The Australian Tour will support the release of Slash’s fourth solo album, Living The Dream released on Slash’s own label Snakepit Records in partnership with Sony Music Australia which debut at #4 on the ARIA Album Chart.

Slash has amassed album sales of over 100 million copies, garnered a GRAMMY Award and seven GRAMMY nominations and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Slash Ft. Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators released the critically acclaimed Apocalyptic Love (2012) which stormed the Australian ARIA Chart at #2 and certified as an ARIA Accredited Gold album, Billboard Top 200 Albums Chart debuting at #4 as the top rock album.

Make sure you become part of the latest chapter in this band’s story when Slash Ft Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators grace a stage near you.

Slash with Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators!
SYDNEY – Monday 28 January at Qudos Bank Arena
BRISBANE – Wednesday 30 January at Brisbane Convention Exhibition Centre
MELBOURNE – Friday 1 February at Margaret Court Arena
PERTH – Sunday 3 February at RAC Arena
www.slashonline.com

Messed It Up is the first taste of album #3 from Melbourne favourite dreamboats, Kingswood. Currently under construction across four studios in Sydney and Nashville. Premiering on triple J, Messed It Up — all sinewy synth-soul compulsion with a restless rock undertow — presages another stunning act of evolution from a band who effectively weave thunderous serpentine space-rock and smouldering falsetto R’nB.

Kingswood have been recording with Nashville producer Eddie Spear (U2 / Lady Gaga / Kelly Clarkson / Brandi Carlisle / Anderson East / Europe / Kaleo) who has effectively been playing the “fifth Beatle” to the band’s creatively democratic, relentlessly expanding visions for the future of rock’n’roll.

With a new manager Damo Costin (VVV Management /123 Agency Director) by their side, Kingswood will wrap up 2018 with a highly anticipated debut appearance at Mondo NYC in early October, followed by extensive touring through the US and Europe.
www.facebook.com/KINGSWOODmusic

The album was recorded at Sputnik Sound in Nashville, TN by producer Vance Powell (Jack White, Chris Stapleton, The Raconteurs, The Dead Weather) and consists of 15 new tracks.

“With Vance Powell as producer, we were able to make a very different kind of an album. The songs feel as if they could jump out of the speakers!” says drummer Jean-Paul Gaster.

The first single from Book of Bad Decisions is ‘Gimme the Keys’, will be the first of four to be released over the coming months as an instant gratification track at iTunes.

The song is about the band’s first tour back in 1991, a time where they began to cut their teeth in the live music business, dealt with show cancellations and incidents on the road. One particular show in a shed surrounded by cornfields in Lawrence, Kansas ultimately turned ugly over a missing microphone and accusations brought by drunk and gun-toting security people at the end of a long day. “Gimme the keys they can keep the guarantee | Gimme the keys and get the hell out of dodge” is a reflection of the mood of that night.

Weathermaker Music will release two very limited 7” Picture Discs in addition to the album formats (CD, a 24-page book with CD, 2xLP Standard Black, Limited Colored 2xLP, and 2xLP Picture Disc) all will have the same 15 tracks.

“Recording in Nashville with Vance Powell gave us a new and fresh approach towards making an album that truly captures the live energy of Clutch in a way I don’t think we’ve done before.” Says Bassist Dan Maines. Guitarist Tim Sult adds “Laying down guitar tracks with Vance was fun and inspiring.  Going through and trying out his and his engineer, Mike Fahey’s collection of vintage amps was one of my favorite recording studio experiences.  I think the outro solo of “Emily Dickinson” turned out particularly great.”

“I’ve never been one for nostalgia,” says Neil Fallon, “I’ve always shied away from it. But after 27 years of this, I realize that there is a wealth of stories to look back upon as lyrical fodder.  As the saying goes, ‘You don’t know where you’re going until you know where you’ve been.’  Not all the songs reference our collective experience as a band, but ‘Book of Bad Decisions’ seemed like an apt name for these various chapters, whether factual, fictitious or somewhere in-between.”
www.facebook.com/Clutchband

‘Queens Of The Stone Age, you beautiful bunch of freaks. Rock’n’roll just doesn’t get any sexier than the sounds this band lovingly wrench from their instruments and these skillful players perform with a synergy that proves they’re a band of brothers who genuinely rate each other.’ – The Music

Helmed by founding member Joshua Homme (guitar/vocals), with Troy Van Leeuwen (guitar), Dean Fertita (guitar/keys), Jon Theodore (drums/percussion) and Michael Shuman (bass), Queens of The Stone Age will kick off the AU & NZ leg of their Villains World Tour at Auckland’s Spark Arena on Thursday 23 August.

