Are you dying to know who’s playing Splendour in the Grass this year? Well I won’t keep you in suspense any longer!
The international acts are always the biggest drawcards, and this season’s no exception. We’ve got 80s flower-pot wearing icons Devo, Iceland’s finest Sigur Ros, and British rockers The Music. Add Vampire Weekend, The Wombats, and Band of Horses to the bill and it’s all very tempting.
But that’s not all, with world-class Aussies Wolfmother, The Vines, and The Living End joining them. Some of our happiest musical outfits, Operator Please, The Grates, and Ben Lee are also on the lineup, as are the chart-topping Gyroscope and electro superstars PNAU.
Splendour in the Grass is happening at Byron Bay’s Belongil Fields on August 2 and 3. Standard weekend tickets are $199, but consider digging a little deeper and buying the $206 green tickets. The extra cash will help buy carbon credits to offset the impact of this mega music festival. The tickets go on sale at 9 am on May 22 from QJump.
Congratulations to Dean, Ben, Tyce, Arns, and Joshua! They’ve all picked up a copy of the chart-topping CD Breed Obsession in my Gyroscope giveaway.
I asked the question “What’s your obsession?” and I loved reading the answers. Our winners are obsessed with music, breathing, drumming, hockey, and of course, Gyroscope!
Thanks to everyone who entered, and congratulations again to the winners!
Image source: Jef Bettens @ Stock.xchng
Aussie rock icons Shihad are back with a brand new album and tour!
Beautiful Machine strikes just the right balance between power and melody. And with master engineer Alan Moulder (Depeche Mode, U2, Smashing Pumpkins) at the helm, you know it’s going to be good.
Beautiful Machine will hit store on May 17, which gives Shihad fans just enough time to learn all the songs before they hit the road.
They’ll tour Adelaide and the East Coast with Triple J Unearthed winners Young and Restless and indie kids Calling All Cars. Tickets go on sale on Monday for the tour this June. See it at the following venues:
13 June 2008 – Bar 388, Brisbane
14 June 2008 – Hi Fi Bar & Ballroom, Melbourne
20 June 2008 – The Gaelic Theatre, Sydney
21 June 2008 – Live on Light Square, Adelaide
Image source: Warner Music Australia
Today is Earth Day, a day where we stop to appreciate the world in which we live. And so as we pause to reflect I thought I’d leave you with a song by Melbourne singer-songwriter Xavier Rudd. This song “The Mother” is from his third album Food in the Belly. It perfectly encapsulates the wonder that this day is all about.
Happy Earth Day!
Image source: Alaina Cherup @ Stock.xchng
Guy Sebastian’s Memphis Album was such a success, he’s decided to head back to the States to prepare for a follow-up.
But don’t expect another album of soul covers. While it’d undoubtedly sell well, Guy’s busy collaborating with the likes of David Ryan Harris on some original songs. A star in his own right, Aussie music lovers might recognise David as part of John Mayer’s current band.
Stax legend Steve Cropper must have enjoyed Guy’s company last time around, because he’s also working on this new release.
“We are meant to be writing but we are mainly just jamming and hanging out,” Guy said on his website.
Great things come out of jam sessions, so who knows what this meeting of creative minds will produce.
Guy fans won’t hear this new release for a while, so thankfully there’s a DVD in the works to tide fans over. Sony BMG plan to release a live DVD featuring one of Guy’s Memphis Album performances at Melbourne’s Crown Casino. It will be in stores on May 3.
Image source: Toby Forage @ Flickr
It’s another week, and we find another Aussie outfit sitting at the top of the ARIA charts. It’s so great to see Aussie music fans embracing our local artists!
Electro darlings The Presets have debuted at number one with their second album Apocalypso. The Sydney outfit has managed to keep fellow Sydneysiders Cog from the top spot. Their newie, Sharing Space, has debuted at number two.
Cut Copy are still enjoying chart success with In Ghost Colours. It’s climbed one position this week to sit at number nine.
