions (including Ferdyduke, Section 8, Whitehart and The Operatives). Their experience and knowledge of the industry provide incredible events, amazing lineups and great drinks every Thursday to Sunday after 5pm.
Keen eyes will notice breathtaking artwork by Reza Hasni and A Kidd adorning the wall behind the stage. It exemplifies exactly what Misfits is trying to achieve: uniting Melbournians from far and wide. Located right next to Footscray station, there’s no excuse not to stop by. Get down to Misfits, a place for any and every, and tell ‘em Beat sent you!
WHERE: 30 CHAMBERS ST, FOOTSCRAY
OPEN: THU 5–11PM FRI, SAT 5PM–1AM SUN 5–11PM
LIVE MUSIC: is only one of the many art forms that makes up the creative tapestry of The Round. It arrives mainly in the form of musicals and operas, although the space has been known to host indie gems as well – they’ll be doing a lot of that this month.
FAMOUS FOR: being an arts and culture hopspot in Melbourne’s east. The multi-theatre complex offers punters a chance to catch all kinds of performances without having to trek to the city.
INFAMOUS FOR: Can you really be infamous if you’re not even a year old yet? The venue may be a fresh space, but it’s already made quite the impression.
Æ Last October, when The Round officially threw open its doors, it became clear it didn’t come to play. Run by the Whitehorse City Council, the $78 million investment features a 600-capacity proscenium theatre, a second, more intimate theatre and multiple versatile rehearsal spaces slash community function rooms. It was designed to give artsy types in Nunawading and the surrounding suburbs a place to soak in a diverse range of offerings. With free parking, a beautiful bar and accessible prices, you really can’t go wrong.
Ballets, operas, plays, live music – you name it, it’s happening at The Round. It even hosts children’s shows, which makes it the perfect option for school holidays or a rainy Sunday arvo. From drag provocateurs to calisthenics competitions, the programmers have been running wild (in the best way). They’re not afraid to push boundaries and deliver experimental works and emerging talent alongside tried-and-true hits.
In May, the venue will host its debut Round Sound festival. Featuring performances by heavyweights including Kate Miller-Heidke and Ben Lee as well as plenty of industry workshops and networking opportunities, it offers fans and musos alike the chance to celebrate the thing they love most. At a dicey moment for the Australian arts scene, it’s great to see a venue that’s so committed to supporting local talent.
WHERE:
379–399 WHITEHORSE RD, NUNAWADING
OPEN: DURING SHOWS AND EVENTS
BROOKE TAYLOR & THE POISON
SPITTING
GIN QUEENS
Brunswick Ballroom. Brunswick. 8pm. $28.15.
PSI PHI:
KICKIN’ THE B
Bar 303. Northcote. 9pm. $20.
50 YEARS OF HITS!
ROSS WILSON & THE PEACENIKS
Plenty Ranges
Arts & Convention Centre. South Morang. 8pm. $69.
DOWNBEAT WAX
FT: Rick Howe
Wax Music Lounge. Melbourne. 6pm. Free.
ORCHESTRA
VICTORIA: THE EIGHT SEASONS
Melbourne Recital Centre. Southbank. 7.30pm. $39 - 69.
SELECT ALL. TERRA ROUGE, HEARTBREAKER
JOHN
Curtin Hotel. Carlton. 8pm. $15.
THE DREGGS. TOM HARRINGTON, JACK WILLIS,
GEORGIE LYONS
Northcote Social Club. Northcote. 7.30pm.
BUCK DANCER’S
CHOICE + WILLIE
J’S 6V6S
Lulie Tavern. Abbotsford. 9pm. Free.
FREYA JOSEPHINE
HOLLICK + J
TAYLOR BELL
Gem Bar. Collingwood. 8pm. Free.
KAT EDWARDS. KIT GENESIS
Hotel Esplanade (The Espy). St Kilda. 7.30pm. Free.
ANGUS LEGG & HIS BAND.
SEB SZABO, MATHILDE ANNE
The Bergy Seltzer. Brunswick. 7pm. $22.95.
MELODY POOL
Wesley Anne. Northcote. 7.30pm. $33.70.
GROOVE VULTURES. SKYTANIC, SPACECROC
The Tote. Collingwood. 7.30pm. $11.25.
BACKO.
FJ & THE SWITCH, SHAKESPEARE
Bar Open. Fitzroy. 8pm. $17.35.
ION SKY BURN. CITY SAINTS, JOE LAF BAND
The Leadbeater Hotel. Richmond. 7.30pm. $20.