From there, the rock’n’roll legends will perform a second New Zealand date at Christchurch’s Horncastle Arena, before landing in Australia to perform shows in Brisbane, Newcastle, Sydney, Hobart, Melbourne and Adelaide closing out the tour at Perth Arena on Wednesday 12 September. These shows make good on Homme’s promise made while on our shores last year of returning before too long:

“Everybody who knows me knows that Australia is my home away from home” – Josh Homme

Following hundreds of epic shows, six genre-defining albums and multiple Grammy nominations, Queens Of The Stone Age blasted forth once more from the Californian desert last August with their most recent acclaimed chart-topping seventh album, Villains (released via Matador Records/Remote Control Records).

Featuring fan and radio favourites ‘Head Like A Haunted House’, ‘The Way You Used To Do’ and ‘The Evil Has Landed’, Villains was named #8 on Rolling Stone’s ‘50 Best Albums of 2017’ list and debuted at #1 on Australia’s ARIA Album Chart.

C.W. Stoneking, the embodiment of what some would say is a bygone era of music, will join Queens Of The Stone Age as special guest at all Australian and New Zealand shows. From his rasping jungle-rock-blues, to his well-oiled locks, and his familiar, though increasingly less frequent, all white clothing ensemble, he has converted fans across the world to his unique style.

Over three albums (King Hokum, ARIA award-winning Jungle Blues and his most recent release, Gon’ Boogaloo), and countless tours both here and abroad, C.W. has delivered his own brand of swampy rhythm and blues via his larger than life persona, incredible musicianship, and epochal performances.

Currently in the midst of wowing fans on a massive USA run and returning to our shores off the back of dates in Japan, Queens Of The Stone Age are not to be missed. Arguably one of the best rock bands on the planet, and armed with their latest rock masterpiece in Villains, these will be the tightest shows you’re ever likely to see. Their 2017 AU tour completely sold out immediately – don’t delay!

Queens Of The Stone Age Villains World Tour
Tuesday 28 August – Riverstage, Brisbane
Thursday 30 August – Newcastle Entertainment Centre
Friday 31 August – Hordern Pavilion, Sydney
Tuesday 4 September – Derwent Entertainment Centre, Hobart
Friday 7 September – Margaret Court Arena, Melbourne
Sunday 9 September – Adelaide Entertainment Centre
Wednesday 12 September – Perth Arena
www.facebook.com/QOTSA

Sheik Yerbouti next February, 2018 as the legendary music of Frank Zappa is celebrated live on stage by the man’s prodigiously talented son Dweezil Zappa and his band The Others of Intention.

Freak Out to some of the most inventive and wildly original music ever committed to tape! Discover Who Are The Brain Police as Dweezil conducts immaculate explorations and excavations of Frank’s 50 year old debut album.  Take a drive with the Muffin Man along the Inca Roads in the Orange County Lumber Truck as Dweezil digs in for a suite mined from one of Frank Zappa’s most acclaimed albums, Joe’s Garage.

Dweezil will be whippin’ up a G-Spot Tornado, as he explores everything from the deepest album cuts through to the cult favourites that have made Frank Zappa and his music such an indelible influence on our musical culture.

Before you ask Is That All There Is? Dweezil will be holding exclusive and strictly limited guitar master classes and Q&A session before each show, exploring exciting new approaches to guitar that he has employed to play his dad’s most sophisticated and challenging melodies.  So you can Shut Up ‘n Play Yer Guitar, and take a step closer to mastering The Black Page, these masterclasses provide theories that destroy the boundaries that confine music creativity.

So don’t be a Zomby Woof, move like the Teen-Age Wind and grab a ticket before they are all gone, as The Son Of Shut Up and Play Yer Guitar shows you how it’s done.

Dweezil Zappa – celebrating 50 years of Zappa Australian Tour
22ND FEBRUARY – BRISBANE TIVOLI THEATRE
23RD FEBRUARY – SYDNEY ENMORE THEATRE
24TH FEBRUARY – MELBOURNE FORUM THEATRE
25TH FEBRUARY – ADELAIDE THE GOV
27TH FEBRUARY – PERTH ASTOR THEATRE
www.facebook.com/DweezilZappaOfficial

In 2018, the virtuoso will bring his two-part solo piano show to Capital Cities around the country, delivering a high-energy rock performance using the intimacy of just a piano. For the first half of the show, Folds will curate a playlist armed with a songbook spanning his entire career, likely to include hits like ‘Brick’, ‘Rockin’ The Suburbs’ and ‘One Angry Dwarf and 200 Solemn Faces’.

In the concert’s second half, Folds will hand over the reins to his fans for a Paper Aeroplane Request set, during which audience members will be encouraged to write their song requests onto a piece of paper, to be folded into a paper plane and launched onto the stage on cue. Folds will then randomly select and perform the songs requested.

