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ForteMagazine forte_mag forte_mag
Ahh November is here - do you hear the whistle note of Mariah Carey whispering through the air ready to signal in the festive season? Not only does it mean the end of 2024 is drawing closer to an end, it also means that announcements for touring and shows in 2025 are coming in thick and fast with a summer of song in store!
Æ Our cover star, GRAMMY Award-winning R&B, neo-soul artist Leon Bridges will be joining us in January to headline A DAY ON THE GREEN, bridging his hometown with ours. Irish country-pop starlet CMAT is also joining the A DAY ON THE GREEN celebrations at the start of the year in support of The Teskey Brothers. On the local touring circuit, Hoodoo Gurus, Katie Noonan and The Butterfly Effect will be hitting the road in 2025 but before the year is out A. Savage, The Jungle Giants and blyss. will be serving up their doses of delicious ear-food. We chat to all of them about their impending tours, new music and so much more. Speaking new music, explore the new titles from Ocean Grove, The Offspring, Make Them Suffer, Goat and Twine.
This month we also look at the bold, brave and celebrated of the art world with a special retrospective exhibition for First Nations artist and advocate Josh Muir happening at the Art Gallery of Ballarat, and Geelong Arts Centre’s upcoming showings of Arterial by award-winning First Nations group Na Djinang Circus.
Finally in the food world, beers, cocktails and coffee are at the heart of our venue spotlight thanks to Bells Beach Brewing, Elsewhere at SAM, frankie. and Out of Order Cafe.
It’s a big old issue, this one - sink in!
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF TRADITIONAL OWNERS
Our magazine is published on the lands of the Wadawurrung People of the 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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COVER
Our November cover is Leon Bridges for A Day On The Green
Credit: Jack Bool
TEAM PICKS
TAMMY Editor
‘Johnny and Mary’ Todd Terje, Bryan Ferry
“Any
MATT Partnerships & Campaign Manager
‘In the Jungle?’ The Vines
“‘Lines of a story, you put before me I don’t know what to choose...”
Designer
“Whilst the production is a tad too abrasive and glassy for my old ears, I’m loving the intensity, rhythms and light/shade of this.”
NEWS
Ç AUSTRALIAN ROCK
ICONS SOUTHERN SONS
TO HEAD OUT ON 35 ANNIVERSARY TOUR
Emerging during the 1990’s with hits like ‘Hold Me In Your Arms’ and ‘Heart In Danger’, Southern Sons are getting back together to celebrate 35 years. The original lineup will play shows under the Southern stars for audiences across regional centres in Australia between January and May 2025.
Ç AUSMUSIC T-SHIRT DAY IS BACK
Music industry charity Support Act has announced that Ausmusic T-Shirt Day will return on Thursday, 28 November 2024. The initiative, which promotes the tagline ‘Life’s better with Australian music’, aims to celebrate Australian music while raising urgently needed funds for music workers facing crises.
THE HARD QUARTET RELEASE DEBUT ALBUM AND ANNOUNCE
AUSTRALIAN
TOUR DATES
You may know the artists from their respective bands Pavement, Bonnie Prince Billy, Ty Segall and Dirty Three, but together you’ve not witnessed The Hard Quartet. To mark their launch, The Hard Quartet will make their international debut with Australia as their first stop, as well as offering up a debut album. The tour heads to Brisbane, Sydney, Fremantle, Adelaide, Castlemaine and Melbourne.
Ç ICONIC GEELONG NIGHTCLUB SAYS GOODBYE AFTER NEARLY 22 YEARS
The club where paparazzi images of early 2000’s celebrities including Paris Hilton hung on the wall, Home House will be no more. Geelong’s most iconic central nightclub is reaching the end of an era, announcing its closure after 22 years but not before going out with a bang for their final epic party on 23 November.
Ç VICTORIAN OPERA LAUNCHES SEASON 2025 INCLUDING BALLARAT OPERA FESTIVAL
Victorian Opera announces its 2025 season with eight groundbreaking shows staged across the state, including a program for Ballarat Opera Festival. Broadway and classic literary adaptations to an Australian first, Victorian Opera’s Season 2025 is a striking curation for Artistic Director Stuart Maunder AM’s second season getting underway in February 2025.
AUSTRALIAN OPEN’S 2025 LINEUP LED BY KESHA, KAYTRANADA, BENSON BOONE
The Australian Open has announced the music lineup for its 2025 AO LIVE event, marking the only Grand Slam worldwide to host a dedicated music festival alongside its tennis tournament. The entertainment offering will span three days from 23 to 25 January, and feature some of the biggest names in music, including Benson Boone, Kaytranada, Kesha, and Armand Van Helden.
GEELONG’S NEW 24 HOUR PILATES STUDIO HAS OPENED
The corner of Ryrie and Gheringhap Streets has been taken over by an all-day, all-night Pilate Studios, @ Pilates 24/7 Geelong. Already a successful franchise across Victoria, New South Wales, and Queensland with locations in South Melbourne, Bendigo, Wangaratta, and Shepparton amongst them, the new @Pilates 24/7 makes Geelong its new home.
Ç STOP THE CLOCKS: OASIS ARE COMING TO AUSTRALIA
Following the announcement that was felt around the world, the global cultural phenomenon continues with Oasis’ return. The 90’s juggernauts are bringing the OASIS LIVE ‘25 tour to Australia.The Australian leg, produced by Live Nation, will see Oasis play stadiums in Sydney and Melbourne in October / November 2025.
Ç YOUTH MUSIC ORGANISATION THE PUSH AND OLLIE OLSEN INDUCTED INTO MUSIC VICTORIA HALL OF FAME
Music Victoria has inducted Melbourne multi-instrumentalist, composer and sound designer of post punk groups Whirlywirld, Orchestra of Skin and Bone, and No, the late Ollie Olsen, and Australian youth music organisation, The Push, into the Music Victoria Hall of Fame for 2024 at the Music Victoria Awards for their contributions to the Australian music landscape.
Ç CHARLI XCX, BEABADOOBEE, CLAIRO LEAD LANEWAY FESTIVAL LINEUP FOR 2025
Tastemaker touring festival, Laneway Festival have officially revealed the 2025 lineup – and it’s one for the history books. The lineup boasts Charli xcx, Clairo, Beabadoobee, Barry Can’t Swim, BICEP present CHROMA (AV DJ set), Remi Wolf, Olivia Dean, Eyedress, Skegss and more. The festival hits cities in February.
WHEATUS FRONTMAN PERFORMS ‘TEENAGE DIRTBAGS’ IN TORQUAY
Wheatus frontman and incredibly nice guy, Brendan B. Brown along with his better half, fellow Wheatus member Gabrielle Sterbenz will return to Australia for an epic 14-date run of acoustic shows through January and February of 2025. They play Torquay Hotel on Sunday 2 February.
Ç FATBOY SLIM IS COMING TO GEELONG
In a very special event for Australian fans, Fatboy Slim will be taking over wineries and venues across Australia in March 2025 for the Fatboy Slim Loves Australia tour, proudly presented by MG Live, Frontier Touring and Roundhouse Entertainment. He will bring his rave to Mt Duneed Estate, Geelong, VIC on Saturday 22 March.
Ç RUSSELL HOBBS BRITISH FILM FESTIVAL IS BRIMMING WITH EXCITING NEW CINEMA
The 2024 Russell Hobbs British Film Festival returns to cinemas in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Canberra, Byron Bay and for the first time, Ballarat, this November with a star-studded line up. The specially curated program features tender dramas, action packed thrillers, comedy, documentaries and retrospectives.
Ç SKA NATION INTERNATIONAL MUSIC FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES VENUE CHANGE
FROM COLAC HOME
As one of the longest-running, biggest and long-standing music festivals in Colac, Ska Nation International Music Festival is sadly leaving the shire this year. The two day Ska Nation International Music Festival will move into Melbourne to take place at Croxton Band Room.
JOHN BUTLER, THE CRUEL SEA AND BIC RUNGA HEAD RIVERBOATS MUSIC FESTIVAL 2025 LINEUP
One of regional Victoria’s most beloved summer events, Riverboats Music Festival 2025 takes place on Yorta Yorta country at Echuca-Moama from February 14-16, with some of Australia & New Zealand’s most celebrated artists performing over three sun-filled days. Running across the weekend of February 14 to 16, this year’s program boasts John Butler, The Cruel Sea, Bic Runga, Dan Sultan and more.
UK
POP ICONS SUGABABES ANNOUNCE AUSTRALIAN TOUR THIS JANUARY IN ADDITION TO BEYOND THE VALLEY APPEARANCE
UK pop icons Sugababes are set to bring their chart-topping hits to Australia this January, with three headline shows following their highly anticipated performance at this year’s Beyond The Valley festival. The tour will see the trio perform in Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane.
EMPIRE
OF THE SUN, AURORA AND A SECRET HEADLINER LEAD THE 2025 PARTY IN THE PADDOCK LINEUP
The first lineup announcement for Party in the Paddock’s 2025 return is ruled by powerful songwriting spirits. It starts with giant headline acts of Empire of the Sun in their massive comeback, and Norwegian gem Aurora who are both bound to transport audiences to another world through their ethereal catalogues along with a third headline act slot to a secret headliner.
SECOND
AND FINAL MELBOURNE SHOW ADDED TO BRYAN ADAMS TOUR
Responding to incredible demand for tickets across Australia and New Zealand, GRAMMY® and Academy Award-winning singer and songwriter Bryan Adams announced a second and final Melbourne show to his upcoming So Happy It Hurts tour in February 2025. With his first Melbourne performance sold out, a second show has been added to venue Rod Laver Arena on Saturday 15 February.
ONE OF MELBOURNE’S MOST SPECTACULAR FESTIVALS IS RETURNING AFTER FIVE LONG YEARS.
After a five-year hiatus, Asia TOPA (AsiaPacific Triennial of Performing Arts) is gearing up for its eagerly awaited return, scheduled from February 20 to March 10, 2025. Once again, the festival will take over Melbourne with a city-wide showcase of cutting-edge performances from both international and local artists, large-scale installations, mustsee events, and rich cultural exchanges.
Ç ALWAYS LIVE EXPANDS PROGRAM TO BRING 400+ ARTISTS AND 100+ EVENTS TO VICTORIA
Victoria’s biggest music event, Always Live, is returning with a lineup of over 400 artists and more than 100 shows across the state, including international sensations Maithili Thakur, Banks, and Anyma. The 17-day event will take place from 22 November to 8 December, lighting up metro and regional locations with non-stop live music.
Ç GOLDEN PLAINS GOES BIG WITH PJ HARVEY AND FONTAINES D.C.
Back for its seventeenth year, Golden Plains goes big for their 2025 dates. Taking place across the weekend of 8, 9 and 10 March 2025, the ballot is hot property with the huge headline and lineup they have just unleashed including English singer-songwriter and ultimate rock god PJ Harvey, and Irish post-punks Fontaines D.C., along with Magdalena Bay, Osees, Kneecap, Wet Kiss and more.
Ç KNOTFEST LINEUP BOASTS BABYMETAL, A DAY TO REMEMBER, POLARIS
With Slipknot already announced as the huge headliners, the 2025 festival lineup has dropped including a melting pot of metal and scene bands including A Day To Remember, BABYMETAL, Slaughter to Prevail, Polaris, Within Temptation, Enter Shikari, Hatebreed, In Hearts Wake, Health, Miss May I, Vended and Sunami. It comes to Melbourne Friday 28 February.
Ç GUY MONTGOMERY IS BRINGING HILARIOUS OBSERVATIONAL COMEDY SHOW TO GEELONG IN 2025
Award-winning Kiwi comedian, podcaster and improviser Guy Montgomery is well known to Australian audiences through TV shows like Guy Montgomery’s Guy Mont-Spelling Bee, Have You Been Paying Attention and Thank God You’re Here, and he’s touring Australia in 2025 with the I’ve Noticed So Many Things, It’d Be Unfair To Keep Them To Myself Tour. It starts on March 6 and wraps up in Geelong on Friday 1 August.
APRA AMCOS REPORTS RECORD $740M REVENUE, BUT LIVE MUSIC SECTOR STILL FACES CHALLENGES
APRA AMCOS has announced a recordbreaking group revenue of $740 million for the last financial year, marking a 7.2% increase from the previous year. Despite this financial success, the organisation’s latest Year In Review report highlights ongoing concerns about the local live music sector, which has yet to recover to pre-Covid levels.