IT’S CAMPDRAG SHOW
FT: Silvio Di Bac, Goo, Areola Grande, Carnelian, Wayne Cole
The Old Bar. Fitzroy. 8pm. $11.25.
FLOW MOTION
Kindred Bandroom. Footscray. 7pm. Free.
THE MUSIC OF JOE HENDERSON AND KENNY
DORHAM
FT: Jared Becker
Paris Cat Jazz Club. Melbourne. 7pm. $35.
KLIMENT & ONCE UPON A TIME.
AMBLER,BIOMASS,
ANAIS LIN
Laundry Bar. Fitzroy. 9pm. $18.03.
DEATH BY DENIM
Cherry Bar. Melbourne. 8pm. $10.
ODDISEE + DJ
UNOWN. JAAL, DJ DEM LARGE, DJ FOLARIN
Wax Music Lounge. Melbourne. 6pm. $40 - 65.
THE TERMINATOR
LIVE
Hamer Hall (Arts Centre Melbourne). Melbourne. 7.30pm. $79 - $149.
CLOVER BLUE
Lulie Tavern. Abbotsford. 9pm. Free.
THIS AIN’T NO DISCO
FT: DJ Dan Hall
Bar 303. Northcote. 9pm. $10.
BIEN. DJ KAY Z, DJ SWAZZ, MC BIGGIE
Corner Hotel. Richmond. 8.30pm. $75.
BABY BLUE.
SUNNY MORRIS, LILY MORRIS, DJ AL PARKINSON
Northcote Social Club. Northcote. 8.30pm. $24.
THE DEADLY APPLE-JOHNS
The Thornbury Local. Thornbury. 8pm.
TEK TEK ENSEMBLE.
DON’T THANK ME, SPANK ME! Brunswick Ballroom. Brunswick. 8.30pm. $25.
THE BREADMAKERS + THE WILDEBEATS
Gem Bar. Collingwood. 8pm. Free.
LADY BUNNY: DON’T BRING THE KIDS!!
Hotel Esplanade (The Espy). St Kilda. 7.30pm. $59.70.
BASEMENT
COMEDY CLUB
Morris House. Melbourne. 8pm. $25.
THE SWELLS.
PRETTY GOOD SOFA, SKERZO
The Penny Black. Brunswick. 8pm.
THE DANDY WARHOLS.
MAGIC MACHINE
Northcote Theatre. Northcote. 7.30pm.
HUSSY HICKS + CECILIA
Wesley Anne. Northcote. 8pm. $28.60.
DAEZY.
LIAM HYNES, THE ROBBIES
Bar Open. Fitzroy. 8.30pm. $17.35.
NEPHALEM.
WITH WELL, OUTTA SPITE
The Beast. Brunswick East. 9pm. Free.
Hardcore Victim
2024 Weekender
FT: Kriegshog, Straight Jacket Nation, No Future, Hacker, Sin Tax, Romansy, Kissland
The Tote. Collingwood. 7pm. $44.40 - 86.20.
THE MAY QUEENS
PLAY PRIDE
Pride of our Footscray Nightclub & Bar. Footscray. 8pm. $14. Rad Presents
CARLA GENEVE. RICKY ALBECK, SIAN STACEY
The Old Bar. Fitzroy. 8pm. $34.70.
SISTERS DOLL. XCALIBRE, CICADASTONE, AUDIO REIGN
The Workers Club. Fitzroy. 7pm. $28.30.
GLOW. RISE FROM ASHES, WEREWOLF, GRAVE RISK, THE TRAUMADOLLS, HE WHO SEEKS VENGEANCE
Kindred Bandroom. Footscray. 6pm. $17.14.
A NIGHT IN PARIS
FT: Tamara Kuldin and Raleigh Williams
Paris Cat Jazz Club. Melbourne. 8.30pm. $45.
THE MUSIC OF SERGIO MENDES
FT: Georgie Aué Band
Paris Cat Jazz Club. Melbourne. 5.30pm. $45.
BROOKE TAYLOR & THE POISON SPITTING GIN
QUEENS
The Shed @ The Pig & Whistle. Main Ridge. 8pm. $35.
ALEXIS FISHMAN: AMY WINEHOUSE RESURRECTED
Royal Brighton Yacht Club. Brighton. 8.30pm. $55.
DIVE BAR DISCO
FT: Amelia Lackman, Apollo Walker, Chestwig, Pixleton, Cuznmatt, Desire Lines
The Vic Bar. Abbotsford. 7pm. Free.
May the 4th
FT: Boy Wonder, Altria Bad Decisions Bar. Fitzroy. 8pm. $18.03.
