With Christmas looming, many of us are travelling home to be with family and other loved ones. So it seemed like the perfect time to introduce you to “Coming Home,” the fantastic new single from Lewis McKee.
You might not have heard Lewis’ name before, but it doesn’t take long listening to this song to realise he’s a real pro. He’s played in pubs and clubs for a decade, but this is just his second single. Maybe he was just taking the time to get it right. You can hear the experience in his voice. You know you’re in good hands listening to it.
“’Coming Home’ was written to illustrate the uplifting feeling of returning to your hometown, knowing the people that you love are on the other side of the journey and that return is always filled with emotions of nostalgia, reverence and fond memories,” he explained. “I hope when people listen to this song it can bring back the memories! Whether you’re on your way home these summer holidays to visit family, or missing loved ones while you’re away, use this song to help think of all the good times. I know I do!”
After so long on the pub circuit, you know Lewis has some serious live chops. You can see him do his thing at Agnes Water Tavern on New Year’s Eve.
Image used with permission from Footstomp; credit: Nathan Benjamin
I’m not sure there’s a more consistent Aussie outfit than The VANNS. I know before pressing play I’m going to dig their releases, and they never let me down. Their latest single “Haunted” continues the trend with its emotive vocals from Jimmy Vann and powerful themes.
“Haunted is another taste from our forthcoming album,” the band said. “The song is about dealing with some tough mental health issues and coming out the other side of it learning to acknowledge it’s OK to feel like absolute shit and there are heaps of people around you who give a fuck.”
The VANNS haven’t been in the spotlight much this year, as they’ve been working hard on that new album. Before it’s release though, they’ll let their hair down with a few summer festival sets. Make sure you don’t miss them at these events.
29 December 2022 – Lost Paradise, Darkinjung Country/Glenworth Valley
31 December 2022 – Falls Festival, Naarm/Melbourne
1 January 2023 – Fall Festival, Cavanbah/Byron Bay
8 January 2023 – Falls Festival, Walyalup/Fremantle
Image used with permission from beehive; credit: Todd Hardingham
No, your eyes don’t deceive you. The Northern Folk are a very big band. Their press release tells me they’re a 10-piece, so I guess someone had to take the photo! That’s a lot of instruments and voices coming together. However, listening to “Jacarandas,” the latest single from this Naarm/Melbourne-based act, that coming together seems effortless. This song is pure magic. I encourage you to take a moment to stop what you’re doing, press play, and let this one wrap around you. By the time those horns take centre stage, I know you’ll be hooked.
“Jacarandas is a song about longing—both for a person and for the safety and intimacy felt in their company,” explained vocalist and co-writer Georgie Currie. “Without them, the days lose colour and time stretches on. It was the first song we finished for this album, and it was what informed our decision to make an album about how tangled and torrid love can become.”
This is the first song lifted from The Northern Folk’s fourth album, which we’ll hear in 2023. If this song is any indication, it’ll be pretty special. Now excuse me, I’ve got to deep-dive into their back catalogue!
I was pretty late to the Bootleg Rascal party. They hit my radar in 2017, but by then they were already touring internationally. The good news is, it’s never too late to get on board. The news that they’ll celebrate the 10th anniversary of their debut EP Psychotica with a string of shows next year inspired me to go back to that breakthrough recording. It might have dropped a decade ago, but it still sounds fresh as a daisy.
The tour is exciting enough, but Bootleg Rascal will also mark the milestone with the re-release of Psychotica and their 2020 EP Collaborations of Very Isolated Delinquents “19 on one very special split 12” vinyl. They’ll also release a limited edition Psychotica T-shirt. A dollar from every shirt sold will benefit ANTAR, which campaigns for justice in solidarity for local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Whether you’re a long-time fan or like me you’re new to the party, I encourage you to slip on Psychotica. While you’re enjoying the sweet funk-soul grooves, grab yourself some tickets to these shows. Bootleg Rascal will play Psychotica in its entirety, as well as some fan favourites, rarities, and new material. Could you ask for anything more? I think not. Get onto it!
