New York acts Prince Daddy & the Hyena and Macseal are teaming up for a double-headline tour this July. Both acts are visiting Australia for the first time and playing some of the country’s coolest intimate venues.
I have to shout out the promoter Destroy All Lines who have put together some fantastic double- and triple-bills for up-and-coming and niche acts of late. They’ve made sure fans can see these bands who probably couldn’t tour Australia under their own strength. They just don’t have the following to make it feasible. But pair them up and it’s all systems go! I must admit, I wasn’t across either band before the press release hit my desk, but I’ve been listening to them both all day. Prince Daddy & the Hyena’s punk-rock sound has my heart, but Macseal also make fantastic indie-rock music. Take a listen, because of this tour goes well they’re going to graduate to larger venues next time around.
Prince Daddy & the Hyena will be here promoting their highly anticipated fourth album Hotwire Trip Switch, which drops on April 17. Macseal only just released their EP Macseal on Audiotree Live last December, which gives you a taste of how good they are on stage. Find out for yourself when Prince Daddy & the Hyena and Macseal hit local venues later this year.
James Johnston celebrates the sounds that sparked his love of the genre with his latest single, “DO YOU PLAY ANY COUNTRY.” If you’re a country music fan, I know you’ll dig this nostalgic new track.
“I spent 15 years playing in little pubs and bars all around Australia and one of my favourite moments was when someone would come up and ask for a country song because that’s when I knew there were country fans in the crowd,” he recalled. “’DO YOU PLAY ANY COUNTRY’ is a throwback to those nights, celebrating the songs, the crowds, and the classic country anthems we all know and love.”
James will be playing plenty of country this year with appearances at local festivals and events abroad. There’s even more to come, but for now here are all the places you can find him in the coming months.
After releasing music for seven years, it’s a little wild that Budjerah hasn’t yet released an album. However, all that is about to change on July 24 when his long-awaited record Gentleman drops. He’s giving us an early taste with the release of this killer title track.
“Gentleman is my debut album and it’s inspired by who I wanted to be when I was growing up,” Budjerah explained. “This album was almost a four-year process for me. Between my life at home and life on the road, I experienced so much change and growth. Chasing my dreams, I faced new challenges which helped me understand who I wanted to be. Every song on this album holds a piece of me. I hope little Budjerah is proud.”
Listening to this song, I’m kind of glad Budjerah didn’t rush things. This track is so slick, smooth, and confident. I’m not sure teenage Budjerah could have delivered all that swagger!
We’ll hear more for Budjerah when his debut album Gentleman drops on July 24. Warner Music are taking pre-orders now for digital download, CD, and vinyl copies with signed cards, so get onto that if you’re a fan!
Most of us fondly remember the first act that we loved independently of our parents. We discovered them on our own and they spoke to us as individuals, meeting us as the people we were becoming, not the children still tied to the adults who raised us. They’re there for us at a time we needed them to forge our own identities. If we’re very lucky, they’re still there for us in the years that follow. For me that band was the Counting Crows. As a 13-year-old, I enjoyed singing along to “Mr. Jones” but I felt truly seen by “Round Here.” Yes, I was an angsty little thing! I got a copy of August and Everything After in my Santa sack and had it on repeat until Recovering the Satellites dropped in 1996. With the release of Hard Candy I was a little older and finally able to start seeing Counting Crows in concert. I developed a new respect for their artistry with every subsequent show, marvelling at the way frontman Adam Duritz could play with melodies and lyrics to make the songs I knew well feel fresh. That experimentation wasn’t to everyone’s taste, but I was here for it.
It was a case of first-world problems when I missed the last tour due to a holiday in Western Australia. So I was thrilled when Counting Crows announced they’d be a part of the ill-fated Bluesfest lineup for 2026. I counted my blessings when mercifully they weren’t a casualty of the collapsed festival. Before one of my favourites, I finally saw Kingswood. I say finally, because the Naarm/Melbourne act has been around for nearly 20 years, yet for some reason our paths had never crossed. Their blend of country, rock, and blues was the perfect foil for Counting Crows. Every member of the band has serious musical chops. I loved hearing the members harmonise and Fergus Linacre and Alex Laska trading off lead vocals. They had so much energy. It was the perfect entrée for the evening’s entertainment.
