WINTERSUN 2009 29th May to 8th June 2009

Australia’s Leading Rock & Roll Nostalgia Retro Event….

Wintersun 2009 starts on Friday 29th May and ends with the huge Best of Wintersun Concert on Monday 8th June. Wintersun is Australia’s leading annual Retro Nostalgia Festival. Featuring almost 1500 Hot Rods, Custom and Classic Cars, more than 100 bands and performers, dancing, movies, and competitions. The festival is held in the border coastal towns of Coolangatta and Tweed Heads on the New South Wales & Queensland border. Many events are free, some are in the streets while others are in the local clubs and shopping centres.

Brisbane, event, Festival, Music

Photo Gallery | Caxton Street Seafood and Wine Festival – 3 May 2009

Caxton Street Seafood and Wine Festival 2009 – 3 May 2009
Photographer: Stuart Blythe

KRAM, OP 25, The Winnie Coopers, Dukes Of Windsor

Click the image below to view photo gallery…
Caxton Street Seafood and Wine Festival Gallery

[Photo: Stuart Blythe]

Brisbane, Concert, event, Festival, Music, Photos, Stuart Blythe

Sounds of Spring 2009 First Lineup Announcement

On 26 September 2009, Brisbane’s own Sounds of Spring music festival will once again open its gates at an impressive new venue at Victoria Park, Gilchrist Ave, Herston (opposite RNA Showgrounds & Royal Children’s Hospital) to an impressive line-up of the country’s best indie acts and 15,000 antsy music lovers. After cutting our teeth on the festival scene last year, Sounds of Spring invites you back for a bigger, better, louder festival, in every way. The response from bands wanting to play at SOS09 has been incredible and we’re extremely proud to present an exciting blend of your favourite Australian acts, and a few new ones we think you’ll really enjoy.

Making up the first of two line-up announcements are the following 28 exciting acts:
Continue reading Sounds of Spring 2009 First Lineup Announcement →

Concert, event, Festival, Music

Opera for One – a great night out with other opera lovers.

Don’t want to see La traviata on your own? With Opera for One, you can join a small group of other opera lovers and be treated like a VIP. For just $130 (inc. fees) you’ll enjoy an A Reserve seat in Balcony One with the Opera for One group, a pre-performance drink and reserved seating at the pre-performance talk, an interval drink, a theatre program and a dedicated Opera for One host for the evening.

Numbers are strictly limited so book now to avoid disappointment. Phone Jane on 07 3735 3030 to purchase your Opera for One package.

Opera for One, La traviata
21 & 26 May l 7.30pm l $130 (inc. fees)
Lyric Theatre, QPAC
Related: QPAC’s Lyric Theatre and Concert Hall – Brisbane

Brisbane, fact, Music, theatre

SPLENDOUR IN THE GRASS 2009 – 1ST LINEUP

Now in its 9th year, SPLENDOUR IN THE GRASS returns on Sat July 25th and Sun July 26th at Byron Bay’s Belongil Fields to present its much anticipated annual mid-winter music celebration. With offerings from around the globe, the 2009 line-up packs a punch with a flock of Splendour first timers, festival favourites and exclusive one-off performances to boot.

TICKETS ON SALE
9.00am sharp on Thursday May 14th – Internet sales only – www.qjump.com.au
SPLENDOUR IN THE GRASS 2009
Sat July 25th and Sunday July 26th
Belongil Fields, Byron Bay
Continue reading SPLENDOUR IN THE GRASS 2009 – 1ST LINEUP →

Concert, event, Festival, Music

QPAC’s Lyric Theatre and Concert Hall – Brisbane

lyric theatre    QPAC’s Lyric Theatre and Concert Hall were re-opened earlier this year, on 11 March, following a four-month closure and a $34.7 million refurbishment. If you’re yet to experience the changes to QPAC, here are some quick links to help you when you attend a La traviata performance.

