What a wild ride it’s been and now after 10 years in the biz, the lads from The Snowdroppers are preparing to say goodbye. But not being they do one last lap of the country to thank all their loyal supporters for their love over the years.
The Snowdroppers’ farewell shows will see the band playing Too Late to Pray in full and a selection of their other favourites. Tickets are just $25, or $55 bundled with a limited edition vinyl version of Too Late to Pray, from the Snowdroppers’ website. 21 October 2017 – Transit Bar, Canberra
28 October 2017 – Northcote Social Club, Melbourne
4 November 2017 – Jive, Adelaide
11 November 2017 – Brightside, Brisbane
18 November 2017 – The Wicko, Newcastle
25 November 2017 – The Factory Theatre, Sydney
Adelaide three-piece Donnarumma has really impressed me with its debut single “Love Your Man.” It’s a jazzy, bluesy little ditty with some of the tightest horns you’re likely to hear.
“Love Your Man is about the jealousy that warped my perception of a relationship I was once in,” the band’s frontman Louis Donnarumma explained. “ The song travels back to a time where I felt betrayed by my partner – what an innocent boy I was! The video shows this toxic relationship where the girl goes insane, kidnaps her partner and tries to kill him – then it is revealed that he’s been cheating on her the whole time and he ends up getting what he deserves. Sounds ridiculous I know, but we tried to be as over the top as we could be. It’s like those moments when you’re so angry you picture the most outrageous stories in your head. We find it amusing and love the irony; there’s this man singing how he doesn’t feel loved, but does nothing but betray her!”
“Love Your Man” comes from Donnarumma’s new EP Billy Billy, which drops on June 30. The band will mark its release with a national tour, making the following pit stops around the country.
1 July 2017 – Grace Emily Hotel, Adelaide
7 July 2017 – Whole Lotta Love, Melbourne
13 July 2017 – Rad Bar, Wollongong
14 July 2017 – The Townie, Sydney
Everything old is new again for The Getaway Plan, who will tour the country this September playing the breakthrough 2008 album Other Voices, Other Rooms in its entirety. The album peaked at number three on the ARIA albums charts and hit the top spot on the AIR albums charts.
These shows will see the band playing two sets. The first will be all about the nostalgia of that beloved album. Then the second set will be jam-packed full of fan favourites from The Getaway Plan’s other releases.
Tickets are on sale now via The Getaway Plan’s website. 1 September 2017 – Rosemount Hotel, Perth
9 September 2017 – Corner Hotel, Melbourne (SOLD OUT)
10 September 2017 – Corner Hotel, Melbourne
14 September 2017 – The Triffid, Brisbane
15 September 2017 – Metro Theatre, Sydney
22 September 2017 – The Gov, Adelaide
Bootleg Rascal could just be our next big thing. The Sydney indie-dub trio recently toured their new single “With You” to capacity crowds around the country. And next month they’re set to bring their show to music lovers across North America.
The band has also just dropped its new music video, which is a real visual spectacular.
“Rather than stick to a conventional and cohesive narrative, we wanted the clip to be completely incongruous; jumping from scene-to-scene erratically to accentuate the dream-like experience for viewers,” guitarist Jimmy Young explained. “It’s a collection of intriguing standalone shots, which loosely connect in a more underlying and haunting type feel.”
Bootleg Rascal is currently working on a second album with longtime collaborator Ian Pritchett. Fans abroad should get the chance to hear some of the new material at the following shows. Tickets are on sale now from the venues.
6 June 2017 – The Catalyst, Santa Cruz
8 June 2017 – Barboza, Seattle
10 June 2017 – Venue, Vancouver
11 June 2017 – GLC, Whistler
14 June 2017 – Milk Bar, San Francisco
15 June 2017 – Observatory (Constellation Room), Santa Ana
16 June 2017 – Hotel Café, Los Angeles
With diverse Aussie acts like Alison Wonderland, The Presets, Bernard Fanning, and Gang of Youths headlining, the 2017 Maroochydore Music and Vis Arts Festival is set to be massive.