Ben Folds Australian 2018 Tour
February 01 – Sydney Opera House, SYDNEY
February 02 & 04 – The Tivoli, BRISBANE
February 06 – Sydney Opera House, SYDNEY
February 07 – Canberra Theatre Centre, CANBERRA
February 09 – Festival Theatre, ADELAIDE
February 11 – Perth Festival, PERTH
February 13-14 – Theatre Royal, HOBART
February 16-17 – Melbourne Zoo, MELBOURNE
www.benfolds.com

George Ezra first came to prominence back in 2015 as he rode the sunset across Falls and Southbound Festivals on the back of his hugely successful record Wanted on Voyage. A precocious debut from a young man with a voice well beyond his years, the album featured massive singles ‘Budapest’ and ‘Blame It On Me’ and went on to sell a total of 3 million units worldwide. He was also nominated for 4 Brit Awards, MTV Music Awards, Q Awards and the prestigious Ivor Novello – a tribute to songwriting talents forged in the shadows of heroes like Bob Dylan and Hank Williams.

As anticipation for a follow-up album grows, the Bristol native has been busy wowing crowds in a series of “top secret” shows across the UK. Debuting new material and getting himself match-fit, he also took in a cheeky Glastonbury set, after which DIYmag.com proclaimed that we were in for a “smasher of a new record”. With a touring schedule that takes in some of the biggest festivals on the planet including Pukkelpop and Lollapalooza, George Ezra will arrive on Australian soil in peak form.

Also appearing at these shows will be Melbourne-based spark Ainslie Wills. Dealing in powerfully quixotic song craft, Wills has forged her reputation with an enchanting voice and jaw-dropping musical dexterity. Her debut album You Go Your Way, I’ll Go Mine was nominated for the Australia Music Prize and its tonal turns and lyrical twists will provide the perfect foil for Ezra’s earthy propulsions.

George Ezra Aussie Tour
06 March – ENMORE THEATRE, SYDNEY
07 March – FORUM THEATRE, MELBOURNE
09 March – THE TIVOL, BRISBANE
www.georgeezra.com

After Hours, Close To Dawn, was a creative evolution in sound for the gents from Kingswood. Their second release to debut in the ARIA top 10, cultivating a bunch of new radio favourites, like ‘Golden’,  ‘Creepin’ and ‘Atmosphere’.

It follows on from their debut album Microscopic Wars, and saw them power down a new sonic path, resulting in a change of sound that delighted and astonished fans.

After Hours, Close To Dawn was named in Rolling Stone Australia’s 50 Most Anticipated Albums of 2017, as well as The Herald Sun’s Biggest New Albums in 2017, mixing an eclectic collection of retro R’n’B grooves with soaring rock & roll, fuzzy soul and space age experimentation. It’s all connected by the defining element that is the trio’s creative DNA. No matter what shape they take, these songs are still instantly recognisable as pure Kingswood.

Kingswood will join heavyweights Queens of The Stone Age, LCD Soundsystem and HAIM at Byron’s Splendour In The Grass Festival before setting off on this headline tour.

Joining the gents for all tour dates will be rambunctious rock ‘n’ rollers The Vanns, and Sydney’s rockers Dear Seattle will be along for all shows excepting north Queensland dates.

Kingswood 2017 National Tour
FRI SEPT 29 – CALOUNDRA MUSIC FESTIVAL, SUNSHINE COAST
FRI OCT 6 – METROPOLIS, FREMANTLE
SAT OCT 7 – DUNSBOROUGH TAVERN, DUNSBOROUGH
THU OCT 1 – EDGE HILL TAVERN, CAIRNS
FRI OCT 13 – DALRYMPLE HOTE, TOWNSVILLE
SAT OCT 14 – MAGNUMS, AIRLIE BEACH
SUN OCT 15 – MOUNT PLEASANT HOTEL, MACKAY
FRI OCT 2 – THE MET (ALL AGES), BRISBANE
SAT OCT 21 – NIGHT QUARTER, GOLD COAST
SUN OCT 22 – THE NORTHERN, BRYON BAY
THU OCT 26 – COFFS HOTEL, COFFS HARBOUR
FRI OCT 27 – THE METRO, SYDNEY
SAT OCT 28 – THE LONG JETTY HOTEL, ENTRAL COAST
FRI NOV 10 – WHALER, WARNAMBOOL
SAT NOV 11 – FAT CONTROLLER, ADELAIDE
FRI NOV 17 – KAROVA LOUNGE, BALLARAT
SAT NOV 18 – THE FORU, MELBOURNE
www.kingswoodband.com

KINGSWOOD members Alex Laska, Fergus Linacre and Justin Debrincat spent the earlier part of 2016 bunkered down recording the follow up to their ARIA #6 and ARIA nominated 2014 debut Microscopic Wars at the legendary Sound Emporium in Nashville, USA. Owned by musical legend Johnny Cash’s producer Jack Clement – the studio has recorded hit albums from some of the greats, including Robert Plant, Cyndi Lauper, Alabama Shakes and Pharell. The new album was produced by English-born and Nashville-based producer Ed Spear, who the band befriended when he engineered Microscopic Wars.