BDSM-420 RECORDS PRESENTS:
OUR CARLSON. BLONDE REVOLVER, THE VOVOS, C.R.A.I.G
Northcote Social Club. Northcote. 8pm. $35.30.
50 YEARS OF HITS! ROSS WILSON & THE PEACENIKS
Wendouree Centre for the Performing Arts. Wendouree. 8pm. $64.
THE TERMINATOR
LIVE
Hamer Hall (Arts Centre Melbourne). Melbourne. 7.30pm. $79 - $149.
TAMAS WELLS
Melbourne Recital Centre. Southbank. 7pm. $44.
Cherryfest 2024
FT: The Gooch Palms, Willie J & The Bad Books, Aardvark, Ben Mastwyk & His Millions, Avalanche, Hot Machine, The Stripp, Persecution Blues, The Shadow Ministers, more
Cherry Bar. Melbourne. 2pm. $27.70 - 55.50.
KIRIN J. CALLINAN
Corner Hotel. Richmond. 8pm. $46.
LULIE’S 9TH
BIRTHDAY
Lulie Tavern. Abbotsford. 7pm. Free.
BEAUTIFUL BUILDINGS
The Thornbury Local. Thornbury. 8pm.
BABE RAINBOW. VERY NICE
PERSON
Brunswick Ballroom. Brunswick. 8.30pm. $43.96.
MATT BOURKE & THE DELUSIONAL DRUNKS + WORKER & PARASITE
Gem Bar. Collingwood. 4pm. Free.
CHELSEA CUTLER
Northcote Theatre. Northcote. 7.30pm. $74.90.
PORTAL GUN.
MILOU MOON, SWEET NOTHING
The Bergy Seltzer. Brunswick. 8pm. $16.85.
BASEMENT
COMEDY CLUB
Morris House. Melbourne. 8pm. $25.
MAY THE FOURTH BE WITH YOU
FT: The Engagment
The Penny Black. Brunswick. 7pm. Free.
Hardcore Victim 2024 Weekender
FT: Kriegshog, Skizophrenia, Enzyme, Swab, Sepsis, Dejector, Phantasm, Rat-Bait, Prospexx
The Tote. Collingwood. 7pm. $55.60 - 86.20.
SATURDAY
NIGHT PARTY: TILLY CAPULET
Pride of our Footscray Nightclub & Bar. Footscray. 10pm. Free.
THE MELTDOWN
The Night Cat. Fitzroy. 8.30pm. $34.66.
DREAM + INERTIA + DAISY CHAIN.
GIL CERRONE, THE WORLD
AT A GLANCE, KERATIN, PALA
The Old Bar. Fitzroy. 8pm. $15.
CARPAL TUNNEL BAND. ROMCOM, SIGNAL CHAIN
The Last Chance Rock & Roll Bar. North Melbourne. 7.30pm. $16.35.
SEKKLE & BOP. HOUSEWIVES CHOICE
SOUNDSYTEM
Kindred Bandroom. Footscray. 4pm. $20.
A NORAH JONES
TRIBUTE: GEORGIE AUÉ BAND
Paris Cat Jazz Club. Melbourne. 5.30pm. $45.
ONE PERCENT
FT: Yugwan, J-OK, Bluntslide, Adam Clayton, binofski, padre
Section 8. Melbourne. 6pm. Free.
SIMO SOO. BIG LENG, DEXTER, HAYLEY CRYMBLE
Nighthawks. Collingwood. 8.15pm. $15.
JAIME CONDUCTS
DEBUSSY & STRAUSS
Hamer Hall (Arts Centre Melbourne). Melbourne. 7.30pm. $20 - 139.
BRANDENBURG:
BAROQUE
KALEIDOSCOPE
Melbourne Recital Centre. Southbank. 7pm. $30 - 196.
WILLIE J’S 6V6S
Lulie Tavern. Abbotsford. 10pm. Free.
FREYA JOSEPHINE
HOLLICK + RYAN
MCGILLIAM
Gem Bar. Collingwood. 8pm. Free.
RYAN MCMULLAN.
JONNY REID
Hotel Esplanade (The Espy). St Kilda. 7.30pm. $54.60.
NEEMA NAZ:
ESTUPID POP-UP
The Bergy Seltzer. Brunswick. 8pm. $33.15.
JAZZ NIGHT
Morris House. Melbourne. 7pm.
TONY KING
Wesley Anne. Northcote. 6pm.
CASH SAVAGE & THE LAST DRINKS.
GRACE CHIA
The Tote. Collingwood. 8pm.
MUSKI X RUSS
CHARITY PUB
NIGHT WITH
JACQUI LUMSDEN
The Workers Club. Fitzroy. 8pm. $17.85.