Venue map with changes to access – click here
Form to pre-order interval drinks – click here
Information about parking and transport – click here
View a Lyric Theatre seating plan – click here
Dining options at QPAC – click here

Brisbane, fact, theatre

Madeleine Paige

Turn off your phone and get out of town
Away from the chaos and deafening sound
And when all is peaceful and darkness falls
You’ll hear The Voice Behind The Noise 		   Madeleine Page

This is the concept behind Madeleine Paige’s stunning sophomore EP “The Voice Behind The Noise”. In October last year, on a friend’s recommendation, Madeleine left behind the daily grind and spent some time alone in a cabin in the wilderness and her creativity flourished. Through these visits to the idyllic Mullumbimby countryside, the songs on this glorious EP were born.
Continue reading Madeleine Paige →

Artist, Bio, Music

Liza Minnelli in concert @ Brisbane Entertainment Centre 30 October 2009

Liza Minnelli    Chugg Entertainment and David M. Hawkins are proud to present the long awaited return of award winning superstar Liza Minnelli. Bringing her unstoppable Minnelli magic to Australia, Liza will tour nationally during October in an unmatchable concert performance. Based on her current hit Broadway show “Liza’s At The Palace”, the evening will feature an incomparable Minnelli songfest including many of her personal favourites and signature hits.

Along with a twelve-piece orchestra led by conductor/drummer Michael Berkowitz and pianist/musical supervisor Billy Stritch,the performance will feature many of Liza’s showstoppers such as “Cabaret”, “Maybe This Time” and “Theme From New York, New York” – all written especially for her by the legendary Broadway song writing partnership of John Kander and Fred Ebb.

Directed by Ron Lewis, this concert performance of almost two hours duration (with interval), will be full of personal stories, anecdotes and heartfelt reminiscences.

Liza Minnelli was born in Los Angeles into show business royalty. With her mother Judy Garland and her father the Award winning director Vincent Minnelli, her’s is the only family where both parents and child have won an Oscar. Her god parents were Ira Gershwin and Kay Thompson. Liza made her screen debut in 1949 as a toddler with her mother in the MGM movie musical In the Good Old Summertime.

One of the world’s best-loved entertainers, she won Tony awards for Flora, the Red Menace in 1965 and

Continue reading Liza Minnelli in concert @ Brisbane Entertainment Centre 30 October 2009 →

Artist, Brisbane, Concert, event, Music

Mzaza / Paris Dreaming – Parliment of Birds CD Launch -The Press Club

Mzaza / Paris Dreaming
Parliment of Birds CD Launch -The Press Club
Author: Lisa Lamb

mzazza    If you ever feel you are in the wrong country, listen to Mzaza and you will know you are. This six-piece Brisbane group combines sounds from East & West with ease and sensuality. Vocalist Pauline Maudy is stunning in a black cocktail dress with feathers, and birds in her hair. She is outrageous, yet reserved and very, very classy. Singing in French, Spanish and Arabic with ease and her voice is like liquid amber. In the intimate setting of The Press Club, you could easily be transported to Paris or Marseille. This is world music at its finest!

Continue reading Mzaza / Paris Dreaming – Parliment of Birds CD Launch -The Press Club →

Brisbane, Music, Review

Photo Gallery | Hungry Kids of Hungary @ The Valley Studio, Brisbane – 10 April 2009

Hungry Kids of Hungary @ The Valley Studio, Brisbane 10 April 2009
Photographer: Andrea Jankovic

Click image for full photo gallery
Hungry Kids From Hungary

Brisbane, Concert, Music, Photos

COG “Between Oceans” Tour @ The Hi-Fi, Brisbane – 11th June 2009

COG “Between Oceans” Tour
With special guests
Oceansize and Calling All Cars

While their latest record Sharing Space is working hard for them in Europe and the UK, gaining rave reviews from music press and fans alike, the Cog boys have been busily putting the finishing touches on their national Between Oceans Tour May / June 2009.

