After a sold out 2010 Australian tour, New York native and quirky vocalist sensation Ingrid Michaelson returns to our shores for her sophomore tour this September. Bringing along her uniquely endearing stage presence, self-deprecating humour, heartfelt lyrics and pristine vocals, Ingrid Michaelson is set to once again wow Australian audiences.
Continue reading Tour News: Ingrid Michaelson Australian Shows – September 2012 →

Chicago instrumental five-piece, TORTOISE, are heading to Australia in October to play their astonishing amalgamation of rock, dub, dance, jazz, techno and minimalism in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth.

While they’ve been around for over two decades and released six critically acclaimed studio albums, when blog, The Line Of Best Fit reviewed Tortoise playing a show in London in 2009 and said: “All talk of age is useless – up there is a bunch of kids having the time of their lives and making some of the most vital music anywhere in the world…”
Continue reading Tour News: Tortoise Australian Tour – October 2012 →

Continue reading The Good Ship – ‘Powder Monkey’ – Official Music Video →

In what could be one of the worst kept secrets of 2012 we can now confirm Massachusetts band Defeater will indeed be returning to Australia this September just over a year since they were here last. Defeater will be joined by none other than Philadelphia’s ever evolving Blacklisted, touring Australia for the first time since 2008.

Defeater are a band that play by their own rules; they write narrative songs about fictional characters, release concept albums, mix melodic hardcore with acoustic ballads – all the while tapping into issues such as social awareness and environmental activism. Since their formation over four years ago, Defeater have released two full-lengths (2008’s Travels and 2011’s double-LP Empty Days & Sleepless Nights) and an EP (2009’s Lost Ground) that all follow a story-telling songwriting style the band has developed about a family set in post-WWII America in a working class town in New Jersey.
Continue reading Tour News: Defeater / Blacklisted Australian Tour | September-October 2012 →

In anticipation of their first ever Australian tour, Apocalyptica have revealed which local acts will accompany them on their string of East Coast shows this August/September.

Brisbane’s Awoken Solace will lend their blend of orchestral power metal, medieval baroque and fantasy soundtracks to the August 30th show, while Sydney’s progressive doom five-piece Rise Of Avernus will accompany them on August 31. Finally, Melbourne’s Be’lakor will return from their European tour just in time to join Apocalytpica at Melbourne’s Hi-Fi Bar on September 1.

Apocalyptica are coming. Twenty years from inception, one of the biggest names in European metal is finally touring Australia. Combining classical nuance with brutal breakdowns, this fantastic Finnish four-piece are quintessential Eurock with a difference. They are metal, with cellists.

Their most recent album, 7th Symphony was produced by Joe Baressi (Queens Of The Stone Age, Tool) and features guests vocalists including Gavin Rossdale (Bush), Brent Smith (Shinedown), Joe Duplantier (Gojira) and Diane Warren (Award winning songwriter for artists like Aerosmith, Toni Braxton, Celine Dion). 7th Symphony has been touted as the band’s most inspired release to date, with equal emphasis on beautiful melodies and heavy, bombastic rhythms.
Continue reading Tour News: Apocalyptica Australian Tour – August/September 2012 →

Praying For Sunshine is the third brilliant single, lifted from Children Collide’s album Monument, released today to radio and available digitally. Alongside the single is another clever video clip from the band, and several extra tour dates added to satisfy demand.

Children Collide certainly know how to make an intriguing video clip, their Loveless clip from Animal Kingdom director David Michôd was re-created by Triple J’s The Doctor and garnered a lot of attention including a J Award nomination. Most recent single Cherries video clip was an eye popping visual piece compiled using fan-shot photos captured on the Sword To A Gunfight tour and submitted online.
Continue reading Children Collide more shows announced on ‘Monument’ Tour! →

The 2012 Queensland Music Awards is shaping up to be one of the most memorable nights of the year, with Q Music today announcing a stellar list of finalists and live performances.

Nearly fifty judges from across the country have selected an amazing list of finalists, including Cub Scouts, Mosman Alder, Harmony James, Dubmarine, The Medics and many more.

Joining these artists are the nominees for Arts Queensland’s $10,000 Billy Thorpe Scholarship supported by the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland. Please see below for the full list of finalists in all categories.
Continue reading 2012 Queensland Music Awards Finalists Announced →

After almost a decade, legendary New York rockers Nada Surf are finally returning to Australian shores to celebrate not only the recent release of their seventh full-length record The Stars Are Indifferent To Astronomy, but also their entire back catalogue for the first time ever.

Nada Surf is a name synonymous with music lovers the world over and one that tirelessly transcends their 1996 hit ‘Popular’ with a discography of what many describe as perfect indie-pop/rock.
Continue reading Tour News: NADA SURF Announce First Australian Tour In Almost A Decade →

Welcome to the Hotel Transylvania, Dracula’s (Adam Sandler) lavish five-stake resort, where monsters and their families can live it up, free from meddling from the human world. But here’s a little known fact about Dracula: he is not only the Prince of Darkness; he is also a dad. Over-protective of his teenage daughter, Mavis (Selena Gomez), Dracula fabricates tales of elaborate dangers to dissuade her adventurous spirit. As a haven for Mavis, he opens the Hotel Transylvania, where his daughter and some of the world’s most famous monsters – Frankenstein and his bride, the Mummy, the Invisible Man, a family of werewolves, and more – can kick back in safety and peace. For Drac, catering to all of these legendary monsters is no problem – but his world could come crashing down when one ordinary guy stumbles on the hotel and takes a shine to Mavis.

Continue reading Movie Trailer: Hotel Transylvania (2012) →

The Living End, John Butler Trio, The Cat Empire to headline!

Friday – The Living End
Saturday – John Butler Trio
Sunday – The Cat Empire.

And that’s just for starters.

Throw in Ball Park Music, Lanie Lane, The Whitlams, Boom Crash Opera, The Beards, the USA’s Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue and you’ve got the makings of one of the best line-ups of any festival in the country.

Photo: Clave Contra Clave Brisbane Heat 2011, by Jacques Maudy
Playing Caribbean beats and sultry Salsa classics might seem like a pretty good gig, but for the best Latin musicians around the country, it’s serious business. Come October, Latin bands will be getting their trumpets in tune and their claves ready as ClaveContra-Clave, Australia’s only national live Latin band competition, goes on tour.

In its second year, the national competition showcases Australia’s leading Latin entertainers from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane with the Grand Finale being held at the Brisbane Exhibition and Convention Centre on Saturday-the-27th-of-October.
Continue reading Clave Contra Clave 2012 – Heating Up With Latin Fever →