The first offering from these recordings is their commanding new single ‘Creepin”. The track premiered via the airwaves on triple j Drive with Veronica and Lewis was added straight to the triple j playlist and has gained close to 200,000 streams online.

Good bands follow the path in front of them, but the great ones forge their own trail. With their new album, After Hours, Close To Dawn, KINGSWOOD prove they’re part of the latter’s rich, rare lineage: risk-takers who refuse to acknowledge the easy boundaries that demarcate popular music. The group have made a record that’s bursting with diverse ideas, extraordinary sounds, and heartfelt emotion. “There’s no direction we can’t take now,” believes Linacre. “KINGSWOOD can go anywhere we want.” “Any perspective on what we should sound like has been thrown out the window,” adds Laska,

After Hours, Close To Dawn puts KINGSWOOD on the front line of innovators. It mixes compelling R’n’B grooves with soaring rock & roll, garage soul and space-age experimentation. It’s an eclectic collection of music, but the defining element is the through line of the trio’s creative DNA. No matter what shape they take, these songs still instantly recognizable as KINGSWOOD.

Kingwood 2017 Aussie Tour
23 March – SOOKI LOUNGE, BELGRAVE
24 March – 170 RUSSELL, MELBOURNE
25 March – THE GOV, ADELAIDE
29 March – THE CAMBRIDGE, NEWCASTLE
30 March – WOLLONGONG UNI, WOLLONGONG
31 March – THE METRO, SYDNEY
1 April – ANU BAR, CANBERRA
6 April – MIAMI MARKETTA, GOLD COAST
7 April – THE TRIFFID, BRISBANE
16 April – THE TORQUAY HOTEL, TORQUAY
21 April – DISCOVERY, DARWIN
27 April – SETTLERS TAVERN, MARGARET RIVER
28 April – PRINCE OF WALES, BUNBURY
29 April – THE CAPITOL, PERTH
www.kingswoodband.com

The band – Sophie Hopes, Matt Tanner, Nick Vasey and Ethan Darnell – announced on social media yesterday that they will commence recording the album this week and that they have enlisted the expertise of producer and local rock figurehead in his own right, Luke Boerdam of Violent Soho frontman fame, to man the boards for the album. Boerdam also announced the pairing on his socials yesterday, saying:

“Landed in Perth and stoked to start making a record with these legends!!! The new songs are sounding sick!!  It’s got the guitar smarts of The Breeders, pulled back a little like Splendora, with some solid Basement style riffage… I can’t wait for people to hear it!”

The two parties formed a bond last year when Tired Lion supported Violent Soho on their national Australian tour, alongside The Bronx and Luca Brasi. It will be the first time in his career that Boerdam has taken the reins as the producer for another band.

The album has already been heralded by Rolling Stone as one of the ‘50 Most Anticipated Albums Of 2017’, thanks to the fact that, “over the past two years Perth’s Tired Lion have slowly transformed into one of Australia’s most promising punk acts.”

That news stands alongside the announcement that the band are set to perform on the Great Escape line up in May, before performing their first headline show at The Old Blue in London on Tuesday, March 28 and Supersonic in Paris on March 31. This round of European shows follow on from recent profiles of the band by legendary UK music outlets NME and Kerrang!, who have heralded Tired Lion as one of the key acts to keep an eye on in 2017.

Both announcements mark what will be a huge year for the former Unearthed J Award winners, who had a huge 2016 that saw them dominate the airwaves with the breakout singles, ‘Not My Friends’ and ‘Agoraphobia’; triumphantly tour Europe playing the likes of Latitude and Glastonbury festivals; return home and perform barnstorming festival sets at Splendour In The Grass, Falls Festival, Southbound, The Plot, Grass Is Greener and Yours & Owls, as well as the national Violent Soho tour; and sign with US booking agency AGI (whose roster includes the likes of The Strokes and Metallica).

The band were also widely lauded for speaking out about mental health issues with the release of ‘Agoraphobia,’ when the band’s frontwoman Hopes revealed that all four members had dealt with mental health issues in their own way and that ‘Agoraphobia’ was an expression of those struggles.

Hopes also recently delighted fans by posting a video on the band’s Facebook page of herself performing a gorgeous piano cover of ‘Agoraphobia’ alongside her cat, Saikou, and her dog, Mogwai.
www.facebook.com/TiredLionBand