EVE DUNCAN & WHO ARE THESE GUYS
Paris Cat Jazz Club. Melbourne. 7pm.
BROOKE TAYLOR.
JEREMY BEGGS
Odessa at Leavers. Creswick. 7pm. $20.
GLOAM MUSIC
LAUNCH
FT: Sekkleman, Chris Munky, Tobacco Rat, Sistym, Chapter, Kassie
QQQ ST. Park. Collingwood. 7pm.
$18.50 - 21.75.
PURE LOGIC
Micawber Tavern. Belgrave. 7pm. Free.
ROSS WILSON & THE PEACENIKS
Wangaratta Performing Arts & Convention Centre. Wangaratta. 8pm. $69.
JOYCE YANG
Melbourne Recital Centre. Southbank. 7.30pm. $60 - 120.
LUNA’S DARK SECRET. THE STRAIGHT SHOOTERS, FORKLIFT ASSASSINS
Cherry Bar. Melbourne. 8pm. $14.41.
THE CONSONANCE OF HIP HOP AND D&B FT: JÄEGER & Rosella, MC Melroid, HankSkorpio, Reality
Never Dies, Mannix, SK4NK, The Flow
Faerie Faeded Faerie
The Toff In Town. Melbourne. 7.30pm. $17.34.
MANIC TEMPLE. VERONA LIGHTS, TERRESTRIALS
Bar 303. Northcote. 8pm. $21.
THE BEACHES. LOTTE GALLAGHER
Corner Hotel. Richmond. 8.30pm.
SULDUSK
Northcote Social Club. Northcote. 8.30pm. $24.
BEC SYKES
The Thornbury Local. Thornbury. 8pm.
SIGNAL CHAIN + MONNONE ALONE
Gem Bar. Collingwood. 8pm. Free.
GLEE: 15 YEAR ANNIVERSARY
PARTY
Hotel Esplanade (The Espy). St Kilda. 9pm. $25.
EXTORTION. PRIMITIVE BLAST, SHITGRINDER, CUTTERS
Howler. Brunswick. 8pm. $33.66.
SCREAMFEEDER
The Bergy Seltzer. Brunswick. 8pm. $31.15.
BASEMENT COMEDY CLUB
Morris House. Melbourne. 8pm. $25.
ALANNA & ALICIA. VALLEY ROAD
Wesley Anne. Northcote. 8pm. $28.60.
PAUL KIDNEY EXPERIENCE.
THE BLACK HEART DEATH
CULT, SPAWN, NIGHTEYES
The Tote. Collingwood. 8pm. $16.35.
SHAKE IT: THE BEST OF BURLESQUE
Pride of our Footscray Nightclub & Bar. Footscray. 8pm. $20.
MISTER CO.
The Night Cat. Fitzroy. 6.30pm. $29.50.
TITUS O’REILY: SPORT - THE UNAUTHORISED HISTORY
The Leadbeater Hotel. Richmond. 7pm. $30.
THE SUBORDINATES. FOGGY NOTION, FREYA JOSEPHINE HOLLICK, HANDGRENADE HEARTS
The Last Chance
Rock & Roll Bar. North Melbourne. 8pm. $16.35.
THE WHITLAMS
BLACK STUMP
Kindred Bandroom. Footscray. 7.30pm. $64.16.
RACHEL ROSS QUINTET
Paris Cat Jazz Club. Melbourne. 8.30pm. $45.
50 YEARS OF HITS!
ROSS WILSON & THE PEACENIKS
Frankston Arts Centre. Frankston. 8pm. $69.
GEOFF ACHISON & THE SOULDIGGERS
Micawber Tavern. Belgrave. 8.30pm. $10.
NO SLEEP
TILL TEXAS
Coburg RSL Club. Coburg. 6pm. Free.
VIR DAS: MIND
FOOL TOUR
Hamer Hall (Arts Centre Melbourne). Melbourne. 8pm. $79.90 - 89.90.
Melbourne Recital Centre. Southbank. 7pm. $37.
THE GOLDEN GAYTIMES
Cherry Bar. Melbourne. 8pm. $17.48.
HYDRA FASHION WEEK + DANDD920. NPCEDE, BOYFRIEND TV, DJ CONG JOSIE
John Curtin Hotel. Carlton. 8pm. $22.85.
KEIYNAN LONSDALE.
AKOSIA
Northcote Social Club. Northcote. 8.30pm. $35.30 - 40.40.
BRAVE NEW WORLD. MUNCHY DOLPHIN, CASS BROCK
Brunswick Ballroom. Brunswick. 8pm. $38.86.