These big names will be joined by exciting up-and-comers like Horrorshow, Northeast Party House, Skegss, Mallrat, Billy Davis & The Good Lords, OK Badlands, and Norway’s Anna of the North.
Unlike so many festivals, this one has a one-stage policy so you don’t have to miss a moment. There’ll also be a stunning visual arts display, with inflatable, illuminated installations and street art decorating the Gold Coast.
The 2017 Maroochydore Music and Vis Arts Festival hits the new Maroochydore CDB, the site of the Old Horton Park Golf Course, on August 26. Tickets are on sale now.
Image used with permission from Habit Music Company
The music scene tends to get a bit quiet over winter, as more people decide to stay home rugged up than getting out to the pubs and clubs supporting live acts. The City of Yarra fights against our hibernation though with its annual Leaps and Bounds Festival, now in its fifth year.
Organisers recently made the first program announcement, and it’s already shaping up to be something special. Feast your eyes upon this:
Acid Country PBS106.7FM – LIVE TO AIR with Rich Davies, Ayleen O’Hanlon, Brooke Russell and The Mean Reds, and Miles and Simone at The Gem
A Moment In Time: The North Fitzroy Beat (Little Bands) Scene: Featuring Primitive Calculators, Use No Hooks, Hot To Rot at The Tote
Blake Scott of The Peep Tempel at LongPlay
Blues n’ Bounds every night at The Evelyn Hotel, Catfish, Rainbow Hotel, Rooks Return, Labor In Vain, Old Bar and Checkerboard Lounge
Ed Kuepper “(I’M) STRANDED” – 40 YEARS ON by request show and exclusive in conversation talk at The Melba Spiegeltent
friendships vs. HABITS at The Nightcat
GL and more at The Corner Hotel
Ollie Olsen’s Class Of 2018 with Vacuum, Kollaps & Simon Karis & Ollie Olsen at The Tote Upstairs
Paint To Improv: Featuring Taipan Tiger Girls, Zond & No Sister at The Evelyn Hotel
Persecution Blues film screening (including a 2008 live set from Eddy Current Suppression Ring) at The Tote
Smith Street Dreaming Street Festival at the corner of Stanley & Smith Street, Collingwood
Some Velvet Nights with Broads, Amarillo, The Darling Downs, Mikelangelo By Request, Amaya Laucirica, Lost Ragas Duo, Jess Parker & The Troubled Waters, and Dave Graney By Request at Some Velvet Morning
The Letter String Quartet at The Melba Spielgeltent
The Professional Development Program at The Rainbow Hotel and The Melba Spiegeltent
The Push Pop Up Shop at Collarts Brunswick St. Campus
Yarra’s Women Of Country with Freya Josephine Hollick, Jemma Nicole, Jemma Rowlands, Sue Ray, Brooke Russell & the Mean Reds, Mick Thomas & The Roving Commission’s newest recruit Ayleen O’Hanlon at The Standard Hotel
Fee B Squared’s Class Of 2018 with Shrimpwitch + more TBA at The Gasometer
The Strange World of Library Music with Joe Brnadic, James Pianta, and David Rietmen at The Fitzroy Town Hall
An Otherwise Quiet Room with Mandy Connell and more at The Yarra Hotel
I’ve Been Everywhere Gypsy Carnivale with The Band Who Knew Too Much at The Melba Spiegeltent
Front Bar Pub n’ Grub Crawl across various venues
Hungry Ghosts (Reformation Show) with Ninety Nine at The Gasometer
Dream On Dreamer All Ages Matinee Show at The Evelyn Hotel
The Hard-Ons with Miss Destiny & Tankerville at The Old Bar
New War + Rites Wild at The Grace Darling Hotel
Riflebirds at The Rochester Hotel
The Braves with lost Talk and more TBA at The Yarra Hotel
Rich Davies & The Low Road at Labour In Vain
Ramshackle Army plus special guests at The Bendigo Hotel
Slow Dissolve at The Fitzroy Pinnacle
The Fck Ups + The Second Sex at Woody’s At Forrester’s Hall
The Hitmen + The Pro Tools at The Tote
The Stu Thomas Paradox at Labour In Vain
Uncomfortable Science with Las Mar and Special Guests at Bar Open
Zockapilli with The Scraggers at Woody’s Bar
Surely there’s something to take your fancy in all that! And remember, this is only the first announcement. This event is only going to get bigger. The Leaps and Bounds Festival takes place at venues in Fitzroy, Collingwood, Richmond, Abbotsford, North Carlton, Clifton Hill, and North Fitzroy from July 13 to 23. All dates, times, and ticket information can be found on The Leaps and Bounds Festival website.