From the first notes of new track “Spaceman in Tulsa,” there was a different energy about this Counting Crows gig. It sounded so true to the album, a celebration of this new chapter. I thought perhaps Adam was sticking to the script just because this was a new song, but as the band moved into older numbers like “Hard Candy” and their breakthrough hit “Mr. Jones,” Adam stayed faithful to those recordings, even encouraging us to sing along as he held the mic aloft. We were all sharing a moment here, and it was glorious. Of course, Adam can never resist a little experimentation, but I think this show had a perfect balance between those sing-along moments and more creative sections.
The set was inspired. Counting Crows is a band with relatively few big hits. While they’re happy to tick them off for casual radio listeners, they’ve got time to deliver plenty of those favourites that more hardcore fans just don’t expect. The set is always changing, dependent on the vibe of the band and the audience. I was thrilled to hear so much from the fabulous 2025 album Butter Miracle, The Complete Sweets! Then there were songs I’ve long held close to my heart like “Angels of the Silences,” “Goodnight Elisabeth,” and the stunning closer “Holiday in Spain.” You expect a band to fill your cup with a song that you already adore. It’s more surprising when they can floor you with a song you’ve ignored. “Washington Square” has never hit me before, but I felt it last night.
Counting Crows are such a good band. Five original members are still waving the flag, bringing a sense of camaraderie which is so special to witness. Adam is a force of nature, a little less angsty than he used to be but no less passionate. I got a little thrill every time Charlie Gillingham stepped out from behind the keys and picked up the piano accordion. David “Immy” Immerglück can seemingly play any instrument, but his turns on mandolin were highlights. I had so many moments though where I just marvelled at the sound as I bopped along in my seat.
I’m not sure I’ve ever seen Adam so humble, so grateful, as I did last night. He’s always been a man of few words, preferring to let the music speak for him. But he took a moment to pause and thank us for the support through all the years that has allowed him to continue making music. It was heartfelt, an acknowledgement of the magic we all felt in that room. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed all my Counting Crows shows, but I have no hesitation in saying last night was the best of the bunch. Like a fine wine, they just seem to get better. Tickets to the rest of the Aussie The Complete Sweets! shows are rare, but if you can get yourself to a show I promise you won’t regret it.
The album opens with “A Habit of Dreaming,” a gentle soundscape of slide guitars, piano tones tells you to buckle up and settle in. “Something in the Winter” arrives like a hurricane. It’s country with a healthy dose of rock, anchored by Chloe’s incredible voice which can seemingly do anything. Her low tones are beautiful, but when she opens up on the chorus she really soars.
As the album continued, I became even more enamoured with Chloe’s voice. While “Pushing Punishment” had given me a taste of Chloe’s vocal capabilities, I didn’t know it had the bluesy tones she employs on “Why?” or the edge she exhibits in “Going Down the Drain.” I wasn’t prepared for the way she left herself so exposed in the haunting “Missed Mistakes.” She’s got such a strong solo voice, the beautiful harmonies of “a bad day in februrary” and the gorgeous duet, “Weight of It All,” featuring Jesse O’Neill, also caught me by surprise. The chemistry sizzling through this unforgettable closer makes it one of the album’s highlights.
While Chloe’s voice compelled me, it’s her songwriting talents that really held my interest. As I became more acquainted with the songs I marvelled at her knack for sharing her own heart while creating songs that resonated so strongly with me.
“My goal with this project is not only for neurodivergent people but is for anyone who has ever felt different,” Chloe said. “The record’s whole point is to remind people that it’s everyone’s first time being alive, as well as everyone’s last time being alive. How it’s just so much more worthwhile and meaningful to be kind, grateful, present, not get so caught up in things that don’t serve you, work, life stress, things you can’t control or the past. It’s about leading your own life, dreaming your own dreams and bringing them to life. I have always had a very supportive network around me and I understand not everyone has that privilege or ease in life and that sometimes it’s more complex than that, but this album really serves as a place for people to come to when they just need to feel a little more loved, believed in, confident, capable, strong, fearless and totally inspired to lead their own lives.”
I Have a Habit of Dreaming is out now. Chloe will mark its release with a string of shows kicking off in her hometown this April.
Naarm/Melbourne-based singer-songwriter Ruby Jones has blown me away with her latest single “Nightwalker.” She’s got one of those voices that stops you in your tracks. It sits somewhere between Florence Welch and Angie McMahon, commanding, compelling. And then she backs it up with this exquisitely crafted song which has rock edge juxtaposed with folk sweetness. It’s really incredible.