GLEN + LICKLASH
Gem Bar. Collingwood. 4pm. Free.
SAM FISCHER
Howler. Brunswick. 8pm. $59.90.
SCREAMFEEDER
The Bergy Seltzer. Brunswick. 8pm. $31.15.
BASEMENT COMEDY CLUB
Morris House. Melbourne. 8pm. $25.
LILY ANNA & THE MAVERICK QUEEN. THE SPARES, GNOMETIVITIES
The Penny Black. Brunswick. 8pm.
THE MARY WALLOPERS
Northcote Theatre. Northcote. 7.30pm. $91.90.
UNDERGROUND LOVE
FT: Screensaver, SLOMO, Hooper Crescent, Scud
The Tote. Collingwood. 8pm. $23.50.
CORPORATE RAIDERS. T-BONES, FOUR DOOR SHIT BOX, VONNYGUTS THE YORKSHIRE
Stingo Hotel. Abbotsford. 3pm. $25.
SATURDAY NIGHT
PARTY: GLOSS
Pride of our Footscray Nightclub & Bar. Footscray. 10pm. Free.
TITUS O’REILY:
The Leadbeater Hotel. Richmond. 7pm. $30.
MAMMON’S THRONE.
SUNDOWNER, AGLO, GIANT
The Last Chance Rock & Roll Bar. North Melbourne. 7.30pm. $16.35.
ISHAN. AMALIA, VINNIE BRIGANTE
The Workers Club. Fitzroy. 8pm. $18.10.
SETTING SUN
FILM FESTIVALYOUTH SESSION A
Kindred Bandroom. Footscray. 12.30pm.
SOUL CHIC: CELEBRATING
WOMEN OF JAZZ & SOUL
Paris Cat Jazz Club. Melbourne. 6pm. $45.
PIAF! THE SHOW
The Palms at Crown. Southbank. 7.30pm. $90.68.
RACHMANINOV & WEINBERG
Hamer Hall (Arts Centre Melbourne). Melbourne. 7.30pm. $20 - 139.
JON CLEARY & THE ABSOLUTE MONSTER
GENTLEMEN
Brunswick Ballroom. Brunswick. 8pm. $64.90.
FREYA JOSEPHINE HOLLICK + TOMMY BROOKS
Gem Bar. Collingwood. 8pm. Free.
SEB SZABO. HOLLY HEBE, JANIE GORDON
The Bergy Seltzer. Brunswick. 7pm. $27.05.
YNGWIE
MALMSTEEN
Northcote Theatre. Northcote. 7.30pm. $99.
WE WRITE SONGS (AND SOMETIMES WE FINISH THEM)
FT: Matilda Hassall, Benjamin Trillado, Maddy Petch, Will Conway, Maz Green Wesley Anne. Northcote. 8pm. $12.25.
SHOWGIRLS
Pride of our Footscray
Nightclub & Bar. Footscray. 7pm. $15.
ZAK SHEPHERD
Micawber Tavern. Belgrave. 7pm. Free.
PIAF! THE SHOW
The Palms at Crown. Southbank. 7.30pm. $89.
THE OPERATIVES
FT: JPS, Nam, more
Section 8. Melbourne. 6pm. Free.
AUDRA
MCDONALD
Hamer Hall (Arts Centre Melbourne). Melbourne. 7.30pm. $49.90 - 139.90.
SHARE HOUSE: THE MUSICAL
Arts Centre Melbourne. Melbourne. 7.30pm. $20 - 59.
MARTHA WAINWRIGHT
Melbourne Recital Centre. Southbank. 8pm. $90 - 109.
THE BITTER VICS. THE DRANO HOTSHOTS
Cherry Bar. Melbourne. 8.30pm.
HIT ME HARD & SOFT - BILLIE EILISH RELEASE PARTY
The Toff In Town. Melbourne. 7pm. $28.56.
BRITISH INDIA
Corner Hotel. Richmond. 8.30pm. $46.
KLAVE DUO
The Thornbury Local. Thornbury. 8pm.
JON CLEARY & THE ABSOLUTE MONSTER
GENTLEMEN
Brunswick Ballroom. Brunswick. 8.30pm. $64.90.
DEAR
SEATTLE. THE TULLAMARINES, JET CITY
SPORTS CLUB
Hotel Esplanade (The Espy). St Kilda. 7pm. $38.25.
THEDELIRIOUS. FAREWELL SHOW. RAMONA SKY, KITE VENDOR
The Bergy Seltzer. Brunswick. 8pm. $16.85.