I have a real passion for old school soul music. I spent my formative years listening to a lot of Otis Redding and Sam Cooke, bemoaning the fact that no one makes music quite like that any more. Anyway, it seems I was wrong, because Melbourne’s The Teskey Brothers sound like they’ve come straight from Stax.
It’s unsurprising really, because Sam and Josh Teskey were listening to a lot of the same music I was as teens. They wear the influences of their parents’ record collection on their sleeve, and they’ve shared that soul sensibility with their brothers from another mother, Liam Gough on drums and Brendon Love on bass guitar. Their current single “Pain and Misery” from the album Half Mile Harvest gives you just a taste of what these guys are all about.
The Teskey Brothers will support Busby Marou on their Aussie tour before embarking on a run of headlining gigs in July.
24 May 2017 – Heritage Hotel, Bulli (with Busby Marou)
25 May 2017 – 48 Watt Street, Newcastle (with Busby Marou)
26 & 27 May 2017 – Leadbelly, Sydney (with Busby Marou)
1 June 2017 – Southern Cross Club, Woden (with Busby Marou)
3 June 2017 – Wrest Point Casino, Hobart (with Busby Marou)
8 June 2017 – Miami Marketta, Gold Coast (with Busby Marou)
9 June 2017 – Triffid, Brisbane (with Busby Marou)
11 June 2017 – Great Northern Hotel, Byron Bay (with Busby Marou)
15 June 2017 – Fat Controller, Adelaide (with Busby Marou)
16 June 2017 – Corner Hotel, Melbourne (with Busby Marou)
17 June 2017 – Workers Club, Geelong (with Busby Marou)
18 June 2017 – Sooki Lounge, Belgrave (with Busby Marou)
30 June 2017 – Caravan Club, Oakleigh (with The Meltdown)
1 July 2017 – Triffid, Brisbane (with Busby Marou)
6-9 July 2017 – Bello Winter Music Festival, Bellingen
13 July 2017 – Brighton Up Bar, Sydney
14 July 2017 – Junk Bar, Brisbane
22 July 2017 – The Corner Hotel, Melbourne
27-30 July 2017 – Echuca Winter Blues Festival, Echuca
4 August 2017 – Music on the Hill, Red Hill
5 August 2017 – Meeniyan Town Hall, Meeniyan
12 August 2017 – Ed Castle, Adelaide
I am such a sucker for a big emotive ballad. So “Start Over,” the lead single from Aussie expats O’Shea’s new album 61-615 hits just the right note for me.
O’Shae’s Mark and Jay penned the song with Alex Lloyd, who they have known since their early days in Balmain. “When we got together in Nashville to write, we just started talking about relationships and the ebbs and flows that any married couple goes through,” said Mark. It’s something Mark has first-hand experience with, as his O=Shea bandmate Jay is also his wife!
“’Start Over’ is about feeling off track with the communication in a relationship and wanting to get back to the connection that pulled you together in the first place,” Jay added.
O’Shea will leave Nashville behind for a while to return home to celebrate 61-615’s release on July 28. The band’s Aussie tour kicks off the same day in Sydney.
28 July 2017 – Leadbelly, Sydney
29 July 2017 – Centro CBD, Wollongong
30 July 2017 – Lizotte’s, Newcastle
3 August 2017 – Black Bear Lodge, Brisbane
4-11 August 2017 – Tunes in the Tropics, Fiji
12 August 2017 – Mt Isa Rodeo, Mt Isa
I must admit, I’ve never been what you’d call a Shannon Noll fan. I thought he was very good at producing radio-friendly music for the masses, but his songs rarely stood out to me as anything above average. But I’ve been forced to eat my words after hearing his latest track “Southern Sky.”
