Missy Higgins is getting political, throwing her weight behind the Save the Kimberley campaign.
The Aussie singer-songwriter has recorded four cover songs for an EP which will raise funds in opposition to the West Australian government’s proposed gas plant in the Kimberley region.
You can get your hands on a copy of the charity release through iTunes from March 31.
Image source: Newscom
It sounds like Britney Spears will bring her Circus tour to Australia sooner rather than later.
Leading local promoters are in talks with the former pop trainwreck who is expected to visit our shores later this year.
“All the promoters are vying for it, but the bottom line is that she really wants to come here and she really wants to come this year,” said Sony boss Denis Handlin.
Michael Gudinski is one of the promoters hoping to bring Britney over for her first Aussie tour.
“I don’t expect anything will be worked out or finalised for a month, but we’re in there,” he confirmed.
“It will be one of the biggest concert productions to come here.”
With a rotating stage, acrobats, a stripper pole, and a greatest hits set, it certainly sounds like it. The less said about those lip-synching allegations the better!
Image source: Newscom
Australian music fans have an extra reason to get to the Earth Day to be held in Melbourne’s Federation Square on March 28.
The show will feature a very special one-of performance by a new supergroup. Special guest frontman Paris Wells, Kram, Chris Cheney (Living End), Nic Cester (Jet), Renee Geyer, and Vika & Linda will play with an all-star band. That celebrity ensemble will include Ash Naylor (Paul Kelly), Wally Meanie (Meanies), Matt Cotter (Even), and Bruce Haymes (Renee Geyer). They’ll play a selection of eco-friendly cover versions. Word is that “Gimme Shelter” has made the set list.
Peter Garrett will also make an appearance, but he’ll be chatting about the environment rather than busting out some tunes.
The entire show will be powered by the energy generated by 300 bicycles, which is very cool indeed!
More than 8000 are expected to attend the free show, but it sounds worth braving the crowds for!
Image source: Flávio Takemoto @ Stock.xchng
Melbourne band Eddy Current Suppression Ring has beaten some impressive opposition to take home the Australian Music Prize.
The band won the $30, 000 grand prize for their sophomore album Primary Colours.
They faced stiff opposition from artists including The Presets, The Drones, C.W. Stoneking, and Cut Copy.
Image source: Mandy-Pixels @ Flickr
You might remember me mentioning last month’s Billabong Design for Humanity event, a celebration of music, fashion, and art all for a good cause.
The night featured some top notch Australian entertainment including The Cassette Kids and DJ outfit Bag Raiders, but one of the standouts was young singer songwriter Ashleigh Mannix. You could have heard a pin drop as she opened the show with a stripped back version of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah.” She performed to a backdrop of SurfAid International’s inspiring work with the people of the Mentawai Islands. It served as a poignant reminder why events like this are so important.
If you missed the event you can catch Ashleigh’s breathtaking performance here!
They say the show will go on, but no one is quite sure where this year’s ARIA music awards will be held, and who will broadcast the big event.
ACER Arena has hosted the show since 2001, but this year’s venue hasn’t been booked either. That has some joking that this year’s ceremony may be a very scaled back affair.
“It’s so up in the air at this stage that we’re jokingly thinking about putting a reserve booking on the Cowra Community Hall,” a senior source associated with the ARIAs told The Daily Telegraph.
Financial constraints have reportedly led to Network Ten’s contract lapsing. They have broadcast 15 of the past16 awards shows at a cost of $1 million each, on top of rights.
But an ARIA spokeswoman said she is confident they’ll find another broadcast partner.
“We’re excited about different ideas and plans for it. But we imagine they will be broadcast – but it’s still up in the air,” she said.
Industry gossip has it that the event will go to pay TV, and I for one am hoping that’s not the case. Free to air has lost the Grammys, the American Music Awards, and recent big shows like Sound Relief to pay TV. As a music fan without cable I’d be upset to miss yet another big music event.
There’s no date just yet, but it looks like glamour couple Brian McFadden and Delta Goodrem will get hitched in December.
“We’re looking at the end of the year, Christmas time, in Australia,” Brian said in Ireland this week.
“During the next couple of weeks, we’ll definitely be setting a date.”
The Goodrem-McFadden clan expanded this week. Brian has two daughters, Molly and Lily-Sue, and now they have two puppies! The fluffballs are named Vail and Aspen after Delta’s favourite ski fields. How cute!
Image source: Newscom
Q Magazine named The Flaming Lips as one of the 50 bands you should see before you die. Now you’ll get your chance, with the band announcing their first Australian tour since the 2004 Big Day Out.
A return visit has been a long time coming, but with the band set to release a new album in June the wait is over, for Sydney and Melbourne residents anyway.
