The Cat Empire Australian Tour 2019
Australia’s kings of real good, feel good roots pop, The Cat Empire return home for another triumphant lap around the country this October and November still riding high on the success of their most recent studio album, Stolen Diamonds.
Continue reading Tour News : The Cat Empire Australian Tour 2019
Fresh from yet another huge European tour, The Cat Empire release Stolen Diamonds, the next exciting installment in the monthly series of tracks being revealed on the 1st of each month.
Continue reading The Cat Empire Release Stolen Diamonds
Beloved at home, and undoubtedly one of Australia’s most successful international musical exports, The Cat Empire debut the brand new track and video “Ready Now.” The opening salvo in a monthly series of releases across 2018 that sees the band tantalisingly unveil their amazing 7th studio album. Coinciding with another massive global tour, this slow reveal on the 1st day of each month is sure to have long-time fans around the planet fixed and waiting on each and every instalment.
Continue reading The Cat Empire’s new single “Ready Now” + Australian Tour 2018
Widely held as two of Australia’s most outstanding live acts, The Cat Empire & Xavier Rudd will hit the highways together for the first time in January and February 2017 for a series of unique concert events to be held in picturesque open-air settings. Presented by Zaccaria Concerts & Touring, the tour will bring these two incredible acts onto large stages in picturesque non-traditional purpose built outdoor venues in Hobart, Ballarat, Byron Bay, Bribie Island and Adelaide.
Continue reading The Cat Empire & Xavier Rudd announce Australian Tour – January 2017
Photographer: Amanda Lee Starkey
Continue reading Photo Gallery : The Cat Empire at The Tivoli, Brisbane – May 07, 2016
The Cat Empire announce the ‘Rising With The Sun Global Tour’ with shows in Sydney, Adelaide, Canberra, Far North Qld, and of course their home town of Melbourne. These shows (many of them suitable for all ages) join the already announced Western Australian dates in March and performances at Womadelaide and BluesFest in Byron Bay, with more shows in QLD and NSW to be announced soon.
Continue reading The Cat Empire Australian – ‘Rising With The Sun’ Tour Announcement
It’s arrived and it’s hot off the press.
The very first artist announcement has landed and we are stoked to be bringing you the first instalment of up to 8 announcements. It’s also the earliest announcement in the history of the event!
Bluesfest’s Round 1 brings to you a perfectly crafted blend of the Contemporary and the Classic, tailored to satisfy an eclectic mix of musical palates.
Continue reading Bluesfest Byron Bay 2016 1st Artist Announcement!!
The 2015 Melbourne Zoo Twilight Series is off to an incredible start. After announcing a sell out, and then second show for Paul Kelly Presents The Merri Soul Sessions featuring Clairy Browne, Kira Puru, & Vika and Linda Bull we can now announce that Bernard Fanning’s show has officially SOLD OUT. Audiences rushed to snag tickets to this commended acoustic guitarist and legendary lyricist with his live band in one of summer’s most beautiful venues – a dusk evening surrounded by dazzling wildlife, set in the heart of Melbourne.
Continue reading The Melbourne Zoo Twilight Series 2015 * UPDATED *
In 1975, a little radio station called 2JJ launched in Sydney, changing the face of Australian radio forever. The first track ever played, Skyhook’s ‘You Just Like Me ‘Cos I’m Good In Bed’, set the tone for the risqué antics and love of Australian culture and music that would unfold over the next four decades. 40 years later, and now a national network, triple j continues to be as passionate and provocative as ever.
Continue reading Beat The Drum – Celebrating 40 Years of triple j – Sydney Festival 2015
March 16th 2011 – Here it is folks, the final artist announcement for Bluesfest 2011. As you can see, we’ve definitely saved some of the best till last with these stellar talented musicians, so if you weren’t excited before, you will be now! Tickets for Thursday 21 and Tuesday 26 April are still available – don’t miss out, the clock is ticking and it’s only a bit over a month until Bluesfest finally kicks off!
The whole lineup has become picture perfectly clear with the official downloadable Bluesfest Playing Schedule now online at www.bluesfest.com.au .
That means you can now make all those big decisions and plan your complete Bluesfest itinerary. Check it out for all artist times and stages – download it, print it out, circle your options – whatever you need to do to make sure your Bluesfest 2011 experience is all set to go in glorious fashion!
Please note that on Tuesday April 26 Bluesfest will open its doors at 11am, music starts at 2pm and finishes at 10pm, allowing everyone to get home in plenty of time for work the next day.
Continue reading FINAL artist announcement for Bluesfest 2011’s outstanding lineup of star performers!