The track is every bit as patriotic as you’d want a Nollsy song to be. But it’s got an epic anthemic quality to it that puts it a cut above his other singles. The song’s video is also gorgeous, although since it was filmed around some of my old NSW stomping grounds – Pokolbin and Nobbys Beach – I may be a little biased.
“We had a beautiful few days in the Hunter Valley and Newcastle filming the Southern Sky video,” Shannon said. “As an Aussie who grew up in the bush, I love being able to show the beauty of our country in my music clips. We travelled from cliffs to the coast, with each scene giving just a taste of the amazing Australian landscapes out there beyond the cities.”
“Southern Sky” is the second single from Shannon’s fifth studio album, which will be released later this year. Expect to hear a preview of more new material at Shannon’s shows all around the country.
19 May 2017 – Adelaide Uni Bar, Adelaide
20 May 2017 – Coopers Alehouse, Wallaroo
21 May 2017 – Fleurieu’s, Goolwa
25 May 2017 – Bar on the Hill, Newcastle
26 May 2017 – Wollongong Uni Bar, Wollongong
27 May 2017 – Taren Point Hotel, Cronulla
2 June 2017 – Parkwood Tavern, Gold Coast
3 June 2017 – Racecourse Hotel, Ipswich
4 June 2017 – Beach House Hotel, Hervey Bay
9 June 2017 – Dalrymple Hotel, Townsville
10 June 2017 – The Jack, Cairns
15 June 2017 – Friends Restaurant, Perth
16 June 2017 – Wild Goose Restaurant, Gidgegannup
17 June 2017 – Charles Hotel, Perth
18 June 2017 – Ravenswood Hotel, Ravenswood
23 June 2017 – Wrest Point Showroom, Hobart
24 June 2017 – Launceston Country Club, Launceston
14 July 2017 – Rooty Hill RSL, Rooty Hill
15 July 2017 – Mingara Recreation Club, Tumbi Umbi
21 July 2017 – The Blue Cattle Dog Hotel, St Clair
22 July 2017 – The Ettamogah Hotel, Rouse Hill
27 July 2017 – Club Old Bar, Old Bar
28 July 2017 – South West Rocks Country Club, South West Rocks
29 July 2017 – Casino RSM, Casino
11 August 2017 – Hamilton Hotel, Brisbane
12 August 2017 – North Leagues Club, Brisbane
18 August 2017 – York on Lilydale, Mt Evelyn
19 August 2017 – Chelsea Heights Hotel, Chelsea Heights
25 August 2017 – Shoppingtown Hotel, Doncaster
26 August 2017 – Village Green Hotel, Mulgrave
10-12 November 2017 – Airlie Beach Festival of Music, Airlie Beach
The guys from Aussie band Dune Rats know a good thing when they hear it. They’ve just signed Rockhampton punk act Pandamic to their label, Ratbag Records.
You can discover what Pandamic is all about with the release of the raucous new single “Sam,” which comes from the quartet’s EP Archer, due for release on June 2.
Dune Rats’ support of Pandamic continues next month, when they’ll take their latest signing on their regional tour. Make sure you arrive early to catch Pandamic’s set at the following shows.
9 June 2017 – The Cambridge, Newcastle
10 June 2017 – Entrance Leagues Club, Central Coast
11 June 2017 – Uni Bar, Wollongong
14 June 2017 – Karova Lounge, Ballarat
15 June 2017 – The Wool Exchange, Geelong
16 June 2017 – Pier Bandroom, Frankston
17 June 2017 – Dunsborough Tavern, Dunsborough
18 June 2017 – Prince Of Wales, Bunbury
24 June 2017 – Brisbane Hotel, Hobart
30 June 2017 – Dalrymple, Townsville
1 July 2017 – Magnums, Airlie Beach
21 October 2017 – Transit Bar, Canberra
Organisers recently made the first program announcement, and it’s already shaping up to be something special. Feast your eyes upon this: