Tag: Brisbane

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Hoodoo Gurus, The Superjesus, Def FX Ready to Rock Brisbane in Massive Fundraiser

Hoodoo Gurus, The Superjesus, and Def FX are joining forces in Brisbane, and it’s all for a good cause. These Aussie rock heavyweights and plenty of local legends will play Eaton’s Hill Hotel on July 17 to raise funds for Redcliffe’s The Breakfast Club and Rockin’ for the Homeless (R4TH).

The Breakfast Club provides community meals, emergency food packages, housing and service information, supplies, phone charging, and a safe space for isolated and vulnerable homeless people in the Redcliffe area. R4TH is one of their major fundraisers, but COVID shutdowns saw the annual event wiped from the 2020 calendar.

“R4TH does as a community, something we could not do alone. It pays the bills and changes lives,” explained Breakfast Club director and chairperson, Michelle Gilcrest. “R4TH is everything to us”.

This show will replace that annual benefit. Organisers hope the event will help the Breakfast Club buy a “you beaut” van so they can take their services directly to people who can’t visit their centre in person. All musicians are donating their time so the price of your tickets goes directly to this great cause. Tickets are on sale now, but with COVID still limited capacities they will not last long. Get on it!

Image used with permission from Heapsaflash

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Megan Washington, Matt Corby & More For Brisbane Bushfire Fundraiser

Fire Fight Australia and Down to Earth: A Fire and Climate Relief Concert may have sold out in a red hot minute, but there are still tickets available for a host of fantastic bushfire fundraisers. One of the best that I wanted to put on your radar is Raise ‘Em Up, a Brisbane show aiming to raise $100,000 for the fire relief efforts.

The bill is stacked with local talent including Megan Washington, Matt Corby, The Kite String Tangle, Asha Jefferies, Ngaiire, and The Riot. These artists will donate their time to the event, ensuring 100% of all ticket, bar, and merch takings can be divided between Red Cross and WIRES.

“Both WIRES and the Red Cross Bushfire Appeal are hugely worthy causes and we hope that throwing this Raise ‘Em Up show provides people another way to support their critical work,” explained The Tivoli’s co-owner and creative director, Dave Sleswick.

“In return, we promise a jam-packed evening of live music which will kick off from 5pm with food trucks, a car park party and a great community raffle also taking place.”

Raise ‘Em Up hits The Tivoli on January 25. Tickets are all general admission and ranging from $50 to $200, so you can donate as much or as little as your budget allows and still see the show. Get yours from Ticketmaster while you can!

Image used with permission from Aruga

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Music and More at Brisbane’s Free Hidden Lanes Festival

Exciting Aussie acts including Tyne-James Organ, The Vanns, Cry Club, and Greta Stanley will entertain crowds at this year’s The Hidden Lanes Festival in Brisbane. The event aims to celebrate the lanes of Fortitude Valley, shining a light on more than 80 local businesses operating in California, Winn, Bakery, Lucky, and Little Valley Lanes.

Aside from the musical acts, there’ll be plenty of food vendors, a fashion and beauty trail, an art and design trail, and nearly 20 master classes teaching you everything from how to make cocktails to how to braid hair.

All this is completely free, so get amongst it on October 26. The Hidden Lanes Festival takes over Fortitude Valley’s lanes from 10 am til late. Register for the master classes and heritage trail via the event’s website.

Image used with permission from Gyro PR

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

What’s Golden Opening in Brisbane’s Tivoli

The historic Tivoli is set to become a whole lot cooler with the opening of a new intimate performance space, What’s Golden. The 200-capacity space will sit in the Tivoli’s central foyer, allowing easy access to a new renovated box office area and bar serving craft beers and new cocktails.

What’s Golden opens on August 27 with an exclusive invitation-only concert featuring local A-listers and international special guests. It will then host a diverse selection of artists including CLEA, Sahara Beck, Good Boy, HONCHO DISKO, and Betty Grumble in the coming months. Get onto it Queenslanders!

Image used with permission from Aruga

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

Neighbour Announces House Show for “Confidence” Release

Tomorrow Brisbane singer-songwriter Neighbour officially unveils his first single of the year, the dreamy “Confidence.” It’s a gorgeous folky track that starts small but builds to a powerful, drum-driven crescendo. The lyrics insightfully explore relationships and the way they impact our sense of self.

Neighbour will celebrate the release of “Confidence” with a house show at 28 Westbourne Street, Highgate Hill. It’s sure to be an amazing night, with Asha Jefferies and Hazlett also playing some tunes. Visit the Facebook event page to learn more!

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Go Venue Hopping in Brisbane for Mountain Goat Valley Crawl

In the tradition of the great Australian pub crawl comes the first annual Mountain Goat Valley Crawl, a festival that brings together some of the best up-and-coming Aussie talents at stages around Brisbane.