The blink-and-you’ll-miss it tour is sure to disappoint many, but after five long years fans will probably take what they can get! The Flaming Lips will play Sydney’s Hordern Pavilion on July 28, before heading to Melbourne’s Festival Hall on July 29. Tickets for both shows go on sale on April 2.
Image source: PR Photos
You’ve got to admire Evermore’s Peter Hume. He was up late entertaining crowds at the launch of the band’s new album Truth of the World: Welcome to the Show, yet the next morning at 9 am he was calling me for a chat. He might have been little sleepy, but he was happy to talk about his ambitious new recording.
You had your album launch in Sydney last night. How did that go?
Really well, really well. It was the first time we’ve had basically the whole thing together, the whole show, all our screens and all new songs, it was cool. It was great to see, I think a few people were surprised.
Is it hard fronting up for interviews first thing in the morning after a big night like that?
This is the first one so you’ll have to bear with me a little bit.
I’ve heard so many music critics say that the concept album is dead, yet your new album Truth of the World: Welcome to the Show definitely falls into the concept album category. What made you decide to record this epic piece of music?
I think we’ve always loved ambitious music, and we’ve especially always loved albums we’ve grown up on like Pink Floyd and The Who. We’ve never just thought it was about three-and-a-half minute songs. Our very first record, Dreams, was going to be a concept album. We just really didn’t have the experience to finish it. We wanted to make an album that really excited us, and that really stretched us as songwriters. And it seemed like a good idea, especially when you’ve got multiple songwriters in the band to have a story or a structure that you can all contribute to.
You’ve had such success with radio-friendly singles in the past. Did you ever worry about alienating your audience by producing something so different?
Not really. I suppose you don’t think about that at the time. I suppose we were just really getting into music again. We’d moved down to Melbourne, and we’d built our own studio, and Jon was producing the record, and it was just the three of us hanging out. We were just having a lot of fun. I hope that gets across in the album. I don’t think that so far it’s alienated anybody, but we’ll wait and see.
You mentioned that your brother Jon produced the album this time around. It was the first time that you haven’t worked with producers outside the band. What was it like having him on that side of things?
Oh, great. Jon’s always done a lot of the production for the last three records. We do a lot of it in Australia, or in New Zealand for the first record, and then we’d finish it off in America with a name producer. I think every album we’ve wanted Jon to produce, but this is the first time they’ve let us! I suppose it’s sort of a big thing, especially when you’re younger, to go “Yeah, you can produce the whole thing.” They’re all kind of worrying how it’ll turn out. But we were confident. We know his abilities.
You offered the first single from the album as a free download. When so many musicians are against free music online, what made you decide to just give the single away?
We really just wanted to get it out there. We really wanted people to hear our new sound, and as many people as possible, not necessarily people who had ever thought of buying an Evermore single.
How important is the internet as a promotional tool these days?
The internet is huge. We’ve got a really good online community on our website, and on our MySpace and things like that. We used that from really early on. It’s probably the best way to find out about new music. I think that’s how most people find out about new music, through MySpace and things like that.
I can’t imagine ever working with my sisters. What’s it like being in a band with your brothers?
It’s pretty easy actually, because you’ve got that experience behind you. There’s a lot of room for forgiveness. People always ask us that, and I don’t really know because I haven’t had any other experience. I think all bands are slightly kind of claustrophobic. They’re full on things because you’re hanging out with each other all the time. So being family doesn’t seem to be that much of a stretch.
You left New Zealand to pursue your music career in Australia. Was that a hard decision?
I don’t think we made the decision at the time. We couldn’t afford to fly back! We got offered some shows in Australia and we were just like “Well we’re just going to live in Australia, sleep on people’s floors, and see what happens.” I think maybe if we’d had heaps of money we would have gone backwards and forwards for a while. But I think we really fell in love with living here and I don’t think we’re moving for the moment.
You guys have enjoyed such success with your music. What keeps you grounded?
I suppose being a band with your brothers keeps you pretty grounded, because they’ve known you since you were a toddler. I think that would probably be a big grounding experience.
When are you planning on getting out and touring this album?
Really soon hopefully. I think we’re going to be announcing a tour in the next couple of weeks. It’s a kind of multimedia show we’re playing. The giant screens from the video clips are coming along with us. It’ll be a lot of fun.
And finally, do you have a message for your Australian fans out there?
We look forward to seeing you all on the road!
Image used with permission from Warner Music Australia
Congratulations to Bonnie McLachlan, Jennifer Leach, and Art Kongsai!
These lucky Oz Music Scene readers have each won a double pass to the upcoming Earth Hour concert at Melbourne Zoo. They’ll see some amazing acoustic sets from Dirt Music Radio, Mamie Minch, and C.W. Stoneking & The Primitive Horn Orchestra.
I hope they all enjoy the show!
Image source: BSK @ Stock.xchng