Category: Festivals

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Matt Joe Gow Strips Back “Light My Way”

Break, Rattle and Roll was one of my favourite releases of 2018. I still find myself coming back to it periodically, like an old friend that’s comforting, familiar, and so good to spend time with. Now Matt Joe Gow is reminding us just how good one of its tracks, “Light My Way” is with an acoustic reimagining.

If you’ve read my blog for any period of time, you’ll know just how up my alley this is. When you strip a song back you get to appreciate its essence, its lyrics, its simple melody without the big production. Recorded in Matt’s new studio “The Woolshed,” this single does down easy.

Matt Joe Gow is ringing in the new year with a string of headlining slots and festival appearances. Catch him at the following venues in the coming months.

6 December 2019 – Music On The Hill @ Red Hill Pavilion, Red Hill (with The Dusty Millers)
7 December 2019 – Bayview Country Art Club, Bittern (with Andrew Swift)
21 December 2019 – Buster Greens, Dunedin
3 January 2020 – Western Weekender @ Spotted Mallard, Melbourne
4 January 2020 – Bayview Country Picnic Festival @ Bayview Country Art Club, Bittern
14-16 February 2020 – Riverboats Festival, Echuca

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

A Hitch to the Sticks Back With Big Local Line-Up

A Hitch to the Sticks is back and better than ever this year with an eclectic, electric line-up heading to Wangaratta this November. Tex Perkins & His Fat Rubber Band, Magic Dirt, Stonefield, Ella Hooper, Dallas Crane, Bachelor Girl, Cookin’ on 3 Burners, Davidson Brothers, Emilee South, and plenty more will all make this one music event you won’t forget. Dr. Karl from Neighbours will even be there! I’m not even kidding!

A Hitch to the Sticks is no ordinary music festival. Just 50 punters will make the once-in-a-lifetime trip from the Melbourne CBD to the Wangaratta region. Bus ticket holders enjoy access to nine events running from November 1 to 3, including six exclusively for VIPs. As one lucky punter put it last year, it was “not so much a ticket, but a portal to the best weekend of my life.”

If you can’t get a space on the bus, you’re still welcome to check out the public events. Attend all three for less when you snare a weekend pass. Head to the A Hitch to the Sticks website for all the deets!

Image used with permission from Deathproof PR

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Don’t Wait: Get Your Scene & Heard Tickets Now!

Have you got your tickets for Scene & Heard yet? If not, what are you waiting for? This year’s event is bigger and better than ever, with shows in Cairns and Brisbane complementing the original Newcastle gig.

The line-up is also the stuff early noughties dreams are made of, with The Dandy Warhols, Wolfmother, Alex Lloyd, and Sneaky Sound System all on the bill. There are also a few acts exclusive to each venue, including British India in Brisvegas and Eskimo Joe in Newie. Brisbane and Newcastle also get the Don’t Come Monday Stage, a party zone headlined by the Potbelleez DJs.

Scene & Heard aims to create more than a festival. It’s all about making memories and connecting to the music and one another, rather than worrying about capturing images for your social media profiles. If you’re into that vibe, make sure to snap up your tickets soon!

27 October 2019 – Barlow Park, Cairns
2 November 2019 – Eatons Hill Outdoors, Brisbane
10 November 2019 – Wickham Park, Newcastle

Image used with permission from GYRO Pr; photo credit: J Munns

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Sahara Beck and Asha Jefferies Headline Brisbane’s Bloom Festival

When I cast my mind back to my teenage years, my biggest frustration was missing gigs. I didn’t want to go to pubs and clubs to drink; I just wanted to experience the music. Under 18s gigs are still in relatively short supply, so I wanted to put Bloom Festival on your radars. The event is for kids and organised by kids from Fortitude Valley’s Music Industry College, with the support of industry professionals and the Brisbane City Council.

Sahara Beck and Asha Jefferies will headline this year’s multi-day, multi-venue event. These talented women and other local acts will play venues like The Triffid, MIC, Phase 4, Winn Lane, Bakery Lane, California Lane, and the 4ZZZ car park.

“I can’t wait to play Bloom in support of the school that helped me find the courage to do what I do today,” said Sahara Beck. “The fact that it will be all ages is so great; it’s important that young people get to attend shows that will inspire them. I know I am lucky to have seen all ages shows when I was a kid, if not maybe I wouldn’t even thought about becoming a musician.”

If you know young music fans in Queensland, make sure you tell them about Bloom Festival. It hits Fortitude Valley from July 26 to 28. It’s all free, ensuring kids all across Brisbane and surrounding areas can soak up as much of this great live music as they can.

Image used with permission from Starving Kids

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

The Murlocs & Lucy Dacus Headline Boutique By the Meadow Festival

Summer festival season is in full swing. I can never resist catching at least one, although I always approach them with a certain degree of trepidation. You just never know whether the date you’ve booked will be a scorcher. That’s why a festival like By the Meadow 6 makes so much sense. The three-day, two-night music extravaganza hits Bambra from March 29 to 31, once the weather cools a bit!

The event won’t skimp on musical talent though. The Murlocs, Lucy Dacus, Clea, Merpire, and a host of other quality acts have just joined the bill, which already featured The Goon Sax, Collarbones, and Thando. The event is also BYO, so you don’t need to worry about missing bands because you’re stuck in a drinks queue. If your stash gets low, you can also purchase craft beers from Salt Brewing and local Otway Hinterlands wines on site. The pop-up food stalls will also showcase the area’s premium produce. This is a summer festival done right.

