No matter where your weekend wanderings may lead you, we’ve curated the perfect playlist to shrug off the stress and help you slow right down. Put the outside world on mute and count down our top ten tracks to relax to this weekend. more
Friday March 28 will give lovers of jazz a chance to shake off the working week with QCM Jazz & Cabaret on a Friday Night at Studio 188. Swing in to Studio 188 to see a talented horde of young jazz and cabaret musicians from the Queensland Conservatorium perform live. All the makings of a great weekend will be rolled in to one two-hour show – where you can unwind to the evening’s music with a glass of wine in one hand and a cheese plate in the other. Tickets are available via the Studio 188 website, and the event will kick off at 6:00 pm. more
There’s nothing quite like the experience of witnessing music as it’s played live to an intimate crowd, and from March 23–29 4ZZZ presents Brisbane Live Music Week. more
The concept of the struggling musician is not an unusual one, but the idea of being able to help an entire band reach its musical goals by merely clicking a mouse may be something new. more
There are those who dedicate their Sunday evenings to winding down, washing their smalls and packing their lunchboxes for the week ahead … And then there are those who make the most of their last few hours of freedom, soaking up live music and enjoying sneaky schooners at local joints like West End’s The Bearded Lady. The latter sounds like far more fun to us, so why not test it out for yourself as Brisbane rockers The Grand Scheme, Blonde On Blonde and a few special guests dish up fine tunes and fun times from 6:00 pm this Sunday March 16. more
The charismatic crowd pleaser whose talents have reached multiple generations, Neil Finn is returning to Brisbane on Friday March 7 to light up QPAC’s Concert Hall. Following the release of Neil’s third solo album, Dizzy Heights, the energetic artist will bring his new songs, along with his repertoire of older favourites, to Brisbane for one night. Taken under our country’s proverbial wing as an honourary Australian for decades now, the singer-songwriter will be representing each era of his extensive career through his song selections on the night. Utah-based rock and folk singer Joshua James will be joining Neil on the tour, in time to release his first album From The Top of Willamette Mountain. Described as distinctly American with a subtle grunge-rock drive, Joshua will treat Australian fans to the sounds of his fragile vocals and genre-challenging songwriting. You can pick… more
If travels abroad are a distant prospect on a faraway horizon right now, walk your itchy feet down to the Judith Wright Centre and immerse yourself in the sounds of other cities. more
Converging on the shores of the Gold Coast’s beachfront from April 2–26, Surfers Paradise Festival 2014 is preparing to kick things off with its Launch It celebrations. more
Get your tighty whities on and those lengthy limbs poised – it’s time to dance up a storm when everyone’s favourite Norwegian-Bulgarian takes to the Alhambra Lounge stage next Tuesday March 4. The loveable muso will be performing radio favourites ‘I Spy’ and ‘Jive Babe’ alongside Sydney ladies Little May. The sharp mover has already nailed sold-out gigs across America and the UK, giving him ample time to perfect those sweet Risky Business-inspired dance moves. Catch this ridiculously fun show before Mikhael releases his album What’s Life Without Losers nationally on Friday March 7. more
Bop along to Brisbane City Hall on Tuesday March 4 to hear Dudes of Doo-Wop create mid-century classics in chorus. more
Following the release of its debut EP Weird Season, Brisbane band Major Leagues will be supplying a plentiful dose of its entrancing noise to audiences at Fortitude Valley’s Alhambra Lounge on Thursday February 20. The band, which will be supported by The Ocean Party and Gunns during its Australian tour, is set to share a mishmash of beguiling singles with Brisbane spectators – including ‘Teen Mums’, ‘Endless Drain’ and ‘Silver Tides’. Having spent much of the past year touring alongside a host of local and international favourites, Major Leagues is fast becoming a group that Brisbane folk will happily call their own. more
Sure, there are many ways you can spend your Valentine’s Day. But we enthusiastically recommend directing your heartbeams towards the Black Bear Lodge stage this Friday February 14, when Melbourne quartet World’s End Press charms the pants off the Brisbane crowd. Following the release of their self-titled debut album last year, the boys found themselves on the Australian Music Prize longlist and touring with the likes of Cut Copy, Hot Chip and Bloc Party. The dance-pop fellas will be supported by local producer Young Franco and electronic act Palindromes. more