8 April 2023 – Sol Bar, Jinibara/Maroochydore
14 April 2023 – The Brightside, Meeanjin/Brisbane
15 April 2023 – Miami Marketta, Yugambeh/Gold Coast
28 April 2023 – The Espy, Naarm/Melbourne
29 April 2023 – Transit Bar, Ngunnawal/Canberra
5 May 2023 – Beach Hotel, Cavanbah/Byron Bay (FREE)
13 May 2023 – The Lady Hampshire, Eora/Sydney
19 May 2023 – The River, Wooditchup/Margaret River
20 May 2023 – Indian Ocean Hotel, Boorloo/Perth
21 May 2023 – Mojo’s, Whadjuk/Fremantle
If you’ve ever found yourself with the right person, who just isn’t the right person for you, you’re going to love “Icicles,” the new single from Darkinjung Country/Central Coast singer-songwriter Tiali. And even if you haven’t, I think you might find their powerful lyrics and vocals difficult to resist. It’s a slow burner, but when it reaches its powerful crescendo you’ll be so glad you took the ride.
Tiali set the song’s scene, explaining “You’re contemplating your future. You know the world is waiting for you to explore it. You’re in love. He’s classic, he envisions the picket fence. You’re unconventional, you envision anything but. You reflect on this contrast, voice your uncertainty, and go to your old room at your parents’ house to contemplate. He’s shattered. So are you. But the stone-cold wall he’s put up between you is what makes it unbearable. So much so, that it feels as if your internal organs are being penetrated by a million tiny shards of ice – that feeling, is what ‘Icicles’ is about.”
Despite being a fellow Coastie, this is the first time I’ve come across Tiali’s music. This song is so good though, I’ll be watching their socials closely looking out for some local gigs.
Image used with permission from Sony Music Australia
RedHook have teamed up with Sly Withers for “Soju”, one of the best pop-punk tracks I’ve heard in some time. The message about setting boundaries for yourself is right on point and the song has got such a great energy thanks to the hundreds of RedHook fans from Yerrowah/Shellharbour who also lend their voices. And that’s even before the sax solo kicks in. Saxophone on a pop-punk number? It’s wild, but it works!
“I wrote ‘Soju’ about the perils of being a ‘people pleaser’ and the feelings of frustration and resentment that can boil up when you don’t set healthy boundaries, and allow more assertive personalities to push you around,” explained frontwoman Emmy Mack. “It’s a ‘fuck you’ song, but it’s also simultaneously a ‘fuck me’ song because at the end of the day, it’s up to each of us to prioritise our own needs and not compromise our values to keep the peace. Some people like me just struggle with it a bit harder than others.”
I really appreciate what Josh Setterfield is bringing to the country music scene. We’ve heard country-rock before, but rarely with this much edge and grit. His latest single “Nothing Like Me” is a self-penned banger about self-belief and determination.
“This song goes out to anyone who’s had someone take something from them, felt stepped on, belittled or been sidelined watching their hard work burn or succeed in front of them,” Josh said.
With more dates to be announced, 2023 is set to be a big year for Josh and his fans. He’s already locked in the following festivals, and you can bet there’ll be plenty more opportunities to see him before the year is through.
19 January 2023 – KIX Live in the Park (Tamworth Country Music Festival), Kamilaroi Country/Tamworth (FREE)
20 January 2023 – The Longyard Hotel (Tamworth Country Music Festival), Kamilaroi Country/Tamworth (with Casey Barnes)
15 April 2023 – Meatstock, Gooneburra Country/Toowoomba
22 April 2023 – Gippsland Country Music Festival, Gunai Country/Gippsland
As we experience a cooler-than-expected start to summer off the back of seemingly endless La Nina rains, the weather seems to be occupying the thoughts of many of us these days. It’s certainly been on the mind of Hein Cooper, who collaborated with lifelong mentor and Yuin/Ulladulla elder Uncle Noel Butler and songwriter Rene Le Feuvre on his new track “The Weatherman.”
Uncle Noel Butler introduces the song by inviting the four winds to rise. He also plays didgeridoo on the track. While Hein and Uncle Noel’s names are the ones on the single, it’s much bigger than that. The voices you hear are those of members of the Yuin/Ulladulla and South Coast community, who joined Hein to write songs to release their frustrations about the way rain and the pandemic had impacted their region. Hein also collected ambient background noise from the Badawang Hills, ensuring even the flora and fauna of this area made its mark on the song.
“Who is the weatherman? This is the deep question behind the song,” Hein explained. “Is it the one who’s paid big bucks by large companies to read off a script? Or is it he who feels into nature, into the forest, the wind and the water, the animals and plants? I believe nature has all of the answers to our current issues, and this song is a mantra to tap into those secrets, especially through the Indigenous knowledge carried by elders still willing to share.”