General release tickets and camping and glamping packages are on sale now from the By the Meadow 6 website.

Image used with permission from This Much Talent

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

The Northern Folk Play Festivals For “Cold”

I was sure I must have written about “Cold,” the latest single from Melbourne 10-piece The Northern Folk, before. It’s such a cool song, a little brooding with stellar vocals and one of the best sax breaks you’ll hear. It’s so good that they sold out Northcote Social Club when they launched it. Yet I searched my archives and nothing. So I apologise for the oversight.

Now with the release of the clip’s music video, it seems a perfect time to correct my mistake. It was created by celebrated director and producer Mark Day in close collaboration with The Northern Folk. The band star alongside Michael Nikou and Tanya Alers is the clip which represents human consciousness in all its dark, flawed beauty.

“’Cold’ is about the insecurities that tie us down for fear of the unknown, and the emotional distance they create. Shot in the sparse Riverina landscape, a couple find themselves confronted by the manifestations of their insecurities, and must make the choice to be led by them, or to reject them and take control of what they want to be,” the band explains.

Fresh from Woodford and in fine form, The Northern Folk will play a swag of great festivals over the coming months. Here are all the places you can catch them.

25 – 28 January 2019 – Newstead Live Music Festival, Newstead
10 February 2019 – St Kilda Festival, St Kilda
15 – 17 March 2019 – Blue Mountains Music Festival, Katoomba
29 – 31 March 2019 – The Hills Are Alive Festival, South Gippsland

Image used with permission from This Much Talent

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Scene & Heard Bring 90s and 00s Greats to Newcastle This November

We’re so connected to our phones and the internet these days that it’s a strange thing to go off the grid as I do on a cruise ship. We get a little news of the outside world in a one-page paper, but essentially we’re in a bubble. One thing we miss is the concert announcements. Good for my budget, bad for my blog. So just in case you missed it too, I wanted to put Scene & Heard on your radar.

This is a brand new music festival making me all nostalgic. For starters, it’s got a dream line-up of local late nineties and early naughties favourites including The Living End, Spiderbait, Killing Heidi, Something for Kate, and Sneaky Sound System. Then there’s the venue, Wickham Park, an old stomping ground for this blogger. I might live on the Central Coast now, but as anyone who grew up in Newie knows, once you’re a Novocastrian you’re always a Novocastrian.

A classic car display and vintage vinyl fair will ramp up the nostalgia on the day. Enjoy these and the music while you’re knocking back craft beers, bespoke cocktails, and delicious food truck fare.

Scene & Heard hits Newcastle’s Wickham Park on November 4. Tickets are on sale now. Get yours soon, because with a line-up this good it’s bound to sell out.

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Damien Dempsey Headlining Sydney Irish Festival

I’ve got a fairly lengthy travel bucket list, but Ireland is right at the top. I have fantasies of drinking amazing ales in rowdy pubs and seeing the next big musicians before they break. Not to mention that hearing an Irish accent makes me weak at the knees. If you’re as besotted with Ireland as I am, you’ll want to get to the 2018 Magners Sydney Irish Festival this November.

You can expect a healthy dose of Irish culture, with amazing food and drink, competitive hurling, and music. The incomparable Damien Dempsey will headline. I saw him perform with Glen Hansard a few years back and he knocked my socks off. Speaking of, after binge-listening to his new album, I am crossing my fingers Glen might be part of the forthcoming artist announcements. Organisers, please make it happen! We’ll also enjoy traditional Irish music from Lúnasa and the celebrated “atmosfolk” of Saint Sister. The festival is set to be great fun for all ages, with face painting, amusement rides, and kids activities as well.

The Magners Sydney Irish Festival hits Sydney Olympic Park on November 10 and 11. Tickets are on sale now from Ticketmaster.

Image used with permission from Ferris Davies PRM

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

’90s Bands Rule at Stones Corner Festival

The organisers of the Stones Corner Festival has assembled a killer line-up featuring plenty of your ‘90s faves for its fifth year, with Custard, The Mavis’s, Screamfeeder, and Diana Anaid all set to rock the Brisbane suburb this May. They’ll be joined by Shag Rock, Eliza & The Delusionas, The Brains Trust, and heaps more.

Local craft breweries, wineries, and food trucks will also be on hand to keep the punters happy.

Best of all, entry will only cost you a gold coin donation to MND Australia. Your contribution will help fund Motor Neurone Disease research and prevention strategies. It all happens from 10 am on Sunday May 6 at outside Stones Corner Hotel.

Image used with permission from Call & Response

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Troy Kemp Headlining New Country Festival in Wauchope

From my recollection, there’s not a lot at Wauchope. When my family passed through we enjoyed checking out Timbertown and probably had a great pub meal, but I can’t remember it having a lot of entertainment options. So the locals will no doubt be thrilled to hear a brand new country music will hit Wauchope this August.

Troy Kemp will headline the first annual Coastal Country Music Festival Wauchope, which will also feature Josh Setterfield, The Trade Ins, Rusted, Blake O’Connor, and Emma Dykes. There’ll also be plenty of American-style food and even a mechanical bull to keep the crowds entertained.

Festival founder AJ Davis says she “wanted to create a country music experience in our region that celebrates music, our incredible community and everything they mean to each other. The country feel and character of Wauchope is the perfect setting for the Coastal Country Music Festival and the fact that I grew up in Wauchope, makes it that little bit more special.”

The Coastal Country Music Festival hits Wauchope County Club on August 4. Tickets are on sale now from Eventbrite.

Image used with permission from RAWR Music