Flo Rida has knocked Gabriella Climi off the top spot, but she hasn’t sunk too “Low.” “Sweet About Me” is currently at number two on the singles charts.
Click the link to see what else is happening on the Aussie charts!
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There are very few bands I’d stand out in the rain to see. But last night I did it for Matchbox Twenty, and I’d happily do it again.
Honestly, I was thrilled the concert went ahead at all. When I awoke in the morning to see rain falling steadily I convinced myself it’d be called off. But it all seemed to clear during the day, and I began to breathe a little easier. That is, until we arrived at Tempus Two to see the ominous black clouds.
The heavens opened up before Thirsty Merc even took the stage. My husband and I donned rain coats and draped plastic over out legs in attempts to stay relatively dry. It was all a little bit futile. Our raincoats didn’t have hoods, so the rain dripped down our noses and spattered our glasses so we could barely see.
Thankfully Thirsty Merc delivered one of the best performances I’ve seen them give in some time. I became an early fan of these guys when I saw them support Maroon 5 way back when, but somewhere along the way their live sets became a little lacklustre. Last night though it was almost like they felt they needed to give back to the poor soggy crowd, to make it worth our while. I was a little disappointed by the Slideshows-heavy set list, but I suppose it was to be expected. But they played those songs with gusto, and for a while it made us forget just how miserable it was to be outside.
Then it was time for the main event. I’ll warn you now, I can’t really talk about a Matchbox Twenty show objectively. I’ve followed them devotedly for the last 12 years, and they simply mean more to me than any other band does. Some might say that they mean more to me than any band should.
So when they started up with “How Far We’ve Come” I was simply overwhelmed. That song was a great big loud energetic blur of emotion for me. I couldn’t help but think exactly how far we have come. When I started to see this band I was an angsty 16-year-old attending high school and working a Coles checkout to make some extra cash. Now I’m a writer, a wife, an aunty. So much has changed, yet this band has been this amazing constant in my life. How far we’ve come indeed.
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He’s kept his Aussie fans waiting more than two years, but Pete Murray has finally announced a national tour. He’ll play old favourites and tracks from his newie, Summer at Eureka.
“I did a lot of gigging around Feeler and See The Sun but I pretty much took the last couple of years off from touring in Australia,” Pete said in a press statement.
“That allowed me to really focus properly on making the new album at home but now that it’s finally finished I’m really ready to get back out there and play the new songs from the album.”
He’s hitting theatres and leagues clubs in the capital cities and regional centers through August and September. Fans should lap up these intimate shows!
Tickets to all shows go on sale at 9 am on May 20 at the usual outlets. Click below for all the dates!
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Brian McFadden and Delta Goodrem announced their engagement last year, but don’t expect them to rush down the
aisle any time soon.
While they originally planned to marry this year, they’ve pushed the nuptials back until 2009 to accommodate their careers. After all, Delta’s going to spend months in America promoting her album and Brian’s going to be touring his new album Set in Stone. Who’s got time to get hitched?
“Next year’s the wedding,” Brian told AAP. “We’ve had three years together every single day, and I think that whole three years was preparing for this year apart.
“It’s been hard but because we’re so prepared for it we knew we’d just work hard this year and try to set up the rest of our life.”
I really feel for them! I spent more than two years in a long distance relationship, so I know firsthand how much it can suck. On the flipside though, once you survive that I think you can survive anything! Good luck to them!
Image source: Toby Forage @ Flickr
Doc Neeson hinted at it way back in January, but now it’s official. The seminal Aussie pub rockers The Angels have reunited.
After a bitter separation which lasted more than a decade Doc Neeson has reunited with John Brewster, Rick Brewster, Chris Bailey, and Graham Bidstrup.
The iconic lineup will headline the 30th Anniversary Golden Stave Foundation Luncheon at the end of June before touring the eastern states and South Australia.
A remastered edition of their classic album Face To Face will be reissued this year to celebrate the disc’s 30th anniversary. No word yet on whether some new material will follow it, but we’ll cross our fingers!
Click below to see all the dates!
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