Ladies and Gents, the one and only superstar singer Grace Jones has today been added to the enormous bill for Bluesfest 2011 taking place in Byron Bay from Thursday April 21 through to Monday April 25, 2011.
Bluesfest music lovers – be warned, Grace Jones is going to pick you up, hold you tightly in the fist of her hand, and give you one hell of a ride! Bluesfest is very proud to unveil Grace Jones as a major new artist announcement who performs on the main stage on Friday night April 22, 2011.
A Grace Jones performance is not just a concert; it’s a MUST-SEE unique happening you’d be crazy to miss! A special event that’s part musical tour de force, part runway fashion show, and part theatrical drama full of outrageous extravagance. In fact, her appearance at the 2009 Sydney Festival is still being talked about!
Continue reading Grace Jones – the one and only – powers into Bluesfest 2011 mega lineup!
The Soul, the Funk and the Blues pumping up anticipation for 22nd Bluesfest happiness
Bluesfest from Byron Bay, Australia’s favourite counter-culture, family-orientated, artistically diverse music festival, today unveiled its SECOND artist announcement – and what an array it is of classic and contemporary blues, soul, funk, reggae and much more!
Tickets are on sale for Bluesfest, the 2010 Australian Event of the Year, and are selling very fast. The festival dates next year over Easter are from Thursday April 21 through to Monday April 25, 2011.
Continue reading Bluesfest 2011 consolidates supersonic line up with class 2nd artist announcement!
November 04th 2010 – Bluesfest from Byron Bay, Australia‟s favourite counter-culture, family-orientated, ethnically and artistically diverse music festival, has today announced a whopper of a signature first artist announcement – and it’s the first of many! Tickets are on sale now for Bluesfest – which just won the Australian Event of the Year for Bluesfest 2010 – and festival dates next year over Easter are from Thursday April 21 through to Monday April 25, 2011.
Once again, Bluesfest 2011 offers its passionate fans a very tasty – almost holy – array of simply the best local and international blues and roots music with its renowned blend of multi-genre, multi-demographic and multi-generational sounds.
Let’s get the party started! The first Bluesfest announcement for 2011 includes:
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Bob Dylan, B.B. King, Ben Harper & Relentless7, Elvis Costello & the Imposters, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Rodrigo y Gabriela, The Cat Empire, Blind Boys of Alabama featuring Aaron Neville, Derek Trucks & Susan Tedeschi Band, Robert Randolph & the Family Band, Fistful of Mercy, Mavis Staples, Xavier Rudd, Trinity Roots, Kate Miller-Heidke, Washington, |
Little Bushman, Tony Joe White, Indigo Girls, Eric Bibb, Ash Grunwald, Ruthie Foster, C.W. Stoneking, Jeff Lang, Saltwater Band, and RocKwiz Live.
Continue reading Bluesfest 2011 unveils joy and wonderment with signature super 1st artist announcement!
 [Photo credit: Charlyn Cameron] |
Woodford Folk Festivals 25th Anniversary programme is the most resplendent programme ever presented, promising an epic journey into the kaleidoscope of Australian culture. 3000 performers and artists, thinkers and cultural activists, environmentalists and comedians, and two former Prime Ministers will descend upon the forested valley of Woodfordia between the 27th December and the 1st of January to celebrate our existence in true Australian style. |
With an expected aggregate attendance of 120,000 patrons, Woodford has evolved into one of Australia’s largest and most iconic festivals. Despite its large size, the festival has retained its grassroots, non-commercial feel. It is popular with all ages, and the ‘brilliant’ festival atmosphere is the most highly rated aspect of the event in visitor surveys. In addition to the 620 acts performing across 22 venues (all indoor except for the large amphitheatre), the festival streets are alive with roving street theatre, parades, art and spontaneous performances day and night.
At the heart of the Woodford Folk Festival is the 500-acre festival site, Woodfordia, a regenerated cattle property that has become the living, growing expression of thousands of people who have contributed to the cumulative vision of a cultural parkland and subtropical arboretum dedicated to the arts.
The musical line-up this year captures the very essence of this ‘folk in spirit’ festival, just a few of the highlights include The Cat Empire, Kate Miller-Heidke, Katie Noonan and The Captains, Blue King Brown, Tim Freedman, Archie Roach, Mama Kin, Jeff Lang, Lior, Microwave Jenny, Dubmarine, Felix and The Phoenix, Hermitude, Marshall and The Fro, Cumbia Cosmonauts, The Barons of Tang, Basement Birds, The Break, TinPan Orange, Vika and Linda Bull, Christa Hughes and The Honkytonk Shonks, Flap!, Tijuana Cartel, Drawn from Bees, The Chemist, Leah Flanagan, kooii, Laneous and The Family Yah, Radical Son, Jackie Marshall, That 1 Guy, The Little Stevies, Shane Howard and his Band, Yeshe and You Am I.