HARLEY BREEN
Morris House. Melbourne. 8pm. $40.68.
LUCA BRASI. SPANISH LOVE SONGS
Northcote Theatre. Northcote. 7.30pm. $69.90.
HELL ON EARTH. IDENTITY TERROR, BLOOD ON MY HANDS, DEMISE, TARNISHED
The Tote. Collingwood. 7.30pm. $16.35.
HUMANE ANIMAL RESCUE FUNDRAISER
BINGO
Pride of our Footscray Nightclub & Bar. Footscray. 7.30pm. $10.
BEC TAYLOR & THE LYREBIRDS. HAPPY AXE, JAMES FAHY
Bar Open. Fitzroy. 8.30pm. $17.35.
WESLEY FULLER. STARCRAZY, MILOU MOON
The Workers Club. Fitzroy. 8pm. $21.20.
MELBOURNE
TRAP ORCHESTRA. IN XIRA
Kindred Bandroom. Footscray. 8pm. $15.
THE RUSS SPIEGEL QUINTET
Paris Cat Jazz Club. Melbourne. 8.30pm. $40.
CAMPBELL MOWAT
The Merri Bar. Preston. 7pm.
UKULELE DEATH SQUAD. THE BELLY SAVALAS
Brunswick Ballroom. Brunswick. 8.30pm. $38.86.
THE LISTIES: MAKE SOME NOISE Clocktower Centre. Moonee Ponds. 1pm. $30.
MRS HIBISCUS
FT: Mrs. Wallace, Crey, Amin Payne, Sadiva, Genki, T. O. K. E. N Section 8. Melbourne. 5pm. Free.
PIAF! THE SHOW
The Palms at Crown. Southbank. 7.30pm. $89.
GROOVE TUNES
FT: Big Words, Empress, Mathilde Anne, Miss Emilia, MzRizk Corner Hotel. Richmond. 6pm. $25 - 40.
FRIENDS OF FRIENDS. PRETTY BLEAK, GRASS STAINS
Bad Decisions Bar. Fitzroy. 8pm. $30.60.
PETER FREEBAIRN PRESENTS SILHOUETTES & CIGARETTES. VICTOR STRANGES
Wesley Anne. Northcote. 3pm. $20.40.
SOUL CENTRAL
FT: DJ Lady Soul
Cherry Bar. Melbourne. 8pm. Free.
RACHMANINOV & WEINBERG
Hamer Hall (Arts Centre Melbourne). Melbourne. 7.30pm. $20 - 139.
CHARLES MAIMAROSIA
Melbourne Recital Centre. Southbank. 7pm. $37.
Goody’s HiFi Presents
VILIFY. ST.SINNER
John Curtin Hotel. Carlton. 8pm. $22.85.
KYLE LIONHART
Northcote Social Club. Northcote. 8.30pm. $39.99.
GORDON GUNN DUO
The Thornbury Local. Thornbury. 8pm.
BEAUTIFUL BUILDINGS. AMARILLO, MATT GLASS
The Bergy Seltzer. Brunswick. 1.30pm. $28.05.
BASEMENT COMEDY CLUB
Morris House. Melbourne. 8pm. $25.
LUCY’S DISORDER. SMOKING CATERPILLAR, BURNT BAILS
The Penny Black. Brunswick. 8.30pm. Free.
Fungus Brain Festival
FT: Mushroom Giant, Grinding Eyes, Treebeard, Myriad Drone, more
The Tote. Collingwood. 12pm. $28.60.
PRIDE COMEDY
Pride of our Footscray Nightclub & Bar. Footscray. 7.30pm. $20.
LORD APEX
The Night Cat. Fitzroy. 7.30pm. $65.15.
MIDNIGHT CIRCUITRY / SYNAPTIC DREAMS
Bar Open. Fitzroy. 11pm. Free.
BLACK LAVA. ALARUM, NEMBUTOLIK, TREPACIDE
The Leadbeater Hotel. Richmond. 7.30pm. $31.90.
NEBULAM. FALSE DICHOTOMY, TARNISHED
The Last Chance Rock & Roll Bar. North Melbourne. 3pm. $11.25.
THE MCCREDIE BROTHERS
The Workers Club. Fitzroy. 8pm. $30.85.
TWISETED X SUB YARD PRESENTS
BENNY PAGE
Kindred Bandroom. Footscray. 9pm. $30.
ANTON DELECCA QUARTET
FT: Emma Gilmartin
Paris Cat Jazz Club. Melbourne. 6.30pm. $40.
FOREVER YOUNG: THE SONGS OF BOB DYLAN
Palais Theatre. St Kilda. 8pm. $89.90.
