Festivals & Venues: March 22
SYDNEY GUITAR FESTIVAL OFFERS UNIQUE COMBINATIONS
The Sydney Guitar Festival returns between Thursday August 9 and Sunday August 19, and will be staged across a number of well-known spaces.
These include the Enmore Theatre, Marrickville’s The Factory Theatre and The Concourse in northern Sydney with more to be locked in.
The events are highlighted with some one-off collaborations.
These include brothers Tommy and Phil Emmanuel pairing up for a show at the Enmore.
US guitarist and composer Kaki King will perform her groundbreaking audio-visual set The Neck Is The Bridge To The Body alongside singer-songwriter Daniel Champagne.
The Grigoryan Brothers return to the festival, this time accompanied by Beijing Guitar Duo (Meng Su & Yameng Wang) for a one-off.
Grammy-winning Albert Lee (UK) is joined by nine-piece The Spin Drifters, covering blues, country and western swing.
The Jimi Hendrix tribute Purple Haze features Peter Northcote, Kevin Bennett (Chasin’ The Train), Kirk Lorange, Mal Eastick and more.
The inaugural Sydney Guitar Festival Gala will also feature a curated line-up of artists from the festival, from classical to blues, acoustic to rock.
More details are available at the official website.
DOWNLOAD TO BE BROADCAST
The inaugural Download Melbourne (March 24, Flemington Raceway) will be broadcast from the site on rock metal radio station AndrewHaug.com from midday with guests.
The broadcast actually begins on Friday at 6pm at a pop-up party at Cherry Bar on AC/DC Lane.
SOUTHERN CROSS EXPANDS TO MELBOURNE, NZ
Metal fest Under The Southern Cross returns with King Parrot headlining. This year the event expands to Melbourne and New Zealand, and also adds an all-ages show in Sydney.
Friday April 20
Evelyn Hotel, Melbourne
Earth, Annihilist, Neckgrip, Decimated King (NZ), Fenrir (NSW), Afterburner
Saturday April 21
The Bald Faced Stag, Sydney
King Parrot, Laceration Mantra (Qld), Ya̧nomamö, Wardaemonic (WA), Annihilist, Anno Domini, Arkheth, Decimated King, From Crisis To Collapse, Kaerulean (QLD), Blunt Shovel (Vic), Fenrir, Heathenspawn, Terrorential.
Sunday April 22
The Bald Faced Stag, Sydney (all ages)
King Parrot, Child Bite (Detroit, USA), Darker Half, Arteries, Laceration Mantra (QLD), Annihilist, Decimated King, Murder-World, Kaerulean , Dead Life, School Of Rock, Ripped Salvation, Alchemy
Thursday May 3
Valhalla Bar, Wellington
Empire, Kaerulean, Horizon, Annihilist, Fenrir, Kairillion Theory
Friday May 4
Whammy Bar, Auckland
Forsaken Age, Silent Torture, Annihilist, Fenrir, Kaerulean, Sciolism
Saturday May 5
New City Hotel, Christchurch
Decimated King, Annihilist, Fenrir, Kaerulean, Swarf (UK)
THE PADSTOW CHANGES HANDS
The Padstow Hotel in Sydney, which recently was allowed to trade until 2am, is now owned by JDA Hotels.
The group, who has been managing the venue, paid $26 million – a huge profit for White & Partners which bought the property in 2014 for $13.7 million from Spirit Hotels (a division of Coles).
NEW PROGRAMMING FOR LEAPS AND BOUNDS
Yarra City Council in Melbourne has a new programming format for its sixth Leaps and Bounds (July 13-22), now allowing 50 music venues program the shows.
Council will back venues that specifically represent diversity and inclusion with financial, marketing and promotional support. Venues will be able to pitch for Council support until Monday April 9, and the festival program will be announced in May.
This year, Leaps and Bounds will also include the annual Smith Street Dreaming – an outdoor event that celebrates Aboriginal culture and history in and around Smith Street – on Saturday July 21.
SUBIACO OVAL GRANDSTANDS SET FOR DEMOLITION
The WA government has determined that Subiaco Oval in Perth, some to many concerts and festivals, will have its grandstands demolished.
This will be done before 2,000 students move into a new high school to be built alongside the ground in 2020.
GOOD SATURDAY CANCELLED
Sydney’s inaugural Good Saturday festival scheduled for Saturday March 31 has been axed.
The statement read: “Due to circumstances beyond the organisers’ control we are unable to proceed with this show. It’s not a decision any of us have taken lightly, and we apologise sincerely for any inconvenience caused.”
PREMIERES AT NOOSA ALIVE
This year, NOOSA alive! (July 20-29) is boasting three world premiere performances, six Australian premieres/previews and five Queensland premiere performances.
The ten-day festival covers dance, theatre, food, cabaret, film, theatre and visual arts.