Awesome acts like Ayla, Babaganouj, Jeremy Neale, Twin Haus, and Machine Age will play on stages at The Zoo, The Brightside, The Foundry, and Black Bear Lodge. All of these venues are within two square blocks so it’s easy to get from one to the next.

The best part is that it’s all completely free. Timetables will be confirmed later, but for now, make sure you save February 27 in your diary Brisbane!

Image used with permission from Mucho Bravado

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

The Foundry Might be a Gamechanger for Brisbane Music Scene

I consider myself an optimistic, but also a critical thinker. So when I got an email claiming to tell me “How The Foundry will change Brisbane’s music landscape forever,” I was sceptical but hopeful. It’s a massive claim, but if this unique music hub can be all of the things the press release suggests it’s going to be big news for the Sunshine State.

The Foundry will be a two-level complex housing a live room (launching March 6), rock’n’roll bar, collaborative space, and 20 creative studios. 4ZZZ, Jungle Love Festival, Control Zine, Smack Face Music, Mitzi, Lost Movements and Mucho Bravado have already signed leases, and there’ll be more to come.

What really sets The Foundry apart is that it was built for musicians, but musicians. It has the potential to unite Brisbane’s music industry into one massive powerhouse. The rents are small and the WiFi’s free because the creators know that supporting grassroots music isn’t a lucrative game. There’s also a room for touring bands to crash for the night, free of charge, and multiple rehearsal studios. The venue won’t charge bands for venue hire, and they can also use high-quality backline for nix.

The Foundry sounds like a winner to me. What do you think?

Image used with permission from Mucho Bravado

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Amity Affliction, Pez Headline Brisbane Youth Music Festival

Brisbane’s youth will be living it up this Easter at the inaugural Live it Up musical festival. A stellar local line-up featuring The Amity Affliction, Chance Waters, Pez, and The Getaway Plan will entertain under-aged music lovers on April 13.

But why just watch from the ground when you could be a part of the action? Live It Up organisers are inviting young bands and DJs to open the festival. Just head to the Live It Up festival website to see how you can get involved.

“Brisbane is full of talent, particularly young people and it’s a rare opportunity for them to get a gig and show fans what they can do,” explained festival organiser Zanda Strofield. “We’re committed not only to giving the best music event of the year for Brisbane’s 18 and unders, but also to support them and shine a light on what we have here in our backyard.”

Mums and dads can rest easy, as the event will be completely drug and alcohol free. Tickets are on sale now through the Live It Up website.

Image used with permission from SGC Media

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Prince @ Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Brisbane – 18 May 2012

I wrote this post sitting at Brisbane Airport, preparing to return to my real life and reflecting on a wonderful weekend. So many factors made it special: reconnecting with good friends, dancing until the wee small hours with boys that were far too young, singing songs around an RSL piano, drinking amazing wine. But at the heart of it there was Prince. He was the man who inspired me to make the trip to Brisbane to begin with, so perhaps it’s fitting that his Friday night show was one of my long weekend’s highlights.

I started to feel that thrill of excitement before the doors even opened. There’s something special about standing in a sea of folks dressed in purple whose excitement is just as palpable as yours. That frisson reached fever pitch as we stepped inside and took in the iconic love symbol shaped stage. It escalated again when a lone guitarist appeared to serenade us for a bit with an introduction to “Purple Rain” before the full band and Prince himself graced us with his presence and a killer rendition of “Jam of the Year.”

And what a presence it is. I was so struck by him, spellbound as I watched him dance and sing, using the full extent of that big stage, playing to the entire room despite its size. I found myself thinking about other entertainers he reminded me of: Little Richard, Michael Jackson, Jimi Hendrix. He’s all that and more. A born showman who is completely captivating and utterly sexy.

And he’s got the songs to match that electric stage presence. There were some notable absences, but I suppose that’s inevitable for a man with such an impressive back catalogue. He certainly crammed as much as he could in, even if it meant singing just a snippet of some like “Pop Life” and “Darling Nikki.” “Let’s Go Crazy” and “1999” were electric, and the unexpected appearance of “Shhh” made me weak at the knees. Hearing him sing “Purple Rain” will stick out as one of my most treasured concert moments. Sitting in a room illuminated by the light of thousands of mobile phones – the new cigarette lighters – was incredible. Watching purple glitter fall as the song snaked towards its epic conclusion is something I’ll never forget. “Kiss” was perhaps the perfect closer, cheeky and playful and everything Prince showed us he is.

I travelled a long way for the performance but it was definitely worth it to bask in his aura for a few hours. When I told people I was going to see Prince a few suggested he might be past his prime. However on reflection it seems the Purple One is just warming up.