ENGELBERT HUMPERDINCK
Hamer Hall (Arts Centre Melbourne). Melbourne. 7pm. $120.90 - 164.90.
BEN LEE & IONE SKYE’S WEIRDER TOGETHER
Brunswick Ballroom. Brunswick. 8pm. $35.
FREYA JOSEPHINE HOLLICK + BILLY CHARLES
Gem Bar. Collingwood. 8pm. Free.
JAZZ NIGHT Morris House. Melbourne. 7pm.
THE SNUTS. ELIZA & THE DELUSIONALS
Northcote Theatre. Northcote. 7.30pm. $64.90.
TORI FORSYTH. JAY SANTILL
The Tote. Collingwood. 8pm. $28.60.
OPEN MIC
Ragtime Tavern. Preston. 6.30pm. Free.
KING BLAKEY: THE JAZZ MESSENGERS
Paris Cat Jazz Club. Melbourne. 7.30pm. $45.
DEAR DIARY
FT: Kay Proudlove
Clocktower Centre. Moonee Ponds. 7.30pm. $50.
JOTA: DUO CIAMPA - PICCOTTI
Collingwood Town Hall. Collingwood. 7pm. $33.
FAIRTRADE NARCOTICS
PRESENT:
CERULEAN
(SINGLE LAUNCH).
FT: Private Mountain, Tommy & Roy
The Catfish. Fitzroy. 8pm. $15.
MONROE. SKYTANIC, CRUSHED LAVENDER, THE RARTEL
Bad Decisions Bar. Fitzroy. 8pm. $12.36.
FOREVER YOUNG: THE SONGS OF BOB DYLAN
Ulumbarra Theatre. Bendigo. 8pm. $89.90.
HAVASI PURE PIANO TOUR
Hamer Hall (Arts Centre Melbourne). Melbourne. 8pm. $129 - 149.
THE BOITE: THE MUSIC BETWEEN
Melbourne Recital Centre. Southbank. 7pm. $37.
THE BAMBOOS. STEPPERS
Corner Hotel. Richmond. 8.30pm. $51.10.
WITCHGRINDER
Northcote Social Club. Northcote. 8pm. $29.10.
JEANE
Lulie Tavern. Abbotsford. 9pm. Free.
RIVER BIGBY
The Thornbury Local. Thornbury. 8pm.
SOUTH SUMMIT Hotel Esplanade (The Espy). St Kilda. 7.30pm. $28.05.
THE 2024 YUMMY SPECTACULAR
Howler. Brunswick. 8pm. $49.47 - 69.87.
THE LAST MARTYR. ULTRAVIOLET, NTH RD, NIGHTLIGHT
The Bergy Seltzer. Brunswick. 8pm. $22.95.
BASEMENT COMEDY CLUB
Morris House. Melbourne. 8pm. $25.
GEORGIA RODGERS
Wesley Anne. Northcote. 6pm.
BODY MAINTENANCE. DARK WATER, ARMOUR, IT THING
The Tote. Collingwood. 7.30pm. $23.50.
HEARTACHE:
LOVE + RNB WITH ALEX DUKAS
Ragtime Tavern. Preston. 8pm. Free.
SMARTCASUAL
Yah Yahs. Fitzroy. 9pm. $15.
Down Under Cyphers Show
FT: Lil Sknow, Pang Productions, Greeley, Plire, Erik Devine, Lachy Hamill, Vanguard, Mental Az
The Leadbeater Hotel. Richmond. 7pm. $34.70.
EASTBOUND
BUZZ
The Last Chance
Rock & Roll Bar. North Melbourne. 8.30pm. $16.35.
THE MUSIC OF MOBLEY
Paris Cat Jazz Club. Melbourne. 6.30pm. $40.
JOTA: DUO
CIAMPA - PICCOTTI
Rowville Secondary College Eastern Campus Performing Arts Centre. Rowville. 7pm. $33.
FOREVER YOUNG:
THE SONGS OF BOB DYLAN
Burrinja Cultural Centre. Upwey. 7.30pm. $79.90.
THE
FEMINIST PODCAST LIVE
Hamer Hall (Arts Centre Melbourne). Melbourne. 7.30pm. $69.90 - 79.90.
UP NEXT COMEDY
Arts Centre Melbourne. Melbourne. 5pm. $20.
HOSS. DJ CENTIPEDE, THE EARTHWORMS
Cherry Bar. Melbourne. 8pm. $22.59.
PIZZA DEATH. TOTALLY UNICORN, R.U.B.
The Toff In Town. Melbourne. 7pm. $28.56.