“(The song’s introduction) is asking for help, for the creator to send a wind spirit, to bring the different winds from the different directions,” Uncle Noel added. “The North-East; can you bring the wind? From the North; bring the wind. From the West: only bring a little bit as it can be nasty – the fighting man’s wind. This song is about understanding what’s been given to you, understanding what’s called nature – it’s all there, the answers are all around us, even the weather.”
Kiarama/Kiama creative Mikey Conlon brought the song to life with a powerful video that uses an archaic TV as an effigy of the horrific fires that plagued the South Coast.
“I brought the initial idea of a TV in the forest to Uncle Noel and he loved it, because it really emphasized how out of place it would seem especially to him,” Hein explained. “He wanted to make sure we included the fact that these horrific fires had still just recently torn through most of the East Coast of Australia due to poor management and lack of controlled burning and not to forget that, as his property was completely decimated. He has these keys to a sustainable future that he’s desperately working to share. I feel the same now, not that I have the keys, but that I’m willing to listen and feel into what they are through people like him. This whole song is a mantra to that.”
Hein and Uncle Noel will celebrate the single’s release with a very special launch show at Barn on the Ride in Yuin/Morton on December 23.
Image used with permission from beehive; credit: Dane Singleton
They might claim to be “offensively average,” but there’s something about SoSo that I just can’t resist. Their latest single “STAY” is another energetic blast of goodness.
“Unfortunately I seem to be a sucker for getting involved with people who are mentally and emotionally abusive. I don’t think we in society fully appreciate the degree of mental and emotional abuse that goes on in a lot of modern relationships and we’ve kind of just come to accept and expect it – which I think is pretty tragic. ‘STAY’ is a bit like me looking back and thinking ‘Woah, what the f**k was I thinking, why would I stick around with that person?’ I think that’s pretty relatable – we’ve all been there,” explained the band’s lead singer Rhys de Burgh.
“STAY” is the third single lifted from SoSo’s sophomore EP, which will drop early next year. A national tour, taking in the capitals and regional cities, is also in the works. Until then, crank this one up.
Image used with permission from Offensively Average Productions
Sunday Lemonade have taken a little left turn with their latest single “Feelin’ So Good,” adding a little indie-pop flavour to their irresistible folky sound. It’s a real toe-tapper that embodies all the good vibes we should feel on a summery Friday afternoon.
“‘Feelin’ So Good’ was written during one of those brain fog days when I needed to pull myself out of a slump. I was being really hard on myself internally and couldn’t figure out how to fix it,” admitted Tyson, one half of the dynamic duo. “So I picked up my guitar and pictured myself walking down the street full of confidence, sun beaming down on me, like nothing else mattered but that moment. This song is now a reminder that the tough times will pass and I’ll begin to feel better again soon.”
Sunday Lemonade will ensure music fans around the country are feeling good this summer, with shows all around the country. With shows in capitals and regional cities, there are plenty of opportunities to see them all over the country.
22 December 2022 – Music in the Park, Boonwurrung Country/Mornington
30 December 2022 – 2 January 2023 – Tanglewood Music Festival, Dhauwurd Wurrung Country/Thornton
11 January 2023 – The Vanguard, Eora/Sydney (supporting Adam James)
13-22 January 2023 – Country Music Festival, Kamilaroi Country/Tamworth
24 January 2023 – Music in the Vines, Taungurung Country/Mansfield
29 January 2023 – Lucky Bay Brewery, Kepa Kurl/Esperance
3 February 2023 – Six Degrees, Kinjarling/Albany
4 February 2023 – Bridgetown Pottery, Geegelup/Bridgetown
5 February 2023 – The River, Wooditchup/Margaret River
12 February 2023 – Tonic by the Bay, Wadandi Country/Broadwater
17 February 2023 – Frothcraft, Goomburrup/Bunbury
19 February 2023 – Farm Hotel, Goomburrup/Treendale
24 February 2023 – Four5Nine, Boorloo/Perth
25 February 2023 – SWCB Festival, Undalup/Busselton
26 February 2023 – Farm Hotel, Goomburrup/Treendale
3-6 March 2023 – Nannup Music Festival, Noongar Country/Nannup
10 March 2023 – White Star Hotel, Kinjarling/Albany
11 March 2023 – Brew Festival, Kepa Kurl/Esperance
19 March 2023 – Warrandyte Music Festival, Wurundjeri Country/Warrandyte