RHIANNA FIBBINS AND HASSALL ADDED TO GEELONG BEER FESTIVAL LINEUP
Local legends Rhianna Fibbins and Hassall join the mega Mountain Goat Live Music Stage for the Geelong Beer Festival, adding to an already stacked program of live music, entertainment and of course beer! The festival makes its return Saturday 18 January at Johnstone Park, Geelong.
BALLARAT CELEBRATES THE 170TH ANNIVERSARY OF EUREKA STOCKADE WITH SHANE HOWARD AND EMMA DONOVAN
A pivotal moment in not only Ballarat’s gold-mining history but in establishing the Australian political system, the Eureka Stockade is marking its 170th anniversary. Marking the significant milestone at the symbolic Eureka Stockade Memorial Park is an afternoon of free live music and entertainment for the family. Taking place on Sunday 1 December, Emma Donovan and Shane Howard will provide the soundtrack to the celebration.
Ç SURF COAST CLASSIC TO RETURN IN 2025 AS PART OF THE CADEL EVANS GREAT OCEAN ROAD RACE
The Surf Coast is receiving another pair of world-class cycling events for 2025, as the Allan Labor Government confirm two mid-week races under the 2025 Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race program. The Surf Coast Classic will happen on 29 and 30 January.
IRISH COUNTRY-POP SINGER
CMAT TO PLAY
HEADLINE SHOWS IN MELBOURNE AND SYDNEY
Presented by Roundhouse Entertainment and MG Live, Irish country-pop, rising star CMAT (Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson) will be playing two exclusive headline shows in Melbourne at the Corner Hotel and Sydney at the Factory Theatre in January 2025, Tuesday 14 and Thursday 16 January respectively. These two performances coincide with her highly anticipated appearance at A Day On The Green with The Teskey Brothers.
FONTAINES
D.C., DENZEL CURRY, THE KOOKS AND GOO GOO DOLLS TAKE YOURS AND OWLS FESTIVAL
Celebrating ten years, Yours and Owls Festival have upped the ante for 2025 in the Gong with a mammoth lineup! Taking place across the weekend of the 1 – 2 March 2025, the celebration is headlined by international superstars, pop-punk powerhouses, Fontaines D.C., Floridian rapper, Denzel Curry, England’s indie rock kids The Kooks and ‘Iris’ anthem makers, The Goo Goo Dolls.
ICONIC
SYNTH-
POP LEGENDS NEW ORDER ARE TOURING AUSTRALIA IN MARCH
New Order, known for their influence in the post-punk and electronic music scenes, will perform in Perth, Melbourne, Brisbane, and Sydney. This will be New Order’s first Australian tour since 2020, when they were forced to cancel a Melbourne show due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ç METALLICA ARE COMING TO AUSTRALIA
Metallica has confirmed that its recordbreaking M72 World Tour will be coming to Australia and New Zealand in November of 2025. Playing massive stadium shows, the gods of metal will start the month in Perth, playing Adelaide, Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney and Auckland. The Melbourne show will be held at Marvel Stadium on 8 November.
Ç TYLER, THE CREATOR RETURNS TO AUSTRALIA WITH LIL YATCHY AND PARIS TEXAS
Tyler, The Creators’ The Chromakopia: The World Tour will make its way to Australia and New Zealand in August and September 2025. Presented by AEG Presents, Frontier Touring, and MG Live, the tour will feature special guests Lil Yachty and Paris Texas. The tour celebrates his newly released album with the tour expected to be a highlight of 2025.
Ç LAKE STREET DIVE JOIN LIVE AT THE GARDENS
Roundhouse Entertainment, in conjunction with Frontier Touring, are bringing acclaimed five-piece band Lake Street Dive to Australia in March 2025 for their first Australian shows in eight years. The band will kick off their tour in spectacular style, with the first show announced for the 2025 Live At The Gardens series at the iconic Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne on Saturday 15 March, 2025.
Ç ZIGGY ALBERTS ANNOUNCES REGIONAL AUSTRALIAN TOUR IN SUPPORT OF HIGHLY ANTICIPATED SEVENTH STUDIO ALBUM, NEW LOVE
Following the announcement of his upcoming seventh studio album New Love set for release in February 2025, dreamy singer-songwriter Ziggy Alberts has announced a regional tour of Australia – the first in seven years. He will be heading to Wodonga, Ballarat and Port Fairy on the Victorian front.
THE STATES BEST ARTISTS, FESTIVALS AND VENUES HIGHLIGHTED AT THE MUSIC VICTORIA AWARDS
Music Victoria has revealed the winning artists, venues and festivals at the 2024 Music Victoria Awards in a star-studded ceremony at Fed Square. Alongside Hall of Fame Inductees, youth organisation The Push, and the now late Ollie Olsen, the awards recognised names like RVG, Wild Gloriosa, Saint Ergo, Torquay Hotel, The Sound Doctor, Uncle Selwyn Burns and more.
LEON BRIDGES
WORDS BY TAMMY WALTERS
Well Australia is in for a treat in January with the entirely unexpected and unbelievable announcement that GRAMMY Award-winning R&B, neo-soul songwriter and record producer Leon Bridges will be headlining A Day On The Green.
Æ Having just released his fourth studio album Leon , Leon Bridges is riding the touring high at the moment taking the geographically grounded album across the States.
“It’s going to be a well oiled machine by the time we get to Australia,” Bridges confirms.
The last time Leon Bridges touched down in Australia was in 2022 for the Boundless Tour which saw him play concert halls across the country in the most prestigious, intimate and acoustically engineered venues. Taking to the open stage spaces of wineries for A Day On The Green will test the translation of his new tracks but Bridges’ has all of the right ingredients in place for an unforgettable show.
“I have a new band from the last time I was there and, man, it will be interesting to bring these songs that are a little bit more intimate to that setting but I think it is going to be received well for sure.”
An album six years in the making, Leon was the precursor to live structural change with the best in the business required to service the songs and their stories.
“I just felt like I needed to start with a clean slate for everything and I just wanted to find some of the best musicians in the game and I think I’ve done that,” Bridges explains.
“This album was all about returning to simplicity in the music and production but some of the songs are deceptively simple and you definitely need some top tier musicians to be locked in and play well live.”
Bridges has always maintained a separation of touring and studio, ensuring that the people that he works with on an album are first-rate for recording the intricate elements of his music vision, and that the live band are able to make the finished product shine on stage. For Leon, the lineup of studio players were premium.
“My touring band and my studio band are always a separate thing. I was lucky enough to work with this guy, Ian Fitchuk who is a good friend of mine and I discovered him through Kasey Musgraves music and he curated some really rad musicians and we all went down to Mexico. This guy named Nick Bockrath, from Cage the Elephant, who is one of the best guitar players in the world [played on the album], and I was so lucky to be surrounded by some really awesome people.”
The contributors were tasked with bringing to life a sound that represented and did justice to the Leon Bridges story and his unique musical DNA. Crafted across three albums of Coming Home (2015), Good Things (2018) and Gold-Diggers Sounds (2021) which have earnt him GRAMMY nods and wins, the identity of Leon Bridges has always been a melting pot of influence revealed through a sophisticated sewing of instrumentation. Leon leans into a different vein of Bridges’ blood.
“There is always this pursuit as an artist of what’s the next hit and I had to come to grips with the fact that Leon is the hit, Leon is the genre and also seeing this void in pop music of ‘where is the integrity?’. I think it was very intentional to get back to the storytelling and make music with no frills.”
The storytelling on Leon sees Bridges create a sonic memoir of the places, people and presence of his hometown of Fort Worth in Texas that shaped his youth, his history and ultimately his heart.
“It’s little snapshots of my experience. One of my favourite artists, Van Morrison, has an album called Astral Weeks and I love that he incorporates geological places that are unique to him and I wanted to bring the listener into my world. When I think of one of the places I love the most it’s my hometown of Fort Worth (Texas) and it’s one of those places that gets overshadowed and not talked about a lot so I wanted to essentially put my city on the map.”
Laced in nostalgia, Fort Worth has remained unchanged in Bridges eyes; the landmarks of his youth still present, centring him when he is caught up in his whirlwind career.
“That’s what I love about it. I never really had a reason to leave my city and it’s my place of refuge and it’s nice when I come back and just go back to some of those places and stomping grounds that I used to go to; it keeps me grounded. I love the feeling of nostalgia of going back to those places. I very much still frequent a lot of those places. It’s cool going back to those places that I went to before I transitioned into the music thing.” Whilst the essence and atmosphere of the town remain the same, the treatment of Bridges has ever so slightly swayed with his status in the town now elevated.
“I’m the hometown hero. Prior to me it was some country artist from the 40’s and 50’s who made it out there so it’s unprecedented for an R&B guy with a guitar to make it out of the city.”
The musician in question was Townes Van Zandt, credited as one of the most influential alt-country artists in history. Aside from the geographical relation, Zandt and Bridges share a string of similarity on Leon with the country roots of the town and Bridges upbringing wrapped around the record.
“It’s very much ingrained. I grew up on 90’s and 2000’s R&B and my folks put me onto blues and the motown soul thing and when I picked up the guitar some of my peers in the open mic scene put me onto country music. It’s always one of those things that has been a subconscious thing but I also love that it sets me apart in the industry. It’s very few and far between to find that mixture of R&B and country and folk and blues in music. It’s what makes it unique.”
“I always say ‘damn, I really want to make a country album, I really want to make a country album’ and I think this album is not all the way country but there are certainly elements in there, so it snuck up on me without even setting out to make it a country album,” he laughs.
Throughout the process of creating Leon, Leon Bridges was able to simplify and revert back to what he loves. To quote one the album tracks, Bridges now finds himself in a “peaceful place, having found something that no one can take away”.
“Absolutely - life still has its ups and down but honestly I’m grateful to have had longevity as an artist and it’s cool that people are still checking for my music and it’s still resonating with people. Also I can say that I am content. I cannot complain - I am blessed by everything that is going on and blessed by the people in my life and blessed to be alive. I hope this album really cements my name in music history.”
The Leon Bridges name is already cemented but Leon puts a stamp on it. Witness it served up live at his appearances at A Day On The Green. He will be joined by Glass Beams and Maple Glider.
LEON BRIDGES
WHERE: MT DUNEED ESTATE, GEELONG
WHEN: SAT 25 JAN 2025
A. SAVAGE isn’t holding back on his maiden tour of Australia
WORDS BY JACOB MCCORMACK
Andrew Savage co-fronts the popular band Parquet Courts, and yet it’s his personal musical project, A. Savage, that he and I find ourselves talking about over zoom. With two full-length LPs under his belt, of which Several Songs About Fire, the latest release came out a year ago, and a series of EPs, Savage’s songwriting prowess is starkly apparent.
Æ Just this year he released the jangly and meandering The Loft Sessions, a collection of four songs that bring to the forefront his storytelling capabilities. Savage, amidst residencies in New York and shows around the USA is gearing up to headline the Town Folk Festival, hosted in Djaara/Castlemaine on Saturday 16 November.
He will also be playing shows at Howler in Melbourne on Friday 15 November, and The Sound Doctor in Anglesea on Saturday 23 November. But it is the monumental fact that this will be his first tour of Australia under the performance name of A. Savage that resembles a step forward for the musician.
“Despite coming to Australia multiple times before and having many friends over there, this will be the first time I do A. Savage shows in the country,” says Savage. “I feel very happy that I get to go because it’s a much smaller thing. It’s my name, but most people know me as the guy from Parquet Courts, so I’m glad that I’m getting to be in Australia with this project.”
“The opportunity to play these other songs is so great, and if it’s like anywhere else, then the people who like Parquet will probably like a few A. Savage tracks too.”
It will be an opportunity to truly experience all that A. Savage is sonically. He intends to share tracks from all of his releases, alongside playing covers, and even the occasional Parquet Courts song.
“Well, there’s only two records,” he says. “So I’ll certainly be playing stuff off of Thawing Dawn as well as Several Songs About Fire, and the new EP release too. On the odd occasion I’m playing songs from Parquet Courts, and from older bands as well.”
“I always like to throw a cheeky cover in when I can. I’m about to embark on a tour where it’s just me and my guitar, and there will be certain shows where that’s how my songs are arranged in Australia too. Some shows I’ll be solo and others I’ll be playing with a full band. So then when it’s just me and the guitar it’s kind of a bit like an A. Savage review.”
For Savage, the difference between performing live as a solo singer/ songwriter and with a band backing him up is distinct, and yet both of those forms of arrangement provide fulfillment.