Woodford’s international guests include Arrested Development (USA), The Dynamites featuring Charles Walker (USA), the incredible Katzenjammer (Norway), Baskery (Sweden), BBC World Music Award winners Daara J Family (Senegal), and from Canada, the crazy Tom Fun Orchestra, Jill Barber, Dan Mangan and Matthew Barber. From the UK comes Passenger, from the USA Love in the Circus, Stevie Salas and Bernard Fowler, and The Whitetop Mountaineers, and from the 70’s Mani Neumeier with Etsuko Watanabe.
The GreenHouse venue talks the walk of the environmental ethos that underpins the Woodford Folk Festival. Have your green Myths busted, meet green Innovators and make an educated choice about the next ten years of climate change. The Great Green Debate at the Concert stage examines The Spirit of Resistance (still) Lives! To fan The Flames of Discontent, Professor Ian Lowe will join Jack Mundey along with green activists, unionists and historians for a forum on the Green Bans of the 70’s.
Folklorica presents an incredibly rich tapestry of the sacred, traditional and ceremonial drawing on the diversity within our Australian culture. With Genghis Khan’s Songlines take a journey along the Silk Road, join a Gypsy Wedding, and revere the powerful voice of Jamyang Dolma from Tibet. ABC Radio National’s presenter Geoff Wood has programmed The Rhythm Divine, a selection of sacred music artists based in Australia.
At the opposite end of the spectrum is Disturbia 2, go forward to 2525 humans have evolved into a new species of Pumans, part pig part human …
Make sure to visit the new Pineapple Lounge, piano bar and cocktail lounge, where Shampine flows in the magical garden, Wiley Reed tinkles the keys by night and Bogan Bingo is a daily ritual.
The Children’s Festival is also larger than ever before. Children can build a Permaculture garden, create, cook, dance and be enchanted by theatre, puppetry and song. New Years Eve sees them adorned with their own creations, in a swathe of bubbles and music in the Children’s Festival Procession through the festival streets.
Professor Timothy Sharp, happiness expert, can teach you how to sleep your way to the top, and The Bedroom Philosopher will have you in stitches. Learn Shamanic Drumming and get irie after dark in the Dancehall. Wander through the visual arts workshops in Penny Arcade to the Arti.Arti venue, where writers, artists and performers will cast your assumptions and fixed ideas aside to make way for new ideas. All the while there will be Gremlins building a Rocket Ship out of whatever they can nab, so hold onto your hat.
Whatever you do, don’t miss Woodford Folk Festival this year; it really will be a momentous journey. We invite you to join the pilgrimage, come and be a part of our 25th anniversary celebration.
Programmes and tickets are available on the Woodford Folk Festival website www.woodfordfolkfestival.com or call the Queensland Folk Federation on 07 5496 1066. Selected newsagents have the programmes, check online for these outlets.
Review: Victoria Nugent
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It may have been mid-week, but that didn’t deter the crowd at The Tivoli who flocked to see The Cat Empire perform on their Cinema tour.
As the evening kicked off, Clairy Browne and the Bangin’ Rackettes warmed up the crowd with their soulful stylings. Clairy Browne had a powerful presence as frontwoman, with an Amy Winehouse |
style beehive and a deep, dulcet voice. The three Bangin’ Rackettes crooned backing vocals at the side of the stage and the band provided old style soul music to flesh out the sound, with punctuating saxophone. Champagne featured bright keys, rounded saxophone beautifully melodious verses and a less polished but more upbeat chorus. The band’s unique cover of Bang Bang from Kill Bill was a standout song, with the tempo slowed right down, giving it a more mournful sound than one would think possible. One memorable moment was the duet between Browne and her sister Natalie (one of the Bangin’ Rackettes) about not letting a man treat you badly, the classy soul punctuated by more modern one fingered gestures. T he group’s sultry sensual cover of a Tina Turner number, complete with red lit silhouettes further emphasised the band’s great range. Browne was at her powerfully smooth voiced best with Stephanie, a bitter song about the dangerous woman trying to steal your man. Clairy Browne and The Bangin’ Rackettes make music that is purely intoxicating, combining dirty doo-wop with sultry soul, slow hips and unison fingersnapping.
Click the image to view the photo gallery
[Photos: Cody Alexander]
Continue reading The Cat Empire @ The Tivoli, Brisbane with Clairy Browne and The Bangin’ Rackettes – 25 August 2010 – Live Review