The music component includes a team up with Katie Noonan and poet Michael Leunig, Livvy & Pete (a tribute to the songs of Olivia Newton-John and Peter Allen), Mike McClellan, and “Carlotta Queen of the Cross”.
ADELAIDE’S GARDEN OF UNEARTHLY DELIGHTS ATTENDANCE UP 41%
The Garden of Unearthly Delights has declared the 2018 season its most successful yet.
Almost 2,800 performances of more than 100 shows across 16 venues helped boost crowd attendances to well over 700,000, with ticket sales up 4 percent on the previous year.
Garden artists claimed five Adelaide Fringe Awards across music, comedy, magic, dance and cabaret including Carla Lippis for the Fringe World Tour Ready Award, Djuki Mala for Excellence in Aboriginal Creative Arts, Glittery Clittery for Best Cabaret, Different Party for Best Comedy and Kevin Quantum for Best Magic.
Garden co-director Michelle Buxton said: “We mindfully curate a space that has the capacity to host larger shows with high production values so we are also able to support new artists and smaller shows, which is where most artists start out”.
The Garden and its community partners raised more than $30,000 for local charities, including Hutt Street Centre, Sammy D Foundation, Salvation Army, Oxfam, Little Heroes Foundation and Muscular Dystrophy SA.
FRENZAL, POLARIS, HEAD DEAD OF WINTER
Brisbane punk Dead Of Winter (July 7, The Tivoli and Jubilee Hotel) will be headlined by Frenzal Rhomb and Polaris.
The first lineup also included Ocean Grove, Radio Moscow, Clowns, Lagerstein, Desecrator, Osaka Punch, Black Rheno, Lo!, Pagan, Flangipanis, Dad Religion, Blowhard, Zeolite, She Cries Wolf, The Black Swamp, The Dead Love, Goon On The Rocks, Le Suits, Sensaii, Smoking Martha, Being Jane Lane, Decryptus, Hammers, Massic, The Heart & The Dagger Sideshow, The Gutter Birds, The Cutaways, Dirty Liars and Evil Eye.
BRITISH INDIA TOP BUNBURY’S SHIFT
Melbourne band British India top the bill for City of Bunbury’s free Bunbury SHIFT (April 15 at Koombana Foreshore), which is presented by Drug Aware.
Held to celebrate the region’s young, there will also be local bands, a pop-up skate park, market stalls, food trucks and youth-friendly activities on offer.
BALLARAT WHITE NIGHT HITS RECORD ATTENDANCE
Last weekend’s White Night in Ballarat drew 60,000 – which represented half of the Victorian city’s population.
This was a leap in attendance from 2017, when 40,000 people came for its inaugural staging and pumped a fresh $3 million to the local economy.
A highlight included Stuart Walsh’s Ghosts of Eureka, a massive light and audio installation that brought the Eureka Stockade of 1854 to life.
The Eagle was an LED animation of Bunjil, the creator, inspired by the artwork of Ballarat’s Auntie and Indigenous elder Marlene Gibson.
CASULA POWERHOUSE UNVEILS PROGRAM
Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre in South Western Sydney unveiled its music and theatre program this April.
The line-up includes a night with Youth Group frontman Toby Martin (14 April), cultural dance group Garifuna Collective (17 Apr.); and multi-award winning family show Kaput (13 Apr.), starring acrobatic clown Tom Flanagan.
The Martin show sees him team up with culturally diverse Western Sydney musicians for a performance of Songs From Northam Avenue. Inspired by the lives of local Bankstown residents, the critically-acclaimed album will be brought to life by local artists utilising traditional cultural instruments.
MEMO MUSIC HALL BEGINS SUNDAY SESSIONS
The Memo Music Hall in Melbourne’s St Kilda celebrates its third birthday by initiating a regular Sunday Sessions.
It kicks off this weekend (March 25) with bluesman Chris Wilson with sons Fenn and George.
Following are Dan Sultan (April 22), the Dusty Millers’ Mother’s Day Show (May 13) and Wingspan on May 23.
The venue trialled an informal Sunday session earlier this year with Wilson, Lisa Miller, Shane Nicholson and Madder Lake.
ROCK THE SEA
The 8th Rock The Boat (October 21-28) sticks to its theme of ‘70s and ‘80s music, with Foreigner headlining the seven-night cruise.
Others announced are The Romantics, Ross Wilson, Russell Morris, Shannon Noll, Eurogliders and Chocolate Starfish.
Mark Gable, Jason Singh, Reece Mastin and Dale Ryder will join 2018’s line-up as The Voices.
Travelling onboard the Radiance Of The Seas, music-goers will also get to experience the sights of Isle Of Pines and Noumea in New Caledonia, departing from Sydney.
CREDIT: Kaki King photo by Simone Cecchetti