“My songs can always be scaled back down, and when you do scale it back down, there’s something there that is very unique as a performer, when it’s just your voice and a single instrument. I like it because I can physically feel the way the guitar radiates against my body, which is also singing.”
“But then also touring with a band is so rewarding. I toured quite a bit with the band that I had for the Several Songs About Fire Tour. There were six of us and it was just really great. It sounded really big and everyone’s a terrific musician that added their own spin on it.”
This tour is set to be an exceptional one for A. Savage, but it all seems a bit tainted by the ongoing conflict that is occurring in Palestine and Lebanon, a topic that is popping up in the everyday for him.
“There is a large Palestinian community in Marseille where I live,” he says. “So there’s a lot of solidarity. It’s an important thing for me to make my voice heard on that issue because I think that people feel scared to make their voices heard on it, and I think one thing that I can do as a performer is to use my voice to draw attention to what is taking place.”
There is a sense that A. Savage embodies this attitude too, and in spite of the time limit we adhered to, utilising his voice to speak up for the rights and lives of others seems something he will continue to strive for going forward.
Tickets for A. Savage shows in Australia are now on sale.
A.
SAVAGE
TOWN FOLK FESTIVAL, CASTLEMAINE SAT 16 NOV THE SOUND DOCTOR ANGLESEA SAT 23 NOV
CREDIT: Vince McClelland
Sam Hales heals with THE JUNGLE GIANTS next album
Sam Hales has been a busy musician this past twelve months.
Æ As the vocalist, guitarist and primary songwriter of indie pop piece The Jungle Giants, Hales has headed across the globe this year with both the band and off on his own songwriting adventure, playing Latitude Festival in the UK, hopping on stages through Europe, playing the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Singapore, jumping up in Warrnambool for a special appearance alongside Sycco for the triple j One Night Stand, and bunkering down in L.A for a songwriting session.
Now currently on a regional Australian tour, Hale has his head down in making mode, pulling together album number five.
“I’ve been focused on writing and recording at the moment which is nice because I have a new track ready to drop very soon which I’m really excited about. I spent about eight weeks in L.A doing some writing and then I was in Europe as well doing some writing and touring as well. Now I’m just back. It’s been a big adventure but now I’m sifting through my thoughts and sifting through my songs and it feels really good at the moment. Life is a little slower at the moment which I’ve been looking forward to,” he says.
Number five sees Sam Hale hone in on himself, learning about his methods of working, developing his instrumentation and ultimately reawakening his individual self. The L.A writing residency saw Hale collaborate and sink into the world of synths - two areas that are relatively untouched for Hale in his The Jungle Giants role.
“I’m always writing and there is something always on the boil but for me this was about working on things that I’m not good at. I wanted to make some more synth-orientated stuff. I’m pretty synth illiterate - I can play the piano but it’s a whole different kind of world. I wanted to focus on that and build up my skill set and put songs that weren’t necessarily in the synth space into that world and see what happens. It was experimenting,” he explains.
“I was just looking for something different. I’ve never been huge on collaborating with my songwriting and I have a couple of friends there that I met to work with because I thought, ‘now that I have
WORDS BY TAMMY WALTERS
gotten quite deep on the record, now might be the time to bring it to some friends and see what happens’. It was really cool - I think a lot of great things came out of it but I think I learnt a lot about myself which is the best thing to come out of that experience with. I learnt how I like to work and who I like to work with. It was a trip of self-discovery in the end.”
“In the end I realised I like to work solo”, he laughs. “I do like to collaborate with people but when I start to work on something for The Jungle Giants with other people it starts to not sound like The Jungle Giants. It’s like a relationship, you start to take the other person on and for me I’m very sensitive to other people.”
In the same vein, Hale is also adjusting to a major personal life-change, the single life, and relearning who he is on his own without the reflection of another person penetrating his own personality. This exploration has also injected itself into his songcraft, becoming the backbone to the impending album’s lyrical body.
“This record more than any other has such a heavy lyrical theme that I was leaning on because I had a huge life change because I split with my wife - well we were engaged but were pretty much married because we were together ten years. We’re still really good mates which is a positive thing but part of the lyrical focus is about the
phase of having to rediscover yourself after being with someone for so long in so many ways. There’s the day to day, there’s reintegrating with dating life, there’s so many factors of self rediscovery. I had to go through that and every song that I wrote that didn’t touch on that felt fake,” he explains.
“In my mind I thought ‘Okay I just have to toughen up and write about this’ and that was such a good thing for helping with the break up and moving on and the healing effect of music. I’ve really found that in this album. The rediscovery has been really liberating because I’ve been able to really look at myself and discover what I want.”
Whilst the journey is still fresh, Hale has made strides in his recovery, a benefit to both him and fans of The Jungle Giants who will receive the sonic goods soon.
For now you can hear their other tracks live during their regional tour, where they are playing Theatre Royal in Castlemaine on Friday 13 December.
THE JUNGLE GIANTS
WHERE: THEATRE ROYAL, CASTLEMAINE
WHEN: FRI 13 DEC
THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT
reinvigorate their timeless classic Begins Here with regional Australian tour
WORDS BY JACOB MCCORMACK
21 years on from the release of their album Begins
Here, The Butterfly Effect are about to embark upon a nationwide regional tour to celebrate its emergence into the world. They are set to play a handful of shows in major cities too despite the premise of the tour being about sharing music with places often excluded from Australian tours.
Æ With shows in Torquay on Saturday 21 February, Melbourne on Sunday 22 February and in Castlemaine on Thursday 6 March, the band who don’t usually spend a great deal of time together are excited to be showcasing how Begins Here has evolved over the years. Drummer Ben Hall joked of how this lack of consistent contact might actually be the reasoning for the band’s longevity.
“Begins Here was released in August 2003,” says Hall. “It’s been a long while. A long time hanging out with those jerks, that’s for sure. I hardly ever see those guys, I’m sure there’s probably a few bands that could have stuck together if they’d had the kind of separation that we have had at points.”
But all jokes aside and upon reflection of how the band came to be, Hall recognises that so much has changed since the early 2000’s, leaning into the perspective of the band’s ability to stick at it.
“When I look back at that time,” he says. “I don’t remember certain parts of the process. Like I remember living 100 metres from our rehearsal room, and not really doing anything else, but still thinking this whole thing was a lot of fun. We were broke, and Optus, Vodafone and Telstra would be the first people to say that’s correct.”
“And yet retrospectively looking back at the record, it was received really well. There were obvious influences, like bands such as Deftones, which came out with clarity in the sound but there were also points in the record where you could actually start to see a genuine relationship forming with us as a band.”
But it’s the time between the release of the album, and how it is that the band have evolved and developed, as well as the budget increasing over time, that has allowed for the opportunity to add extra flavour to the songs that were written for Begins Here
“Looking back on our lives, how we were recording, as well as playing, to now going out to perform and being able to have all the instrumental components to each song being played live and as a whole is so excellent. It’s very refreshing, and quite nice, we’re not going out to play the same old songs again and again, because you’ve got all the instrumentation there.”
Another favourable aspect of being a band that is still recording and performing 20 years on is the very notion that returning to towns and venues to perform allows for the continuation of relationships made during a time when the band was touring prolifically.
“We used to play live in any venue that had a PA system and so that meant we went to some pretty regional areas,” says Hall. “Albury was always a favorite. Some people would say that’s not as regional as Mount Isa though, but all in all it’s just so nice to be returning to these places.”
“We are now getting to see in these places we haven’t been to for a while that fans are bringing their children along. We have these types of lives as band members ourselves, we all have families and full-time commitments so it can be harder to go on these types of tours, but it’s excellent to be able to have the new collide with the old and recreate this music we released 20 years ago.”
The band are also very excited to be able to share the experience of reconnecting with dear fans with Hands Like Houses, the band who are supporting them on the entirety of their tour.
“We’re taking Hands Like Houses, they’re a great band, with us on tour. They’re fun Aussie blokes. We’ve just been having conversations about the type of tools they use and that sort of stuff.”
This celebratory 20-year anniversary tour is set to be a spectacle.
Tickets are now available to all the shows.
THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT
TORQUAY HOTEL SAT 21 FEB
TORQUAY, VILLAGE GREEN SUN 22 FEB
FERNGULLY, THEATRE ROYAL, CASTLEMAINE THU 6 MAR
CMAT on her love for Kylie Minogue, writing new music, and playing with The Teskey Brothers
WORDS BY BENJAMIN LAMB
After being namechecked by icons like Robbie Williams and Elton John, CMAT is the Irish songstress bringing an interesting mix of country and pop to sold out stages across the world. After two critically and fan acclaimed albums, CMAT’s en-route to our dusty country, for both a solo tour and support slot alongside The Teskey Brothers for A Day On The Green.
Æ It’s been a huge year for the singer, receiving a nomination for Best International Artist at the BRIT awards.
“The nominations are amazing, and I love it, and I find it more entertaining that I keep losing all the awards,” CMAT adds with a laugh. “It’s really funny to me, it feels on brand for me.”
This year’s BRIT Awards saw Australia’s Kylie Minogue receive honours, CMAT finding herself sitting next to the star. “I was just looking at her in awe. I was thinking ‘how can someone so famous be just sitting next to me?’”
“She’s so famous, she’s famous on a level that is genuinely quite difficult for me to comprehend, because I’ve looked at her face so many times in my life and there it was. It wasn’t a screen or a picture, it was really freaky.”
“She’s a teeny tiny woman. She’s like four feet tall or something. She had a really good time too, which I enjoyed.”
Last year saw CMAT’s sophomore release Crazymad, For Me receive critical acclaim, a record she described as a bit of a concept album, following her debut, If My Wife New I’d Be Dead, which CMAT described as an intro record. The world of writing and having an overall theme being an area of interest for the vocalist.
“When I got signed, I had maybe 60 songs, 70 songs that were just sitting there. The task of my first album was to be like right, I need to take the songs that have the same theme in order to make the album.
“Some of the songs I wrote in the studio, but most of it was selecting stuff that was already there and finding a way to categorise it. So, my first album ended up being about comedy versus tragedy.”
CREDITSarahDoyle
“Then the second album, I knew what it was going to be before I had even made the first record, which is that I wanted to make an album about this one relationship and this one guy who I fucking hate,” CMAT adds with a laugh.
“Because I knew I had to get it out of my system. And I knew that it was important to do it at that exact moment in time, rather than, like, sitting on them for ages, and I knew I had some of my best songs I’ve ever written on that record before I even made the first one.”
Now in the process of getting her third record together, CMAT’s currently considering the direction of it.
“Now I’m on my third album, and it’s all a really big question for me. It’s so fucking stressful making this record, but I don’t think that’s a bad thing, because I’ve got some songs on this one that are my favourite thing ever.”
“So I was like, let me make the second one about this guy and this relationship and how interesting and weird it is that I’m, like, still angry about it after all this time, because time is the context and time and perspective, and that’s what the whole album is about.”
“What I realised was the thing that this album should be about is ‘What am I talking about the most at this current moment in time?’ That’s what my third album is about, which I’m not going to tell you what it is yet.”
With a clear adoration for Queen Kylie, CMAT loves all things Aussie, expressing adoration for Kath and Kim , and tour mates Teskey Brothers.
“I’m expecting that me and Audrey, who plays with the Teskey brothers, are going to get really wine drunk every night,” CMAT laughs.
“I’ve toured with them before, I’ve toured with them around Europe, and they’re really, really lovely people!”
CMAT supports The Teskey Brothers at Mt Duneed Estate on 11 January, and The Corner Hotel on 14 January 2025.
CMAT
WHERE: MT DUNEED ESTATE, GEELONG
WHEN: SAT 11 JAN 2025
There’s
KATIE NOONAN on supporting local music, Aunty Ruby Hunter, and touring
WORDS BY BENJAMIN LAMB
no question Katie Noonan has become an Australian music icon. With hit singles, sold out shows, and many TV appearances, she continues to all keep us excited for what comes next.
Æ Alongside Aussie guitarist Karin Schaupp, Noonan has dropped a new record, Songs of the Southern Skies Vol 2, a celebration of phenomenal antipodean women. Schaupp and Noonan’s relationship is now celebrating 10 years, a meeting that came thanks to the muso’s parents.
“We actually met when we were kids and neither of us remember,” Noonan notes with a laugh.
“Our mothers taught at a school in Brisbane, but we never really crossed paths. But we met again in the Huntington Festival in Mudgee in November ‘04, partnered by the wonderful Richard Tognetti.
“We were put together and went ‘this is great, let’s make a record’. Now we’ve made four.”