Cog’s powerful live shows have been wowing fans for the past few years, earning them spots on the country’s biggest festivals, including the recent Big Day Out Tour, and leaving a trail of sold out venues in their wake. The Between Oceans Tour will be the band’s last round before they take time out to pull together material for their third LP.
Continue reading COG “Between Oceans” Tour @ The Hi-Fi, Brisbane – 11th June 2009 →

Brisbane, Concert, Music

Elize Strydom gets stuck in the mud at the 20th Annual East Coast Blues and Roots Festival

Bluesfest – 20th Annual East Coast Blues and Roots Festival
Friday 10th April
Review: Elize Strydom

Personality test: What sort of footwear would you choose to wear to Bluesfest?

a. Thongs from Woolies
b. Gumboots from Bunnings
c. Your brand new Dunlop Volleys
d. Au Natural (bare feet)

If you answered a. you’re an optimistic idealist. If you picked c. get set for disappointment. If you deliberated between b. and d. then read on…

The 20th Annual East Coast Blues and Roots Festival was always going to be muddy. In the two weeks leading up to the festival the Northern Rivers had copped near-torrential rain, flash flooding and damaging winds. I spoke to Festival Director Peter Noble a day before the gates were due to open and he was optimistic. One day of hot sun beating down on the Belongil Fields meant they had “dodged a bullet” and things were looking up. Yesterday the Rain Gods withheld their mercy but they’re well and truly smiling again today. Steam is literally rising off the sodden grass as punters – young and old – stream past sniffer dogs, security checks and wrist band fasteners. Tracks between the festival’s six stages, market stalls, food tents and port-a-loos have been beaten and new tracks are appearing as people try to avoid the shin deep mud pit at the centre of the original track. So many are falling at the first hurdle as their thongs flick splats of mud up their legs and backs. Others are literally stuck in the mud as their feet plunge into the thick brown slosh and fail to emerge. Now is not the time to suffer from unpreparedness – there’s music to see, oh so much music. More than 500 artists and 220 performances, to be exact. I’ve gotta start somewhere, why not with Watermelon Slim and the Workers?
Continue reading Elize Strydom gets stuck in the mud at the 20th Annual East Coast Blues and Roots Festival →

Concert, event, Festival, Music, Review

The Kill Scene, Feline Down, Twist Oliver Twist @ The Globe – 11th April, 2009

The Kill Scene, Feline Down, Twist Oliver Twist
The Globe – 11th April, 2009
Author: Lisa Lamb

The Kill Scene formerly known as the Dream Sequence inflicted a quick and painless death on themselves in front of a live audience, then musically re-incarnated. Sounding very much like The Cure as they delved into Gothic New Wave with a dark, ambient precision. Playing a blend of originals combined with 80’s British rock like Kate Bush “Running up that Hill”, along with a dark and twisted, yet beautiful version of “Let Me Entertain You” by Queen.    kill scene

Continue reading The Kill Scene, Feline Down, Twist Oliver Twist @ The Globe – 11th April, 2009 →

Brisbane, Concert, Music, Review

“No Shoes, at Blues…” – By Tara Kai Hammond

Bluesfest – 20th Annual East Coast Blues and Roots Festival
Friday 12th April
Review: Tara Kai Hammond

After a short twenty minute stroll from the car park, a quick ‘frisking’ from security at the gate, and I’m officially allowed into the festival. The first thing I noticed after being ‘frisked’; apart from swampy mud and thousands of different patterned gumboots; was hundreds of joyful, beaming-sunny-smiles, and a happy and radiant vibe which was ‘infectious’.

*Musical highlights*:-
That One Guy played his part percussions-part bass-boom box-making-vacuum or “magic Pipe” as he refers to it) to a small but highly amused, pumped-up and appreciative crowd. With funky high energy tunes one minute, (that make ya want to shake ya bits); to laid back cruisy tunes the next, (the kind that make ya smile and give ya that fuzzy feelin’); That One Guy is without a doubt the most extraordinary and entertaining one man band that I’ve ever witnessed; (and I’ve seen quite a few, including a guy with bopping parrot on his shoulder…)
Continue reading “No Shoes, at Blues…” – By Tara Kai Hammond →

Concert, event, Festival, Music, Review