Jess Spahr is a quirky musician from Sydney’s Shire. Growing up surrounded by Sydney’s beaches she began her journey into music at the tender ager of five when she picked up a violin. Progressing to piano and vocals she has continued her music journey, culminating in the release of her new single ‘Groundhog Day’.

Taking about the single Jess comments The single is about all things Covid haha. I was literally staring out the window one day thinking “ my God it is like Groundhog Day, every day is the same” from there I just started writing.

Was great time to write and lucky my friend James Ellercamp was on board to produce the track and we were both pretty pumped at how it turned out.

With last year seeing the music industry very much on hold due to the world wide Covid- 19 pandemic there is no-one more excited to be back making music than Jess “After everything that has happened with Covid and the world being on hold, feeling absolutely amazing to release something again !! “

With Australia slowly coming out of its Covid- coma Jess will will be releasing her first ever album in October this year. The album chronicles finding love throughout Covid (aww) battling and trying to stay on top of a careers and pushing all negative responses to the side. Her album will explore these themes and shine a light on how she responded to the global crisis, a love story and coming out on top.

The pandemic has been a difficult time for all of the creative industry and finding love in the time of Covid is the feel good music that we all need right now. With her main music influences being Kate Bush and Florence &The Machine, she combines the sounds of the iconic women into one and create something that resembles her in the present moment, and is a snapshot of her life.

Jess will be debuting her new single to the world this May at Lazybones.

Tour Dates

13th of May at Lazybones in Marrickville,

1st July – Hamilton Station – Newcastle

 Tickets are on sale now through Moshtix

Iconic mainstay festival Sunset Sounds has today announced its glorious return to Roche Estate in the idyllic Hunter Valley. Set to take over the exquisite winery on November 20, the festival features an impressive lineup of some of the country’s most prized singer songwriters; Xavier Rudd, Pete Murray, Kasey Chambers, Josh Pyke, Ben Lee, The Beautiful Girls, Kyle Lionhart and Charlie Collins.

Tickets go on sale at 11am AEST on Thursday May 6.

Excited to be headlining Sunset Sounds at Roche Estate, Xavier Rudd says, “I’m stoked to join the lineup for Sunset Sounds festival on Wonnarua Country and to share some new music on stage. It’s an exciting time for people, a time to reset, a time for gratitude, a time to remember how lucky we are that we can celebrate life, love, music etc so freely in this magical country that we get to call home.”

“Looking forward to bringing some live music back with my fellow musicians for Sunset Sounds,” says Kasey Chambers.

And Pete Murray’s thrilled to join the fittingly chilled lineup, enthusing, “The last time I remembered sharing the same stage with Xavier Rudd was in 2004 so I’m very excited to be doing this again with him & of course the other amazing Aussie artists on the bill”.

The man doing more than his bit to encourage the return of live music here in Aus, Empire’s Marc Christowski says, “The Hunter Valley is one of Australia’s greatest destinations and we are thrilled to bring together a lineup of some of Australia’s most awesome live acts. What can be better than kicking back with some beautiful Hunter Valley wine and watching the likes of Xavier, Pete and Kasey?”

After an unprecedented write off for live music in 2020, don’t miss this opportunity to celebrate the return of live music with some of Australia’s most beloved live acts at Sunset Sounds Roche Estate later this year.

There will be an exclusive Ticketek presale kicking off at 2pm AEST on Monday May 3, before general public tickets go on sale at 11am AEST on Thursday May 6.

Sunset Sounds Roche Estate will be held with a commitment to a COVID Safe environment. Festival organizers will work closely with and comply with all requirements of the public health authorities. If the show is required to be postponed, a postponement date will be announced and punters will be eligible for a full refund if they are unable to make the new date.

SUNSET SOUNDS | SAT 20 NOVEMBER | ROCHE ESTATE, HUNTER VALLEY | NSW | 18+ Tickets available from www.ticketek.com.au | 1300 364 001 | All Ticketek Outlets

Today, What So Not (Chris Emerson) returns from a yearlong hiatus by releasing ‘The Change’, a striking, thunderous collaboration with fellow Australians DMA’S

If the response to the then-unreleased song at recent Australian What So Not live shows is an indication of what’s to come – then we’re in for a long, energetic, and sweaty rest of 2021. The ferocious alt-rager ‘The Change’ was recorded in Sydney last year and is released now via Sweat It Out. What So Not (Chris Emerson) says: “I met Johnny at their studio – a small room next to a noisy inner-city road, above a pub, with no sound insulation. We had (somehow) never met but clicked instantly, discussing life on the road, COVID & found commonality on our all-time favourite artists. The first thing we made is pretty much the track you hear. Johnny liked our little idea so much he decided to get the whole band involved a couple of days later we tracked Tommy & brought Mason in for some extra pieces. I feel like this record is one the two of us have always wanted to make but never had the right pieces of the puzzle, until now.”

Johnny Took from the DMA’S adds: “Emoh and I had never met before the day of our first session but quickly bonded over synths, production gear, The Chemical Brothers, The Prodigy and Underworld. Being from such different songwriting worlds really made this a great collaboration for me. Once we got Tommy and Mason on the track after that first day of writing we knew we were onto something special and new for both of us.”