Songs of The Southern Skies celebrates the music of iconic women from the Australian region, such as Aunty Ruby Hunter, Missy Higgins, and Olivia Newton John, to name a few. Each of these artists were chosen because they mean something to Schaupp and Noonan.
“I wanted to pay tribute to two women who I really loved, who we have lost, the beautiful Olivia Newton John, who I met a few times, and she was the sweetest lady ever, and the beautiful and very close to my heart, Aunty Ruby Hunter, who was on the first tour I did as a mum.
“And Auntie Ruby, being Aunty Ruby, you know, helped nurse my son and hold him, she was his sort of Auntie/Granny for the tour.
So, we’re doing her song ‘Down City Streets’.”
The pair are about to hit the road for their first run of the country, before another early next year, Noonan noting it’ll be an experience, with specialised merch on site.
“We’re really excited about sharing it with our audience. We’ve also commissioned an incredible First Nations jewellery maker to make bespoke earrings based on and inspired by Aunty Ruby Hunter’s animal totem, so that’ll be very special.”
“They’ll only be available at our concerts. It’s by Bronwyn David, who’s a beautiful art maker, so that’s going to be quite fun. And we’ll be modelling the earrings each night.”
On top of that, select audiences will be treated with a choir, bringing an extra element to Schaupp and Noonan’s work, and making it all that little bit exciting. “I’ve managed to arrange a local choir to join us, because I’m a big fan of community singing, and I hope it will bring a greater sense of connection as well.”
These songs, authored by others and covered by Schaupp and Noonan, are brought to the stage through an already established connection to the music.
“I only pick songs that I connect with emotionally, and that’s the ultimate point of music. I just like celebrating these women who are continuing to evolve into their power and strength as songwriters and as singers.
“The majority of the women are working mums and have been in the music industry, which is no small feat.”
The tour also sees the pair veer off the standard capital city path, to play music in corners of the country that often go without.
“If I could pick a regional show over a metro show, I’m always going to say regional. I mean, it’s just, it’s a special vibe. Thankfully, it seems that the government is trying to finally address the huge elephant in the room that regional Australia has been neglected from a cultural point of view for decades.
“Obviously, the last four years have been terrible in so many ways, but we’re slowly getting back on our feet. But if I did just have one message to say to Australian friends, it’s never been more important to support independent Australian artists, whether that be musicians, poets, writers, playmakers, artists like Bronwyn, making our earrings.
“Australian made, Australian owned, is so important, and we’ve just had such a tough few years, particularly musicians who rely on borders opening and gatherings of people and etc, but combined with that, is this catastrophic cost of living crisis.
“So, I really, really deeply appreciate anyone that spends their very, very precious dollars that are spreading further than ever, on investing into Australian independent artists. It’s a real, sort of an act of bravery. So hopefully we’ll see you on the road!”
Katie Noonan and Karin Schaupp play selected dates around Melbourne and regional Victoria. Sounds of the Southern Skies Vol 2 is out now.
KATIE NOONAN AND KARIN SCHAUPP
WHERE: QUEENSCLIFF TOWN HALL, QUEENSCLIFF
WHEN: THU 3 APR
Credit: Glenn Hunt
HOODOO GURUS’
Dave Faulkner on legacy, live shows and 40 years of Stoneage Romeos
WORDS BY BENJAMIN LAMB
With decades of number one singles, sold out shows, and TV appearances, Hoodoo Gurus are arguably one of the nation’s greatest musical exports.
Æ The rockers are celebrating 40 years of the record that started it all, Stoneage Romeos, with a mammoth tour alongside artists such as Dallas Crane, The Hard-Ons and Adalita. We caught up with frontman and music icon Dave Faulkner to chat about it all.
“We thought we should do something to mark the occasion [album anniversary]”, Faulkner notes. “We had the reissue coming out, so thought we should at least do some shows.
“Then they just sold like wildfire, we were able to add more dates and then more towns, and it’s become quite a big thing.”
Dave Faulkner speaks to me on the back end of a huge US run, where they hit the stage with the show they’ll be bringing to Australian shores this November. These dates mark some of the first times certain tracks from Stoneage Romeos have been played.
“We’ve never done anything like this before. Before the first show, I remember I suddenly had a momentary pang of ‘could this be a mistake?’,” Faulkner adds with a laugh.
“Bringing these songs alive, and interpreting them in an exciting way is all we try to do every night. That hasn’t changed from day one to today.”
“It doesn’t feel any different to play any of these songs [from ‘Romeos], to any other song we’ve ever written. They still make sense to me, they’re my own lyrics. It’s weird, even the most obscure tracks, I can pretty much get straight away.”
Stoneage Romeos dropped back in 1984, but chuck it on and be exposed to a sound that continues to feel relevant many years on.
“It’s nice that people still hold the album with great affection. I also love the fact that the songs don’t sound dated to me. We felt like we indulged ourselves completely, we chucked in the kitchen sink, in terms of different sounds and instruments.”
“We wanted depth in our record, it was the best fun ever. It just felt like a huge discovery process.”
The rockers are on route for a mammoth Aussie tour, hitting both Melbourne’s Forum and Palais Theatre, Bendigo’s Ulumbarra Theatre and Geelong’s Costa Hall before finishing up at Selina’s in Coogee Bay, where it all began.
“For a good few years there, we’d always play gigs at Selina’s as part of an album tour, so we’re on home turf. Those audiences were the days of slam dancing and crowd surfing, it was mayhem,” Faulkner adds with a laugh.
“I don’t think it’d be like that, I think it’s going to be nice for people that have followed us for a long time to connect to one of the touchstones of our career, because we that was a sort of almost home base for a good few years there, it’ll be nice to get back to home turf.”
The boys have had a long history with Melbourne, first hitting our scene way back in ’82 with a gig at The Tote.
“We just always have a ball in Melbourne. I’m from Perth originally, and I moved to Sydney, I had a choice between Sydney and Melbourne, because back in those days, you had to go to either Sydney or Melbourne to prove yourself in front of the industry, to get attention, to even get someone to offer a record contract.”
“I chose Sydney because I had family in Melbourne,” Faulkner laughs. “There’s a lot of interchange between the two cities, musically speaking. We wrote Melbourne into our very first songs with the intention of hopefully getting someone in Melbourne to like us enough to invite us down to do a show.”
Faulkner mentions the tour as a bit of a ‘degustation’, fans will be hearing a bit of everything from the group, alongside Stoneage Romeos
“The beginning of the show is all Stoneage Romeos. Literally the way you would have heard the album back in the day, first song to last song.”
“And then we go in and play just as much again, you know, with other material from our career and then an encore if people want it with more songs. So it’s going to be a pretty mega show!”
Hoodoo Gurus land in Bendigo on 22 January 2025 followed by Geelong on Thursday 23 January with support from Magic Dirt.
HOODOO GURUS
ULUMBARRA THEATRE, BENDIGO WED 22 JAN
COSTA HALL, GEELONG THU 23 JAN
CrEDIT: Christopher Ferguson
BLYSS.
blast back onto the local scene with brand new music
WORDS BY TAMMY WALTERS
blyss. has lived a few lives. Whilst the members of the band comprising Nick, Tristan, Nathan, and Bill have been circling through the Naarm and Surf Coast crowds of bands for years along with working under the former name The Vainz, blyss. is where the four piece has reached..well..bliss!
Æ
This past year has seen the band churn out three singles, the similarly stylised ‘feel it all.’, ‘stereo heart.’, and ‘killing Time.’ breaking in their band’s blend of hard hitting beats and bleeding riffs topped by melodic vocalisation. But now the blyss. brain has broken into a sound that fully defines their purpose, one that still leans on The Vainz vision but builds into a fully evolved blyss. beast. It’s sold on new EP DEADSTOCK
“There’s a few riffs in DEADSTOCK that I’ve had in the bank since before our first single ‘feel it all’ came out. There’s also a song in this EP called ‘Heathen’, which is an old song from when we were called The Vainz. We’ve been playing it live since we started blyss. and it’s definitely a crowd favourite so we decided to give it another shot, man we’re glad we did,” explains guitarist Nathan Mossop.
“Other than that, everything is pretty fresh within the last year and we’re so excited to just keep making and releasing more music.”
The outcome is their hardest hitting tunes to date, made to match their on stage energy and elevate the band’s status.
“We really do think it goes bloody hard, we didn’t want to make an EP that has poppier/slower songs on it just yet. We can do that and we’ve got some awesome stuff put away in that area but for DEADSTOCK we just wanted to give it 100% rock and roll energy,” says Mossop.
“What we’re proud of and really tuning into is the fact that our energy is so high that any gig we play goes down well. Chuck us on any bill and we’ll bring the heat, we wanted to capture that live heat in this record and that’s exactly what we did in our opinion.”
Set for release on Friday 15 November, DEADSTOCK captures a little piece of each of the band mates in terms of influence and sound. You can hear their own history as a band laced in influence from TURNSTILE, Boston Manor, Nothing But Thieves, kings of influence Queens of the Stone Age and a string of 90’s to early 2000’s rock and metal coming through.
“In terms of influences for this EP, there’s our individual, subliminal influences behind everything we do but DEADSTOCK is purely the result of us being together for a longer period of time and turning into what we do best at the moment. We’re proud of how original these tracks all sound.”
Adding depth to DEADSTOCK is the weight of the lyrical content, discussing the socio-economic divide and its growing impact on the music industry.
“The EP in general is somewhat about the divide between the poor and the wealthy, also just how it feels not to be thriving in that aspect of life. Money isn’t everything but it’s a driving force in these lyrics and suits the heavy energy of the EP,” explains Mossop.
“The theme is based on things that have become deadstock, the main one being the music industry. We’d kill to be a band 20/30 years ago and be able to do this full time, we really do believe we’ll get there. The last gig we played was for $26 between 4 of us, while little sounds that are used for memes generate hundreds of thousands of dollars - I promise we’re not as salty as we sound and we bloody love doing this but what a strange world we’re living in. Put it down to the cost of living kicking our asses, which I’m 100% sure the average Australian can relate to.”
With the help of Evan and Ash at The Loud Noise Estate in Coburg, DEADSTOCK is really coming to life and what a way to celebrate by a launch party at The Last Chance Rock & Roll Bar on 16 November. They will be joined by Titration and Ivy Black for what is bound to be a blow away show.
“Expect a huge sound from us on the night and we’ll be bringing the energy. Merch and stuff will be there but the live show will 100% be the highlight,” Mossop claims.
“If you’re a fan of energetic music, you’ve got $15 - $20 for a ticket and you want to have a sweet night of local music on the 16 November, you absolutely have to get a ticket.”
You heard the man!
BLYSS.
WHERE: THE LAST CHANCE ROCK & ROLL BAR, COBURG
WHEN: SAT 16 NOV
Forever I Live: The life and legacy of JOSH MUIR
WORDS BY TAMMY WALTERS
Readers please be advised that this article discusses a First Nations person who is deceased.
Vibrant, bold, daring and deadly. These are words that are not only conjured when thinking about proud Gunditjmara, Yorta Yorta and Barkindji artist Josh Muir, but also of his revolutionary artwork.
Æ Josh Muir was a prolific First Nations artist, whose artistic practice spanned 12 years, with a lightning fast trajectory that was expected to continue striking hot and fast. His work was celebrated on an international scale, with his unforgettable contribution to Melbourne’s White Night in 2015/16, Still Here, recognised by thousands. That same year, Josh produced a self-portrait, depicting himself donning a Basquiat-esque crown surrounded by flowers, diamonds, and shapes. This work would be titled Forever I Live Sadly in 2022, at the young age of 30, Josh Muir passed away suddenly. Through Forever I Live and a collection of his boundless artworks, Josh’s legacy, however, lives on, retrospectively being celebrated through an exhibition of the same title.
A joint exhibition with the Art Gallery of Ballarat and the Koorie Heritage Trust (KHT), and co-curated by Josh’s mum Justine Berg and partner Shanaya Sheridan, JXSH MVIR: Forever I Live is presented at the Art Gallery of Ballarat until 2 February 2025.
Speaking with Shanaya Sheridan, she details the impact of Josh’s work, his commitment to community and causes close to Josh’s heart, and the life that keeps breathing into the spaces.
“[The exhibition] provides opportunity for…Josh’s peers and all of those peoples whose lives he has touched… to see Josh’s work and what he was able to produce over the many years he was practising art. Often he would put into his art inspiration for other people so it’s the continuation of his legacy and that continuation of inspiring people and being immersed in all things Josh. It’s more exciting than anything.”