The four-time Grammy Award-winning American soprano Dawn Upshaw will woo your ears and hearts in the Australian premiere of Winter Morning Walks. A commissioned collaboration between the Australian Chamber Orchestra and Dawn, Winter Morning Walks will be interspersed with a flourish of romantic orchestral works, including Elgar’s ‘Introduction’ and Grieg’s ‘Holberg Suite’. Accompanied by US jazz musicians, Dawn will take to the Concert Hall stage at QPAC for just one night in Brisbane, playing Monday February 17. more
Melt into the heartening sounds of MTNS when the trio comes to Black Bear Lodge on Thursday February 6. As part of its Salvage EP Tour, the band will bring its heavenly noise to the Fortitude Valley venue from 7:00 pm. To purchase your one-way ticket to musical bliss, pop over to oztix and secure yourself a spot in the crowd. The Brisbane-grown group has been climbing all kinds of popularity charts since releasing its first single ‘Lost Track of Time’, which quickly tallied around 40,000 plays on Soundcloud and held the number-one position on Indie Shuffle’s Most Popular list. more
They may occasionally banter about which doctor is best, but lovers of BBC TV series Doctor Who can assemble together to celebrate the music behind the much-loved show on Saturday February 8. The grand sounds of Queensland Symphony Orchestra’s performance – entitled the Doctor Who Symphonic Spectacular – will fill the Brisbane Entertainment Centre for an evening honouring the music of Murray Gold. Specially filmed features of the fourth doctor Tom Baker will be showcased alongside the spectacular sounds. Accompanying Peter Davison, who played the doctor during the 1980s, some classic Doctor Who monsters such as Silence, Cyberman and Daleks will make an appearance on the night. more
You may have given Michael Jackson’s epic 1979 album Off The Wall a mighty workout over the years, but nothing compares to hearing the twangs of the bass and the tapping of the hi-hat played live. Local ten-piece party machine His Merry Men will be performing a very merry tribute to the one-and-only MJ at South Brisbane’s The Joynt this Saturday February 8. Swing by for a warm-up set of original tracks from 8:00 pm and a whole heap of Off The Wall hits from 10:00 pm. The Brisbane-based outfit blends elements of soul, funk, hip hop, jazz and surf rock to form its unique sound, with impressive vocals belted out by frontwoman Megan Crocombe. After releasing two singles and an album over the past four years, the band successfully funded its upcoming EP via crowdfunding platform Pozible last month. Get your limbs warmed up in preparation for Saturday night with a few sound snacks… more
Take your sharpest marker pen to your calendar and put a nice thick circle around Friday January 31 – the date that St. Jerome’s Laneway Festival comes to town. more
Friday January 31 will see seasoned performer, and sometimes children’s entertainer, Nadia Sunde launch her most recent album Stoking the Fire to Brisbane audiences. Bringing her talent, experience and energy to the stage, Nadia Sunde’s Supper Club will begin at 7:30 pm at Brisbane Jazz Club. The internationally awarded singer-songwriter, cabaret performer, comedian and radio personality will perform songs from her new album, which features guitar whiz Michael Fix, Andrew Shaw on double bass, Doug Gallacher on drums, Ross Comerford jangling the keys and Miranda Licence on backing vocals. Tickets can be purchased from Brisbane Jazz Club’s website. more
We’re no maths geniuses, but we’re fairly certain the combination of two talented Sydney musicians, more than 20 instruments and one hit record from the 1970s equals something rather magnificent. Multi-instrumentalists Daniel Holdsworth and Aidan Roberts have arranged the entire score of Mike Oldfield’s smash album Tubular Bells – yes, the album that launched Richard Branson’s Virgin music empire – and are bringing the majestic sounds to the Brisbane Powerhouse. Three shows will be performed over Friday January 31 and Saturday February 1, treating locals to the multi-award-winning hit show of the Edinburgh Fringe 2012. Witness this two-man orchestra in all its splendour in Tubular Bells For Two. Image by Jamie Williams. more
You won’t need to don an Akubra nor listen to John Williamson’s greatest hits to fully embrace the festivities of Australia Day on Sunday January 26. more