“I wrote Nightwalker during Melbourne’s lockdown, when everything felt chaotic and slightly haunted,” Ruby recalled. “I was rewatching Buffy, and the idea of a town built over a hellmouth really stayed with me. It felt like my own community was sitting on something volatile, too. The song uses horror imagery as a metaphor for collective grief and isolation, but at its core, it’s about calling your friends back into the light. I hope it feels freeing and cathartic. It’s about darkness, but it’s not meant to sit in it; it’s meant to move through it. I want people to dance, shake it out, and let loose, and by the end feel like they’ve released something and walked away lighter.”
After making an impact with their pop-punk-influenced track “discontent” in January, Victorian rockers All Regards have delivered their follow-up, “resist.” This one is a bit grittier, with a heavier sound that’ll appeal to the emo fans out there. Like its predecessor, “resist” explores feelings of anxiety and angst against the backdrop of the modern world.
“I wrote the lyrics for ‘resist’ as a direct response to the lyrics Stefan [Sepulveda, co-vocalist] wrote for ‘discontent’ in which he wrote about the state of the world from his perspective,” explained Jeremy Allen, who shares the band’s frontman duties. “It inspired me to do the same which is why both singles are so intrinsically linked together. ‘resist’ for the most part is an honest take on how frustrated one can become with external and internal factors within the world, and that it may not be the picture-perfect life planned out for one’s self. It’s also a call to arms that if there is something you want to change to better yourself and you have the power to do it, quit complaining and fight the good fight to turn things around.”
All Regards will celebrate the release of both “resist” and “discontent” tonight with a big double-single launch at the Workers Club in Naarm/Melbourne tonight. You’re not forgotten either Eora/Sydney. All Regards will play Last Words Emo Night at Bootleggers on April 2.
When I saw Karise Eden and Greg Gould performing together last September, I hoped I’d hear them making music together. While they were outstanding as individuals, my favourite moments came when their two powerhouse voices combined. So I’m thrilled to get my ears around their epic new duet, “All That Glitters.”
Karise co-wrote this song with Andrew Lowdon, drawing on the challenges she faced dealing with sudden fame as a teenager after winning The Voice Australia. Greg found the song resonated strongly with him as he faced his own hardships navigating the industry as a gay artist after he was also thrust into the spotlight after a stint on reality TV. As their voices come together, “All That Glitters” makes a powerful statement about autonomy, resilience, and refusing to be defined by other people and their fears.
“After albums, touring, and building my independence, I went through a period where life caught up with me and writing felt out of reach. ‘All That Glitters’ became the song that brought me back,” Karise shared. “When Greg came into the picture, the story opened up, bringing two perspectives together, two artists, two stories carrying different experiences, but finding common ground in resilience and honesty.”
While they’re not performing together right now, Karise and Greg have both got plenty of gigs on the horizon. Here are all the dates you need music lovers!
On paper, country star Brad Cox and rock act The VANNS don’t seem like natural bedfellows, but they’ve just released a fantastic new song and announced they’re touring together. Listening to the single “Gas Craic” reminded me that both acts have superior storytelling skills. Its lyrics are some of the best I’ve heard. And I love how the voices of Brad and Jimmy Vann sound in harmony. The track’s a surprise packet, but it’s pretty brilliant.
“Gas Craic was one of the first songs to come together in the writing process of our third record,” The VANNS said. “It was written relatively quickly after our tour in the UK and the song encapsulates some memorable moments from that tour.”
The VANNS will join Brad Cox on his next Aussie tour, which kicks off in Boorloo/Perth this July. The Mastercard presale kicks off at 2 pm today, ahead of the Live Nation presale from 2 pm tomorrow and the general sale from 3 pm on March 27.
Meeanjin/Brisbane-based soul-pop act CHIRAI is making a real splash with her debut single “Blueberry Skies.” It’s doing massive streaming numbers around the world, buoyed by Apple Music playlisting and some serious momentum on Spotify and TikTok. It also hit number one on the Spotify Viral Chart South Africa and number 23 on Apple Music South Africa.
Take a listen and you’ll soon understand the hype. CHIRAI’s voice is like chocolate, so smooth and silky. And the song is fantastic, with gospel elements and a cool “Chapel of Love” sample elevating its cool neo-soul sound.
“Music is the only way I really understand myself and the world around me,” CHIRAI said. “I hope when you listen, you feel seen, a little less alone, and maybe even grateful to be here too.”
After listening to “Blueberry Skies,” I’m pretty excited to hear more from CHIRAI this year.
Image used with permission from Teamwrk Music Group