Born and raised in Ballarat, Josh’s work is reflective of the people, places, policies and purposes that impacted him, injecting meaning throughout his catalogue through symbols, depiction and storytelling.
“He drew on anything he came into eye contact with and obviously he spent a lot of time growing up in Ballarat so that’s included in it. He had such a unique view on the world and drew inspiration from culture, from land,
from community, from other impacts from colonisation including trauma, grief, loss, addiction and he brought all of those elements together to influence his art. I guess that’s what makes it so unique and vibrant are those different elements that he was able to capture and put into one piece or many pieces.”
Not only were his works outwardly expressing these themes, but they were a vehicle of inward healing for Josh who personally experienced struggles with mental health, addiction, and personal loss. Through his work he was not only able to channel his emotions through art, but use the art as a catalyst for change, advocating for mental health for others struggling.
“He was a natural born artist. His mum Justine often talks about how she bought him his first easel at the age of three and then all throughout his schooling he was always doodling in class and drawing pictures. He was diagnosed with mental health issues in his teens and going through those struggles he used art as a therapeutic
means to get him through those struggles. It took off from there,” Sheridan explains.
“That was something Josh spoke about through his different roles within the community as well. He did a lot of work with the youth and Headspace National, telling his story and using that art as an inspiration for those who were struggling with their mental health and youth as well. Those were his passions and I hope this exhibition continues Josh’s role modelling. He lived by the motto, “Aim For The Stars, Not The Streetlights” and we hope that the audiences do continue to aim for the stars.”
The impact of his work has also filtered down through his DNA, his five year old son Jamari already immersed in art with striking similarities to Josh’s signature style, whilst three-year daughter Jyla is a striking resemblance to her dad.
“Our son Jamari is already experimenting with different platforms as well. You see him doodling with textas on paper and he’s coming up with characters that are very similar to Josh’s. I hope he 100% continues in his dad’s footsteps and that’s continuing his legacy as well,” says Sheridan.
Throughout Josh’s story, the unshakable feeling of spirit and serendipity is overwhelming. It’s present in Sheridan’s sharing, it’s predominant in the community conversations but it’s especially powerful in Josh’s artwork. Josh built his legacy, but he also created the name it would live under in Forever I Live
“He will forever live on in our children, in his art, in the lives of everyone he touched. He made such an impact on the Victorian Aboriginal community and the art scene not just nationwide but internationally as well. His legacy will forever live on.”
JXSH MVIR: FOREVER I LIVE
WHERE: ART GALLERY OF BALLARAT, BALLARAT
WHEN: UNTIL 2 FEB
ARTS GUIDE
WORDS BY CHESTER OGILVIE
RAUSCHENBERG AND JOHNS: SIGNIFICANT OTHERS
Robert Rauschenberg (1925-2008) and Jasper Johns (1930- ) are considered two of the most significant artists of the twentieth century. Rauschenberg was a painter and artist who enjoyed a near 60-year career and whose early works anticipated the Pop art movement. Johns is a painter, sculptor, draftsman and printmaker and a central figure in post-war art. Their individual styles would blossom as a result of private conversations had while in a relationship.
GEELONG GALLERY 16 NOV–9 FEB
FRINGE ART AUCTION
The Fringe is on. The biennial Castlemaine Fringe Festival will take place throughout March and April of 2025, bringing with it a program with more colour than a paint shop. But such things cannot be run on good intentions alone. The Fringe Art Auction is the event’s major fundraiser. Proceeds are split down the middle, with half going to the artist and the other half towards the festival. Fringe will take place between March 22 and April 6, 2025.
SHEDSHAKER’S NEW MILL VENUE, CASTLEMAINE 24 NOV
ART FOR LIFE
Art is a healer. For those who witness it, a certain piece has the ability to calm rough waters, uplift spirits and inspire. For those who create it, it can be a great escape. The nocturnal painting sessions of Nichola Roberts is on display in Art for Life. It is a showcase of relaxing and rejuvenating artworks that provide an escape and foster tranquillity and renewal. It is a deep breath, a quiet nap in the afternoon light.
ARTS INC, APOLLO BAY 29 NOV–10 DEC
CLAW MONEY WORLD
A slice of the Big Apple comes to Warrnambool in this Australian exclusive exploring the world of ground-breaking artist Claudia Gold, aka Claw Money. Throughout the late ’80s and early ’90s, Gold’s signature three-taloned claw paw would see her become one of the few women in the male-dominated graffiti scene. She would later become a force in the fashion scene, attracting the likes of M.I.A., Amy Winehouse, Rhianna and Kendrick Lamar. This intimate exhibition explores it all.
WARRNAMBOOL ART
GALLERY 16 NOV–16 MAR
HERE WE ARE
The stories, struggles and triumphs of trans and gender-diverse artists are on display in We Are Here. The exhibition was created as a way for participating artists to showcase their perspectives and talents in a safe space through various forms including painting, sculpture and photography. It invites the viewer to open their heart and mind to the experience of others in hopes that it fosters a more inclusive and accepting society.
TBH STUDIO, BALLARAT UNTIL 30 NOV
BIRREGURRA ART SHOW
Taking place as part of the Meet Me in Birregurra calendar of events, the Birregurra Art Show began in the early nineties as a fundraising initiative. The event aims to contribute to the community’s appreciation of art, provide a platform to artists and reinvest in the community itself. Eight categories are available for artists, including the popular People’s Choice Award. This year will see an impressive 300+ works by 126 artists on show and for sale.
BIRREGURRA
COMMUNITY HALL 8–10 NOV
PAUL GUEST PRIZE
Paul Guest OAM QC is a former Family Court Judge and Olympic rower. He is also an art lover who serves as a member of the curatorial board of NotFair. His decades-long interest in art, which served him holistically throughout his professional career, led to the creation of the biennial Paul Guest Prize in 2010. You can explore the works of the artists by following the links through www.bendigoregion.com.au.
BENDIGO ART GALLERY 30 NOV–27 JAN
TIME & MATERIALITY
The earliest known examples of mosaic, the art of creating images by employing small pieces of glass, stone or other materials, are dated to the second half of 3nd millennium BCE. They were discovered at a temple building in Ubaid, Mesopotamia and consisted of stones, shells and ivory. It is a language of its own. Time & Materiality is an international juried exhibition of contemporary mosaics presented in partnership with MAANZ (Mosaic Association of Australia and New Zealand).
NATIONAL WOOL MUSEUM, GEELONG 15 NOV–2 FEB
17 DAYS OF LIVE MUSIC ACROSS
VICTORIA
PROGRAM OUT NOW
ANDY SHAUF (CAN)
ANEES (USA)
ANTHONY B (JA)
ANYMA
BAKER BOY
BANKS (USA)
BIMINI (UK)
CASH SAVAGE & THE LAST DRINKS
CHET FAKER
CHRISTINE ANU
COTERIE (NZ)
DAN SULTAN
ELEANOR JAWURLNGALI
EMMA DONOVAN
FLEWNT & INKABEE
JACK WHITE (USA)
JACOTÉNE
KAIIT
MAITHILI THAKUR (IN)
MILDLIFE
MISSY HIGGINS
RIPPLE EFFECT BAND
SARAH BLASKO
ST. VINCENT (USA)
TASH SULTANA
THE OFFSPRING (USA)
TINA ARENA
WAXAHATCHEE (USA)
+ SO MANY MORE
STAGE GUIDE
WORDS BY CHESTER OGILVIE
FOUNTAIN LAKES IN LOCKDOWN
Like the final season of your favourite TV show, the pandemic is something most would rather not remember. But too bad, because Art Simone, Thomas Jaspers, Leasa Mann and Scott Brennan are here to remind you about all the small things in this Kath and Kim parody. Kath is busy whipping up sourdough bread, while Kim has been asked to work from home. Meanwhile, Sharon is having a severe reaction to all hand sanitisers. What are these spunky morons to do?
ULUMBARRA THEATRE, BENDIGO 23 NOV
ROCKWIZ LIVE
It’s time to break out the great big book of music facts because Julia, Brian, Dugald and the RocKwiz OrKestra will be doing the rounds to seek out the greatest music minds in all the lands in Never Mind the Buzzers, it’s RocKwiz Live. There will be music. There will be trivia. There will be high jinks. So start cramming now because you don’t want mud on your face, front disc brakes.
COSTA HALL, GEELONG 15 NOV
ULUMBARRA THEATRE, BENDIGO 17 NOV
CIVIC HALL, BALLARAT 28 NOV
MAKE AN ENTRANCE!
Performing for the Geelong public since 1965, the GSODA Junior Players is one of the country’s longest-operating youth theatre companies. Here, in this musical variety show featuring distinctive characters and diverse stories, the team will take you on a journey of self-discovery, positivity and selfexpression. Through covering a diverse range of numbers including those from Hello, Dolly, SpongeBob SquarePants, Hairspray and Barbie, audiences are encouraged to reflect, connect and celebrate the beauty of individuality.
THE STORY HOUSE, GAC 22 & 23 NOV
PROPS THEATRE
Does your heart flutter to the story of Romeo and Juliet, only to find yourself wishing the tale of tragedy could be told in twenty minutes? Props Theatre, a progressive drama program for those aged between five and twenty-one, presents a short and sweet version of the star-crossed lovers as part of their In Theatre Performance of 2024. You will also discover the worlds of The Knight of the Living Princess, Wicked Revenge and The Sword and the Stone.
THE CAPITAL, BENDIGO 25–27 NOV
EMMA HOLLAND
How big does your forehead have to be to get some attention around here? Perhaps answers are to be found in Emma Holland’s new show, Here Comes Mr. Forehead. Not that she is starved of attention. As one of Australia’s brightest alternative comedians, she has written for the likes of The Cheap Seats and Have You Been Paying Attention? – as well as making the occasional appearance.
THE GOODS SHED, BALLARAT 15 NOV
BENDIGO BANK
THEATRE, BENDIGO 16 NOV
MOZART HALL, WARRNAMBOOL 17 NOV
QUBIT
There’s nothing like brushing up on your quantum computing as you enjoy a stage play. The race to be the first to execute a series of quantum processes is on. As the capabilities of an international network of Qubits increase they become sympathetic to ‘One’, who lives mostly in virtual reality. Written by local authors Libby Angel and Helen Johnston and performed by the Castlemaine Theatre Company, this satirical sci-fi production will have you using Richard Feynman as your new screensaver.
PHEE BROADWAY THEATRE, CASTLEMAINE UNTIL 17 NOV
MAGPIES, MIDNIGHT & MIRACLES
Three short plays by Brisbane playwright Paula-Mary Camilleri shine bright thanks to The Colac Players. In Magpies you’ll meet Helen, who is taking her first steps back in the dating world with support from family, friends and some fine, feathery creatures. In Midnight, nightshift nurses trade tales over coffee and Iced Vo-Vos. And in Miracles, you’ll watch as angels intervene and learn the life of miracle makers is hard going.
RED ROCK REGIONAL THEATRE AND GALLERY, COROROOKE 22–30 NOV
SNOW WHITE
Medimime Productions is set to deliver a pop pantomime of one of the most beloved fairy tales of all time. In a production featuring comedic mishaps, musical numbers and interactive moments, Snow White, the fairest of them all, escapes the Evil Queen, her wicked stepmother. While seeking refuge in the woods, she befriends seven quirky friends and together they face off against the dastardly queen. All proceeds will be donated to Barwon Health.
THE STORY HOUSE, GAC 8–16 NOV
Australian Art Orchestra
30th Anniversary Concert
Friday 15 November 2024
Join the Australian Art Orchestra as they celebrate 30 years of music, legacy, and innovation. Featuring special guests Kucha Edwards and Hikaru Tanaka, this performance brings together a community of artists who have shaped the ensemble’s journey.
OCEAN GROVE
ODDWORLD
Æ Well before Y2K resurged to infiltrate the fashion and music industry, Ocean Grove was already reshaping the sound of modern day metal.
Not only did the Melbourne-based outfit manage to revive a genre that, to many, died when emo took over in the early 2000’s, they ultimately reinvented the entire metal world, influencing bands like Thornhill, Alpha Wolf and Dregg (to name a few) to adopt similar nü metal stylings that embrace the weirdness of the group’s self-invented genre “oddworld”.
But to be honest, after the group’s lead vocalist Luke Holmes left in 2019, so did the spark that the group had on their debut, The Rhapsody Tapes. Undoubtedly, you can’t help but tip your hat to the determination of the group showed amidst lineup changes, but, in my eyes, both post-Holmes follow ups, Flip Phone Fantasy, and, Up In the Air Forever, didn’t quite capture the same unruly spontaneity and genre-bending “oddworld” spirit that ruled The Rhapsody Tapes
So when it was announced that both Holmes and longtime collaborator Running Touch were back in the studio for album number four, ODDWORLD, I couldn’t contain my excitement–even if there were minor trepidations. Would it live up to the group’s first effort, or had the band’s sound evolved too much to rechannel the same energy they managed to capture in 2018?
Thankfully, it hits the incredibly high standard that I’d built up in my head. From the opening minutes of bass-heavy intro, ‘OG Forever’, it feels like we’ve stepped back into the past – the boys are back, and they’re sounding weirder than ever.
‘Cell Division’ hits hard with Holmes’ unique take on rap perfectly blended alongside gritty riffs, industrial basslines and grunge choruses. ‘STUNNER’ takes the realms of “oddworld” further than ever before, contrasting acoustic and electric guitars, microtonal riffwork and jungle drum grooves to deliver a mix between Steal This Album! era System of A Down and N.E.R.D’s ‘She Wants To Move.’ As does ‘OTP’, with the inclusion of guest vocal spots from New Babylon and Adult Art Club helping to elevate the group’s sound from rap-inspired to straight up rap-rock, while tracks like ‘NO OFFENCE DETECTED’, on the other hand, reintroduce the genre-bending trance/UKG interludes that helped make The Rhapsody Tapes so unique.
Not to undermine the hardwork Dale, Twiggy and Sam have put into maintaining the Ocean Grove brand over the last few years, but ODDWORLD feels like the sophomore album we were all expecting four years ago. Picking up exactly where The Rhapsody Tapes left off, ODDWORLD redefines the scope of the group’s self-made, all-encompassing genre.
It’s weird as hell, just the way we like it.
LABEL ODDWORLD RECORDS/ SHARPTONE RECORDS
RELEASE: 22 NOV
GOAT Goat
Æ Anyone who knows me, knows that Goat is one of my all time favourite bands. Still to this day, I stand by their set at Meredith 2015 being one of the best live shows I’ve ever seen (closely rivalled by Turnstile and Speed at The Forum, and both the Bronx and Peep Temple at the BC).
But after a six year hiatus, their most recent efforts, Headsoup (2021), Oh Death (2022) and Medicine (2023) have fallen pretty flat in comparison to their first few albums, feeling like more of the same, just slightly worse.
The same can’t be said about the group’s seventh release, Goat. Sure, it may not hold a candle to World Music, Commune, or Requiem , but it feels much truer to the group’s original sound.
An instrumental release at its core, Goat sees the enigmatic Swedish outfit honing in on the wah-heavy riffs (‘Dollar Bill’), inspired keyboard solos (‘Frisco Beaver’) and riff-driven swagger (‘Goatbrain’) that helped them stand out amongst the modern psych-rock scene, while also toying with exciting new influences like hip-hop inspired piano leads (‘Zombie’) and UK garage break-beats (‘Ouroboros’).
Fuzzy distorted riffs, powerhouse dual vocal harmonies, jammy synths, and creative uses of dissonance that help the group ebb and flow between elements of zam-rock, Afro-fusion, and pagan folk–it really does feel like the Goat of old.
Sure, it may not be the standout release of their catalogue, but it’s good to hear Goat back doing what they’ve always done best.
LABEL: ROCKET RECORDINGS RELEASE: OUT NOW
MAKE THEM SUFFER
Make Them Suffer
Æ When it comes to Australian death metal, Make Them Suffer’s influence is so undeniable that you’d think the cover of their debut EP, Lord of Woe, was an initiation tattoo into some kind of death metal cult, with the hooded figure fronting the cover donning the calves of almost every bloke rocking mosh shorts at regional shows.
Although as is the case with most death metal bands, the debut demo that sounds like it was recorded on a Nokia E63 remains the fan favourite forever – if they stray too far from that, “they sold out”.
So naturally, the Perth-based group’s gradual shift into metalcore pissed off some longtime fans, but in doing so, it opened up a wealth of new doors, leading to the biggest commercial impact and most exciting output of their career, all without losing the brutality of their core sound.
Their fifth-effort, Make Them Suffer, captures this evolution, tying in old school symphonic metal elements (‘The Offering’) alongside newly adopted djent breakdowns and metalcore choruses (‘Doomsday’, ‘Venusian Blues’).
‘Weaponized’ delves into arena-metal territory, delivering chug riffs akin to Rammstein or Metallica alongside powerful intervals of silence and the contrasting gutturals of Sean Hermanis’ and high-pitched vocal frys of Alex Reade. Meanwhile, ‘Mana God’ delves into the groups experimental side, tying in 80’s goa trance synths alongside swinging drum patterns and bludgeoning breakdowns.
Honestly, let the purists judge all they want; Make Them Suffer just keeps getting better and better with every release.
THE OFFSPRING
Supercharged
Æ After the impact of Smash and Americana, The Offspring will never lose their legacy as SoCal punk icons. That being said, their 2012 effort, Days Go By, came pretty damn close to doing exactly that, with songs like ‘Cruising California’ feeling like a dated attempt at breaking into the mid-2000’s pop-scene.
So when the groups newest effort Supercharged was announced, sporting an electrified album cover reminiscent of Metallica’s Ride The Lightning, many assumed they weren’t straying too far from their heavier punk roots this time around.
Thankfully, they don’t. Sure, some of the tracks feel more like B-sides (‘Make It All Right’), but if you’re just wanting The Offspring sounding like they always have, Supercharged offers up everything you could have ever asked for.
From its opening seconds, it’s drenched in nostalgia. So much so that I’m still not convinced ‘Lookin Out For Number #1’ isn’t just a reinterpretation of the group’s smash-single ‘You’re Gonna Go Far Kid’, with its isolated snare/kickdrum patterns and chorus hook feeling a little too close for comfort.
‘Light It Up’ keeps it safe, maintaining the vintage Offspring flavour that we all know and love through relatively rudimentary punk riffs. ‘The Fall Guy’ and ‘Truth In Fiction’ serve up driving drum patterns, rapidfire power-chord driven riffs and riotous ‘Bro-Hymn’-esque singalongs that’ll go down a treat live.
While it may not offer anything new or overly exciting to their discography, nostalgic fans looking for a dose of The Offspring that doesn’t stray too far from the band’s original sound will find solace in the fact that Supercharged delivers exactly that.
TWINE
New Old Horse
Æ …I think I just found my new favourite up-and-coming act.
An absolute visceral assault on the ears (in all the best ways possible), Twine delivers one of the most unique sounds the Aus music scene has come across in some time. One second, they’re barraging your speakers with intense noise-rock feedback; the next, tugging at your emotions with searing heart-on-your-sleeve alt-country melodies.
It’s a whirlwind of sound, with so much going on that you almost don’t know what to think or feel, you just know you like it–a lot.
If you think you have a pretty clear vision of what the group sound like, opener ‘Future Exhales’ will change that within its opening two seconds, brutally kicking in with fuzzy distortion, bleeding lead guitars and huge walls of chugging riffs. Then, within minutes, you turn the corner to ‘Sleeping Dogs’ and ‘My God’, emotional bluegrass driven folk-rock ballads that sporadically tie in unhinged math-rock freakouts and riff-based violins for good measure.
It sounds like a confusing mixture of genres, and it is–but that’s also where Twine’s greatest strengths lie. New Old Horse covers the entire spectrum; slow shoegaze riffs, doom metal basslines, ocker-punk vocals, pop-punk percussion, riff-based folk-rock violin harmonies–and that’s just in ‘Spine’.
It feels like lightning in a bottle, channelling an organised chaos that leans away from any other bands in the Australian scene to hone in on a sound that’s completely unique. Considering this is only Twine’s debut effort, I can’t wait to see where they go from here–based on New Old Horse, it could honestly be anywhere.
LABEL: GREYSCALE RECORDS/ SHARPTONE RECORDS
LABEL: CONCORD RECORDS
LABEL: KITTY RECORDS
ACROBATIC, SPIRITUAL AND PROFOUND:
ARTERIAL IS AN AWEINSPIRING WORK FROM NA DJINANG CIRCUS
Æ Throughout 2024, Geelong Arts Centre has presented a program of bold and boundary-pushing performances, diving into the diverse disciplines of the arts. From magical opera experiences to vampiric vaudeville, kaleidoscopic choreography to traditional theatre; the ambitious program has delivered daring works to the region.
Before the year is through, experience yet another sophisticated showcase of strength, talent and spirit with Arterial. A moving acrobatic performance linking people, Country and culture, where the unseen bonds between the body and the land become beautifully visible, Arterial is an effervescent experience encompassing what it means to be a First Nations person in modern Australia. Coming to Geelong Arts Centre for two performances on Friday 29 and Saturday 30 November under the REWIRE Program - celebrating new art, contemporary Australian voices, and immersive experiences - Arterial is the work of Na Djinang Circus, a Melbourne-based award-winning contemporary circus that aims to develop work that utilises the next generation’s social and political attitudes. This particular performance sees the group explore the ancient connections tying First Nations people together, strong through bloodlines but irreparably damaged through colonisation.
Four performers connect with each other physically and spiritually in a display of breathtaking acrobatics scored by avantgarde sound designer Danni Esposito. Originally commissioned by Yirramboi Festival, the wondrous work entwines silks with floor movement to build narrative, taking viewers on a contemplative journey.
Adding to the astonishing acrobatics and aerial artistry is the detailed costume design by Emily Barrie reflecting the palette of the land, enhanced by the tonal lighting design.
Arterial will both excite and move you as the performers celebrate what it means to be First People—the lifeblood of this country and the land that is its beating heart. You won’t want to miss this marvellous presentation.
The Arterial performances are presented days following the launch of Geelong Arts Centre’s Season 2025 on 27 November, with the curated program expected to continue bringing worldclass art experiences to the region.
SPEED UP YOUR CAREER – CHOOSE TAFE
As students across Australia weigh up their study options for 2025, many are exploring the advantages of TAFE as a direct route to both industry and university. Freelance designer, Billy Keller, tells us why TAFE is a great choice.
Æ
“I’ve always had a profound passion for everything related to designing,” says Keller, whose passion led him to study graphic design at The Gordon.
“TAFE was an ideal alternative approach to starting out my design career, rather than just heading straight to university. It provided me with the practical skill set and industry-required knowledge, which my first year of university did not.”
This fast-tracked pathway allowed Keller to gain real-world experience quickly, followed by a university qualification in a shorter time frame.
“The diploma took me a year to complete at TAFE. After that, I was able to go straight into my Bachelor at university and finish it in two years.”
Billy emphasises TAFE’s hands-on learning experience, as being instrumental in shaping his career.
“Every day at The Gordon involved learning essential tools and programs used in the design industry,” says Keller.
The practical focus of his TAFE course set him up for success in an industry that values experience and skill combined with his theory-based learning at University.
“In design, you need extensive knowledge of programs like Adobe, Figma, and Miro, as well as strong communication skills to present your ideas to clients,” he says.
TAFE gave him this foundation, which not only made him job-ready but also provided him with the confidence to create and deliver professionally.
“Portfolio building is key,” adds Keller’s design teacher Tet Kelly. “At TAFE, you’re not just learning the software, you’re applying it to create real-world projects that demonstrate your abilities to future employers. That’s a huge advantage.”
Reflecting on his journey, Keller acknowledges that TAFE was the perfect springboard for his journey to becoming a Creative Director at an agency or design firm one day.
“The Gordon was the perfect gateway into shaping my career. Had I gone to university first, who knows if I would be in this position.”
Sign up to Geelong Arts Centre’s What’s On to discover the extraordinary stories set to unveil.
Are you considering changing your study preference for 2025? TAFE is a valuable, practical, and efficient option to enter your chosen industry quickly while keeping future university study in mind. No ATAR required.
Visit thegordon.edu.au to apply today
WHAT’S ON
EXPLORE WHAT’S COMING UP AT YOUR ARTS CENTRE
We respectfully acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the land on which the Geelong Arts Centre stands, the Wadawurrung People of the Kulin Nation. We pay our respects to Elders past, to Elders present and to emerging leaders, recognising their continuing connection to land, water, culture and community. Please note: all information within this ad is correct at time of print.
CHORUS!
SHOWCASING FAMOUS CHORAL PIECES BY THE LEGENDS OF OPERA 13-15 NOV NEVER MIND THE BUZZERS, HERE’S ROCKWIZ LIVE!
MARCIA HINESONE NIGHT ONLY -STILL SHINING C ONCERT TOUR
BOOK NOW
CALL
1300 251 200
IN PERSON
50 LITTLE MALOP ST GEELONG ONLINE
GEELONGARTSCENTRE.ORG.AU
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REVEL IN THE CHOAS AND QUIZZERY OF ROCKWIZ LIVE 15 NOV GSODA JUNIOR PLAYERS PRESENT MAKE AN ENTRANCE!
LEGENDARY MUSICAL TREASURE PERFORMS FOR ONE NIGHT ONLY! 03 NOV VIVA ITALIA VARIETY ITALIAN STYLE
A CAPTIVATING MUSICAL SHOW THAT CELEBRATES SELF-DISCOVERY 22-23 NOV ARTERIAL
DEC MUSICAL TIME WARPCENTRESTAGE MUSICAL THEATRE SHOWCASE
ENJOY THE AUSTR ALIAN AWARD-WINNING SPECTACLE OF HITS
29-30 NOV
A MOVING ACROBATIC PERFORMANCE LINKING PEOPLE, COUNTRY AND CULTURE
MESSIAH WILL HAVE YOU SINGING ‘HALLELUJAH!’ ALL THE WAY HOME
VENUE GUIDE
BELLS BEACH BREWING
Æ Bells Beach Brewing is a craft brewery inspired by the stunning landscape of Bells Beach and the Surf Coast, and was founded by Jono and Adam back in 2015. The Torquay taproom opened in December 2018, and Geelong in March 2021.
Bells Beach Brewing has ten beers in their core range, which are inspired by surf breaks around the world. They are constantly rotating limited releases and seasonal offerings. A key release this year has been the Secret Spot series which highlighted all Victorian ingredients. The countdown is also on, as you can look forward to some new additions through the end of the year including a new limited sour.
The Torquay location is a family and dog friendly venue, with laid back vibes. They host monthly open mic on the third Thursday of each month, Sunday arvo live music from 3pm, and regular band nights. You can keep up to date with upcoming events posted on Bells website. Coming up is Chorus Club on 7 & 9 November, giving people the opportunity to learn ‘Running up that Hill’ by Kate Bush. Then on 16 November they’ll be hosting Dub Check from 4pm, which features dub reggae beats. There will be a food truck on site with Gypsy Burger serving up meals daily.
The Geelong taproom is in the heart of the Little Malop Street precinct. They are known for their comedy nights every Friday from 8pm, along with their fortnightly trivia on a Thursday. Bells is BYO friendly for food, so people can bring something to eat from any of the great local venues in the precinct – however Lou’s Pizza next door is a favourite. The venue is also dog friendly in the outside area.
Head on down to either venue for a great time, great bevs and an overall great vibe.
ELSEWHERE AT SAM
Æ Nestled in the heart of the Shepparton community, Elsewhere at SAM offers a dynamic, world-inspired menu that draws visitors from the Goulburn Valley and beyond. Located within the new Shepparton Art Museum building, Elsewhere was created to offer an experience that feels both adventurous and familiar. Their friendly and welcoming team are always ready to make you feel at home in their vibrant, quirky, and inclusive atmosphere.
Elsewhere is passionate about supporting locals. They work with local suppliers and producers to source products as close to home as reasonably possible. When that’s not possible, they trust that by supporting a local business to source goods externally, the local economy can still benefit. Their team works incredibly hard to offer an ever-changing menu with dishes rotating on and off as produce is at its finest. They don’t believe in quarterly menu changes; they adapt as soon as an ingredient becomes unsustainable to keep on the menu.
The kitchen team is led by Head Chef, Sean Cameron, who brings over two decades of diverse culinary experience and unique style to Elsewhere. While they’ve had very regular menu rotations since their inception, their highlights include: Okonomiyaki - a fan favourite staple on the menu since day one – Elsewhere Thick Cut Maple Bacon – partnering with a local butcher in Shepparton, Brad’s Magic Meats, they collaborated to create a pork belly bacon infused with maple and orange, and Elsewhere Bowls - what truly sets Elsewhere apart is their one-of-a-kind ‘Bowls’ menu, where guests are invited to indulge in chef-curated creations or embark on a ‘choose-your-own-adventure’ experience, crafting a flavour journey all your own.
The café features Birds of a Feather Coffee, a blend by Evolve North. This vibrant coffee blend, designed and roasted locally in Shepparton, celebrates individuality and shared passions, delivering rich, full-bodied flavour notes and striking a perfect balance between familiar and exciting. They have been incredibly fortunate and proud to be the only café offering this award-winning blend in the Goulburn Valley.
The ambience at Elsewhere is a blend of laid-back comfort and stylish charm, creating a space that feels as welcoming as home yet offers the intrigue of being somewhere entirely new. With modern Scandi vibes, quirky and vibrant decor, and bold colours that flow through the branding—from printed menus to the website and social media—Elsewhere invites guests to relax, work, or connect with friends in a uniquely inviting setting overlooking the Victoria Park Lake. Alongside the exceptional food, the attentive and friendly customer service ensures that every guest feels valued and welcomed, making each visit a truly special occasion.
WHERE: GEELONG UNIT 2/73B LITTLE MALOP ST / TORQUAY 2/22 BAINES CRESCENT
OPEN: MON–WED 12–5PM / THU 4–10PM FRI 4–11PM / SAT 12–11PM
WHERE: LEVEL 1, 530 WYNDHAM STREET, SHEPPARTON OPEN: WED–MON 8AM–4PM
FRANKIE. BAR & EATERY
Æ Cocktail bar, function venue, pan-Asian-fusion restaurant. Is there anything frankie. can’t do?
The brilliant ethos of frankie. is that you can dress up, feel fabulous, head out on the town to a stunning, higher-end venue, get those awesome Instagram shots to make your friends jealous... YET... get your hands dirty with some non-pretentious, house-made, delicious food like their to-die-for Golden Balls, Spring Rolls, Bao Buns and Popcorn Chicken, just to name a few. They have also recently launched Pad Thai Nachos – you have GOT to try them! They also cater for all dietary requirements and have listed all of their dishes by dietary on the menu!
What is the perfect pairing to all food? Well, it’s cocktails of course, and frankie. pride themselves on their epic cocktail list –THERE ARE 30 COCKTAILS, GUYS - all of which can be made as mocktails. They are all handcrafted in-house and only use the most premium of spirits and ingredients. YUM! They also have a predominantly local wine list. Local supporting local, nothing better. The same goes for the food. They are not pretentious or pretending to be something that they aren’t. Think down-to-earth, fresh local ingredients, and making everything in-house with love - and what is better than seeing guests leave happy and full, and a little bit silly. frankie. changed owners a few weeks before COVID-19. What could have been a disaster, turned into a huge success. With a slight change in the business model, they were lucky they could still offer their delicious food and cocktails as takeaway – thank the lord, this was the best! Another reason why Geelong is #1. We get behind our small businesses.
Now that we are back to a somewhat new normal, who doesn’t love events! frankie. seems to be labelled as the “hens, engagement and baby shower capital of Geelong”, with so many guests choosing to head to frankie. to celebrate their important life moments. And why wouldn’t you? frankie. can host full venue engagement and weddings, to small and intimate private dinners or cocktail parties. They have two private rooms for smaller gatherings (60ish guests), or take the whole venue for that ultimate exclusivity (with 200+ of your nearest and dearest). The world of frankie. is your event oyster.
Now for some breaking news! If your favourite word is ‘bottomless’ I have some fantastic news for you. You can now pop on down to frankie. on a Friday and Saturday and receive bottomless cocktails along with delicious food dishes, all for $89 per guest – there will be a table booked for me each week. Please join so I don’t drink alone…
WHERE: 26 MALOP STREET, GEELONG CBD
OPEN: MON–SAT 12PM–LATE / SUN 5PM–LATE
OUT OF ORDER
Æ Birthed from a love of specialty coffee, and the vision to bring something new to the Bendigo cafe scene, Out of Order owners Kelsey and Taelor are absolutely killing it. After working a management role, Kelsey and Taelor had a dream to open their own business, and they are truly living that dream. With Taelor working in hospitality for over 15 years, he has brought an incredible wealth of knowledge and experience to their business, paired with Kelsey’s love of people and lots of plants!
As a business, they aim to provide quality products, and exceptional service through making genuine relationships with their customers and creating a space that is inclusive of all people and treats every customer like a member of the family. The venue is light and bright, with a huge array of plants (that Kelsey has proudly and somehow kept alive!) and her pet turtle ‘Jaws’ that lives in a beautiful tank near the front of our store.
The coffee Out of Order slings comes from Cartel Roasters in Geelong. Kelsey was born and raised in Geelong, and grew up drinking Cartel Coffee. She had always dreamt of the day she’d open her own cafe and serve Cartel Coffee. The Bendigo locals have absolutely loved their coffee and appreciate bringing something new to Bendigo.
The bagels come from a baker called ‘Savion’ - they are beautifully soft, and work so well with the bagel fillings. The menu features a Breaky Bagel- which is the most popular bagel by a country mile, selling hundreds of them every single week. There is also a philly cheese bagel- which is another crowd favourite, complete with oozy melted swiss cheese. All produce is fresh and sourced locally from a supplier. Out of Order have also recently added matcha to their menu, served either hot or iced, and there is the option of a raspberry iced matcha or a butterfly matcha- both of which have been incredibly popular and have bought in lots of people wanting to try it. The matcha is an organic product grown in the Kagoshima region of Japan.
All of the staff at Out of Order carry a love and passion for people, by bringing fun and energy to their interactions with customers and going the extra mile to chat to everyone that comes into the store.
The cafe always has great tunes pumping, and aims to bring the ‘good vibes’ to everyone’s day. The store aesthetic is fairly minimal, with clean white walls, wooden benches and lots of greenery, oh and just a splash of aqua which is Kelsey and Taelor’s favourite colour. A lot of customers comment on the relaxed, genuinely friendly atmosphere that welcomes everyone as an equal.