SAMANTHA FISH + JESSE DAYTON.
OPELOUSAS
Corner Hotel. Richmond. 8.30pm. $67.
KITSCHEN BOY + THERE’S A TUESDAY
Northcote Social Club. Northcote. 8pm. $35.30.
BLACKBIRD GREEN + THE SILENCE ENGINE
The Thornbury Local. Thornbury. 8pm.
MELBOURNE
SOUL WEEKENDER
Brunswick Ballroom. Brunswick. 8pm. $28.15.
BASEMENT
COMEDY CLUB
Morris House. Melbourne. 8pm. $25.
PIERRE JAQUINOT TRIO
Wesley Anne. Northcote. 6pm.
PET RHINO. STRAWBZ, THE VALIANTS
The Tote. Collingwood. 8pm. $13.80.
PRIDE DRAG
BINGO PRESENTED BY DYKES ON BIKES
MELBOURNE
Pride of our Footscray Nightclub & Bar. Footscray. 3pm. $10.
SATURDAY
NIGHT PARTY: ART SIMONE + PASHION
COUTURE
Pride of our Footscray Nightclub & Bar. Footscray. 10pm. Free.
HUSKY
The Night Cat. Fitzroy. 7.30pm. $37.72.
BELTIN’ ELTON WITH NITIDA
Ragtime Tavern. Preston. 8pm.
MENTAL WEALTH
FT: Divers, Loser, Grazer, Swim State, Mature Themes
The Leadbeater Hotel. Richmond. 6.30pm. $25.
HANA & JESSIELEE’S BAD HABITS. NORWOOD, THE SMITH & WESTERN JURY
The Old Bar. Fitzroy. 8pm. $15.
FLAMING
WREKAGE. IN MALICE’S WAKE, PRIMITIVE, THE ABSOLUTION SEQUENCE, ROSWELL
DEATHSQUAD
The Workers Club. Fitzroy. 8pm. $29.99.
INTERSTATE MADNESS
FT: Bloodmouth, Forewarned, Bully Squad, Spat Out, End It All Kindred Bandroom. Footscray. 7pm. $22.23.
JENNIFER SALISBURY SINGS
AUDIOSLAVE: A MARK MORAND
PRODUCTION
Paris Cat Jazz Club. Melbourne. 8.30pm. $45.
KATIE NOONAN X
MSO: LOVE - AN ACT OF BRAVERY
Hamer Hall (Arts Centre Melbourne). Melbourne. $59 - 99.
GENEVIEVE LACEY & MARSHALL
MCGUIRE:
WISHING SONGS
Melbourne Recital Centre. Southbank. 8pm. $60.
EUGENE HAMILTON & THE MONEY
Brunswick Ballroom. Brunswick. 8pm. $38.86.
JAZZ NIGHT
Morris House. Melbourne. 7pm.
KARNIVOOL
Northcote Theatre. Northcote. 7.30pm.
INDI&NOONS
Wesley Anne. Northcote. 6pm.
BLUE LUCY
The Tote. Collingwood. 7.30pm. $16.35.
OPEN MIC Ragtime Tavern. Preston. 6.30pm. Free.
PINK ROCK SALT. FUR BLOSSOM, CHLOE BOOTH
Bar Open. Fitzroy. 8pm. $20.
EVAN CARYDAKIS
Paris Cat Jazz Club. Melbourne. 7.30pm. $35.
YA TSEEN
Melbourne Recital Centre. Southbank. 7.30pm. $55 - 65.
Battle Of The Agile Bands ‘24
FT: Continuously
Grooving, Fully Seek, Hellvetica, Hot Property, Mantel Piece, Shitbox Rally Takeover
John Curtin Hotel. Carlton. 7.30pm. $33.45.
BOO SEEKA
Corner Hotel. Richmond. 8.30pm. $40.40.
KIAN + LOGAN
Northcote Social Club. Northcote. 8.30pm. $29.10.
KAREN LEE ANDREWS. GABBY STEEL
Brunswick Ballroom. Brunswick. 8.30pm. $49.06.
NOASISNO.1 OASIS EXPERIENCE. SOTV
Hotel Esplanade (The Espy). St Kilda. 7pm. $33.15.
BASEMENT COMEDY CLUB
Morris House. Melbourne. 8pm. $25.
BASEMENT SPACEMAN. KATANKIN
Wesley Anne. Northcote. 8pm. $15.
FUNDRAISER FOR BENAIAH FIU
FT: Chrome Cell
Torture, Civic, Hayley Mary, Black Deity, Phil & The Tiles
The Tote. Collingwood. 8pm. $28.60.