WHERE: 352 HARGREAVES STREET, BENDIGO OPEN: WEEKDAYS 6AM–2PM / WEEKENDS 8AM–2PM
GIG GUIDE
NOVEMBER 2024
For more gigs go to fortemag.com.au/gigguide
THU 7 NOV
LOCH HART
MUSIC FESTIVAL
BARWON HEADS HOTEL, BARWON HEADS
7: 30PM $20
FRI 8 NOV
ME FIRST AND THE GIMME GIMMES + DWARVES
TORQUAY HOTEL, TORQUAY
8PM $79.90
CHARLI XCX BRAT PARTY
VOLTA, BALLARAT
9PM $19.90
HURRICANE
A LUKE COMBS TRIBUTE SHOW
THE GATEWAY HOTEL, GEELONG
8PM $40.80
SAT 9 NOV
RIVER ROCKS 2024
FT: Dernrutlidge, Stiff Richards, Pat Todd & The Rankoutsiders, Los Chicos
THE BARWON CLUB HOTEL, GEELONG
12PM $91.80
LISA MITCHELL
THEATRE ROYAL, CASTLEMAINE
7PM $45.90
BAREFOOT
SPACEMAN
+ KIT GENESIS, THE HOT LEMONS
VOLTA, BALLARAT
7:30PM $23.75
BJORN AGAIN WATERLOO
ANNIVERSARY TOUR
COSTA HALL, GEELONG
8PM $70–$83.40
COLD CHISEL
+ KAREN LEE ANDREWS, SUPER JESUS, BIRDS OF TOKYO, THE CRUEL SEA
VICTORIA PARK, BALLARAT
1:30PM $152.85
SUN 10 NOV
RIVER ROCKS REHAB
FT: Private Function, Los Chicos, Watty Thompson, It Thing, Grindhouse, Snake Powder And More
THE BARWON CLUB HOTEL, GEELONG
2PM $66.30
SUMMERSAULT
+ HOZIER, ANGIE MCMAHON, JOY OLADOKUN
TORQUAY COMMON, TORQUAY
3PM SOLD OUT
TUE 12 NOV
KING PARROT AND WEEDEATERS
VOLTA, BALLARAT
6:30PM $49.90
WED 13 NOV
KING PARROT AND WEEDEATERS
THE BARWON CLUB
HOTEL, GEELONG
6:30PM $49.90
THU 14 NOV
THE PINGERS AND SPEEDBALL
+ THE COOLABAHS, RQTBL
THE EASTERN, BALLARAT
7PM
$11.75
SOFAR – SO CALM
FT: Lily Anna & Lina
MURRAN FIRST NATIONS HUB, GEELONG
6PM $30
FRI 15 NOV
FAKE NEWS
+ JUDA CHOP, ALL HOPE REMAINS, IN THE ESKY, RELAYS, DIRTY WASABI
THE BARWON CLUB HOTEL, GEELONG
7PM $18.40
OPERATION KARMA
+ VOLT JOLT
THE EASTERN, BALLARAT
7PM $11.75
THE SAINTS
THEATRE ROYAL, CASTLEMAINE
7:30PM SOLD OUT
KITA ALEXANDER
TORQUAY HOTEL, TORQUAY
7PM $45.90
PAINTERS AND DOCKERS
+ SORDID ORDEAL VOLTA, BALLARAT
8PM
NEVER MIND THE BUZZERS –ROCKWIZ LIVE
COSTA HALL, GEELONG
$56.35
TOWN FOLK FESTIVAL
FT: A. Savage, aplegate, Don’t Thank Me Spank Me!, Felicity Cripps Band, Grace Cummings, Harmony Byrne, Kid Sam, M79, Marlon Williams, Merryn Jeann, Ngaiire, Queenie, Ruby & Loretta, Tek Tek Ensemble, The Maes, The Teskey Brothers
MULTIPLE VENUES, CASTLEMAINE
12PM $134
MARCIA HINES
STILL SHINING CONCERT
ULUMBARRA THEATRE, BENDIGO
7:30PM $70–$75
SUN 17 NOV
SARGENT BAKER + DENTAL PLAN, WINKSY THE BARWON CLUB HOTEL, GEELONG
7PM FREE
ONE ELECTRIC DAY
FT: Noiseworks, Birds of Tokyo, Wolfmother, Baby Animals, Killing Heidi, Chocolate Starfish WERRIBEE PARK, WERRIBEE 11AM $142.55
STELLA DONNELLY
+ LEAH SENIOR, STRANGE BREW, MR MOON, EMERGENCY EXIT
LORNE THEATRE, LORNE 5:30PM $15
GRINSPOON
+ PRESS CLUB, DADDY ISSUES
7:30PM $90–$105
SAT 16 NOV
BELLA DEER
‘AGE OF ALCHEMY’ EP LAUNCH
+ ALASKA, HOWLITE THE BARWON CLUB HOTEL, GEELONG
7PM
ADAM HARVEY
+ TAYLOR MOSS
BARWON HEAD HOTEL, BARWON HEADS
6:30PM SOLD OUT
FRI 22 NOV
PLAYLUNCH
THE BARWON CLUB HOTEL, GEELONG
8PM
$23.50
GATEWAY HOTEL, GEELONG
8PM
$45.90
$23.50
THE FERGUSON ROGERS PROJECT
THEATRE ROYAL, CASTLEMAINE
7:30PM $56.65
QUEENSCLIFF MUSIC FESTIVAL
FT: C.W Stoneking, Kasey Chambers, Marlon Williams, Xavier Rudd, Micheal Franti and Spearhead, Mick Thomas and the Roving Commission, Grace Cummings and more
PRINCESS PARK, QUEENCLIFF FORESHORE, QUEENSCLIFF
22–24 NOV $119–$319
FUNGUS BRAIN FESTIVAL
FT: Mushroom Giant, Khan, Russian Circles, Mono, Treebeard, Heinous Crimes, The Sinsemillian VOLTA, BALLARAT
8PM
SPY VS SPY
$23.75
THE GOLDEN VINE, BENDIGO
8PM $38
ALWAYS LIVE: THE PUSH ALLAGES TOUR
FT: The Rios, South Summit, Jem Cassar-Daley, Kailee Rose, Jack Doolan, The Scrubs
THE MAYDAY PAVILION, HORSHAM SHOWGROUNDS, HORSHAM
5PM
ALWAYS LIVE: THE PUSH ALL-AGES TOUR
FT: Pacific Avenue, Teenage Joans, Anthony Chisholm, Samara Bright
$31.62
VINE HOTEL, WANGARATTA
5PM $31.62
ALWAYS LIVE –RIPPLE EFFECT BAND + AMOS ROACH
THE BRIDGE HOTEL, CASTLEMAINE
8PM $29.10
SAT 23 NOV
TRIPLE KILL
+ GET REKT, THRASH GORDON
THE BARWON CLUB HOTEL, GEELONG
7:30PM $23.50
BLUES GUITAR ROADSHOW
FT: Geoff Achison, Lloyd Spiegel
THEATRE ROYAL, CASTLEMAINE
7:30PM $58.65
ROUND UP – COUNTRY CLUB NIGHT
BARWON HEADS HOTEL, BARWON HEADS
8PM $20.40
END OF AN ERA
FT: Travlos and more HOME HOUSE, GEELONG
9PM $25
ALEX LLYOD
+ SPECIAL GUESTS VOLTA, BALLARAT
8PM $59.85
A. SAVAGE
ANGLESEA MEMORIAL HALL, ANGLESEA
7:30PM SOLD OUT
ALWAYS LIVE: END OF THE LINE IN BELGRAVE
FT: The Slingers with Fools, Half Cut Hicks, Madi Colville-Walker and Terra Rouge
CORNER BURWOOD HIGHWAY AND TERRY AVE, BELGRAVE 2PM FREE
ALWAYS LIVE: RIPPLE EFFECT BAND + AMOS ROACH
PIG AND WHISTLE, MAIN RIDGE
7:30PM $30
SUN 24 NOV
THE RIONS HAPPINESS IN PLACES TOUR TORQUAY HOTEL, TORQUAY
7:30PM $45.40
CUSTARD + THE FAUVES
THEATRE ROYAL, CASTLEMAINE
7:30PM $60
THE DIVINYLS STORY
PIANO BAR, GEELONG 1PM FREE
BSO RESURRECTION
ULUMBARRA THEATRE, BENDIGO
2:30PM $20–$60
MON 25 NOV
ALWAYS LIVE –RIPPLE EFFECT BAND
FT: Amos Roach
MURRAN FIRST NATIONS HUB, GEELONG 5PM $30
TUE 26 NOV
ST VINCENT – ALL BORN SCREAMING TOUR + BEC SANDRIDGE HER MAJESTY’S THEATRE, BALLARAT 8PM $104.80
WED 27 NOV
NEVER MIND THE BUZZERS – ROCKWIZ LIVE ULUMBARRA THEATRE, BENDIGO
7:30PM $95
ALWAYS LIVE: YARNS AND YODELS
FT: Brad Cox and Kaitilin Keegan
WONTHAGGI UNION COMMUNITY ARTS CENTRE, WONTHAGGI 7PM $60
THU 28 NOV
KATCHAFIRE + LAUGHTON KORA THE BARWON CLUB HOTEL, GEELONG 7PM $44.90
ALWAYS LIVE: YARNS AND YODELS
FT: Brad Cox and Kaitilin Keegan
GIPPSLAND PERFORMING ARTS CENTRE, TRARALGON 7PM $65
FRI 29 NOV
CONSEDINE + LEFT AT THE AVENUE, FORRER THE BARWON CLUB HOTEL, GEELONG 7PM $18.40
ORPHEUS OMEGA AND CARMERIA + FALL AND RESIST VOLTA, BALLARAT 7PM $33.85
RONNIE SIMMONS AND THE REDBACK SPIDERS
THE GOLDEN VINE, BENDIGO 8:30PM $15
ALWAYS LIVE – THE PUSH ALL AGES PROGRAM
FT: Dice, Good Sniff, Wild Gloriosa, Brunette Red Dress, Violet GEELONG WEST TOWN HALL, GEELONG 5PM $31.62
ALWAYS LIVE –YARNS AND YODELS
FT: Brad Cox and Kaitilin Keegan THE WEDGE PERFORMING ARTS CENTRE, SALE 7:30PM $64.70
SAT 30 NOV
ALWAYS LIVE AT THE BARWON CLUB
FT: Baraka the Kid, Wild Gloriosa, Ridzyray, Daisy Kilbourne, Manny Lado THE BARWON CLUB HOTEL, GEELONG 6PM $26.55
BUENA VISTA SOCIAL CLUB THEATRE ROYAL, CASTLEMAINE 7:30PM $56.65
AVE MARIA –GEELONG CHORALE ALL SAINTS ANGLICAN CHURCH 6PM FREE
SKA NATION
MUSIC FESTIVAL
FT: Voodoo Glow Skulls, Hey Smith, The Black Seeds, Sunny Coast Rude Boys, The Resignators and more THE CROXTON, MELBOURNE 30 NOV–1 DEC $220
MARCIA HINES
STILL SHINING
CONCERT
THE PLAY HOUSE, GEELONG ARTS CENTRE, GEELONG
7:30PM $70–$75
ALWAYS LIVE
– END OF THE LINE IN FRANKSTON
FT: Cash Savage & The Last Drinks with Full Flower Moon Band, Kiwat Kennell and Erica Avenue
PLAYNE STREET, FRANKSTON
2PM FREE
ALWAYS LIVE: YARNS AND YODELS
FT: Brad Cox and Kaitilin Keegan
WATERWHEEL TAVERN, LAKE TYERS
7PM $65
ALWAYS LIVE THE PUSH ALL-AGES TOUR
FT: Jacoténe, Becca Hatch, Flewnt & Inkabee, Azzizz and The Unknown
BENDIGO NEIGHBOURHOOD HUB, BENDIGO
5PM $31.62
SUN 1 DEC
KATCHAFIRE + SPECIAL GUESTS VOLTA, BALLARAT 7PM $45.15
JOHN WILLIAMSON
ULUMBARRA THEATRE, BENDIGO
7:30PM SOLD OUT
ALWAYS LIVE: YARNS AND YODELS
FT: Brad Cox and Kaitilin Keegan
RIVERVIEW HOTEL, TARWIN LOWER
7:30PM $66.30
ALWAYS LIVE: BOITE VOICES
FT: Deb Lowah Clark, Luke Captain, Stella Savy and the Maiem Choir
THE GOODS SHED TERMINUS THEATRE, BALLARAT
2:30PM $15–$40
WED 4 DEC
ANTHONY B & DJ BANNA
THE BARWON CLUB HOTEL, GEELONG 7PM FREE
THU 5 DEC
SARAH BLASKO I JUST NEED TO CONQUER THIS MOUNTAIN ALBUM TOUR
THEATRE ROYAL, CASTLEMAINE
7:30PM $59.90
ALWAYS LIVE: FOLK SOUNDS
FT: Steph Strings, Didirri and Kee’ahn
RIVERVIEW HOTEL, TARWIN LOWER
7PM
SAT 7 DEC WADE FORSTER +
$40
FRI 6 DEC
ALWAYS LIVE: JACK WHITE
CIVIC HALL, BALLARAT
8PM $127.50
ANDY SHAUF
THEATRE ROYAL, CASTLEMAINE
9PM $59.90
FRED AGAIN
APPRECIATION NIGHT VOLTA, BALLARAT
9PM $14.30
MEREDITH MUSIC FESTIVAL
FT: Jamie XX, Waxahatchee, Genesis Owusu, Mk.gee, Zapp, Angie Mcmahon, The Dare, Glass Beams, Mannequin Pussy, Barkaa, Fat White Family, Leo Sayer and more MEREDITH SUPERNATURAL AMPHITHEATRE, MEREDITH
6–8 DEC SOLD OUT
ALWAYS LIVE: FOLK SOUNDS
FT: Steph Strings, Didirri and Kee’ahn
MAFFCO BREWERY AND DISTILLERY, MAFFRA 7PM $40
ASTRID ARMSTRONG
UNDER 18s WELCOME W/ LEGAL GUARDIAN FREE ENTRY 4–6PM KITCHEN OPEN
THIRSTY MERC THEATRE ROYAL, CASTLEMAINE
MELBOURNE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA: HANDEL MESSIAH COSTA HALL, GEELONG 7:30PM $20–$97
ALWAYS LIVE: TINA ARENA AND RICHARD MARX + DARYL BRAITHWAITE, KATE CEBERANO, SOUTHERN SONS AND 1927 MORNINGTON RACECOURSE, MORNINGTON PENINSULA 12:20PM $203.82
ALWAYS LIVE: FOLK SOUNDS
FT: Steph Strings, Didirri and Kee’ahn WATER WHEEL TAVERN, LAKE TYERS 7PM $40
SUN 8 DEC
ALWAYS LIVE: FOLK SOUNDS
FT: Steph Strings, Didirri and Kee’ahn
BERNINNEIT, COWES 7PM $40