About What So Not: Australia’s What So Not (Chris Emerson) made his biggest, boldest statement yet with the release of Not All the Beautiful Things, the three-years-in-the-making debut artist album that reaffirmed What So Not’s place as one of the most ambitious, visionary producers in the game.

Featuring collaborations with Skrillex, Slumberjack, San Holo, Michael Christmas, and legendary ‘Africa’ rockers Toto, the album spawned the hit ‘Be OK Again’ featuring Silverchair frontman Daniel Johns and earned praise from all corners, including NYLON (“a fully packaged, uncompromised artistic vision”). Not All The Beautiful Things was supported as a triple j featured album. What So Not supported the album with a yearlong 150 show tour through 45 countries that included stops at Ultra, Bonnaroo and Lollapalooza South America, all accompanied by the colossal chrome horse on monster truck wheels that graced the album’s cover.

Since debuting in 2011, What So Not has garnered over 1 billion combined streams of his songs, which include such massive anthems as ‘High You Are’, ‘Waiting’ with Skrillex and RL Grime, and his remix of RÜFÜS du Sol’s ‘Innerbloom’. Already one of the most exciting live acts in electronic music, he further cemented that reputation when he brought out Silverchair’s Daniel Johns as a surprise guest during his set at Australia’s Laneway Festival, where the pair delighted fans with a new remix of the Silverchair classic ‘Freak.’

Most recently, he fulfilled a dream by remixing Run The Jewels ‘JU$T’ ft Pharrell Williams and Zack De La Rocha, at the start of 2021. About DMA’S: DMA’S (Tommy O’Dell, Matt Mason, Johnny Took) have gone from strength to strength since exploding onto the scene in 2014 with their debut single ‘Delete’.

They have released two critically acclaimed albums – Hills End (2016) and For Now (2018) – both of which charted Top 10 in the ARIA Charts and resulted in ARIA nominations for Best Group, Best Rock Album and Best Independent Release. Forging their reputation abroad, the latter earned a #13 chart position in the UK as well as festival slots at Coachella, Lollapalooza, Glastonbury and Reading and Leeds festivals. 2019 saw the Sydney natives play sold out shows across the UK and Ireland, support Liam Gallagher’s UK arena tour and sell eight thousand tickets to their July Manchester show in a matter of hours.

Back home they scored a Platinum record for ‘Delete’ plus Gold discs for ‘Lay Down’ and ‘Step Up The Morphine’. The band’s third studio album, THE GLOW, was released 10 July 2020 and debuted at #2 on the ARIA Charts, #4 in the UK and #1 in Scotland.

For more info on What So Not, visit: WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM | FACEBOOK | TWITTER For more info on DMA’S, visit: INSTAGRAM | TWITTER | FACEBOOK | LINKTREE

OF MICE & MEN SHARE NEW SONG ‘BLOOM’ – NEW EP BLOOM, OUT MAY 28 VIA SHARPTONE RECORDS

In February, California quartet OF MICE & MEN released the Timeless EP via SharpTone Records. Timeless is the first in a series of EPs that will eventually comprise the band’s next album.

The band has announced the next EP, titled Bloom. It will arrive on May 28 via SharpTone.  To herald the announcement, the band has shared the title track.

Bloom’ is a song about grieving the death of a family member,” says OM&M singer and bassist Aaron Pauley. “It’s about understanding, through that loss, that grief is not only love in its most visceral and wildest form, but that it’s also the ultimate price we pay to experience such love. To know profound grief is to have known profound love. Nothing and no one lasts forever. Love isn’t a bouquet of plastic flowers; it’s watching the petals fall.”

As with the Timeless EP, the Bloom EP artwork was created by the iconic Derek Hess and can be viewed below.

Of Mice & Men enjoyed a groundswell of activity around the well-received Timeless EP. The three-song collection was described as “crushing” by Revolver, and as “thought provoking” and “cinematic” by Loudwire. As of press time, the track “Obsolete” has been played over 325 times on Octane since January. It remains a Top 15 most-played song on the channel this week, and it’s also the No. 3 most requested song, as reflected on their BIG UNS Countdown.

With Bloom and as they lead into their next album, Of Mice & Men continue to release some of their strongest material to date.

OF MICE & MEN ARE:
Aaron Pauley — Bass + Vocals
Valentino Arteaga — Drums
Alan Ashby — Guitar
Phil Manansala — Guitar

GARBAGE
REVEAL THE NEW SINGLE
‘NO GODS NO MASTERS’
THE TITLE TRACK FROM
THEIR FORTHCOMING ALBUM

Garbage have today revealed their brand-new single, ‘No Gods No Masters’, and its accompanying video, directed by Scott Stuckey and edited by Andy DeLuca.

No Gods No Masters’ is the latest track taken from Garbage’s forthcoming album of the same name. It is the follow up track to ‘The Men Who Rule The World’, a track that was described as a “powerful and timely document” by Clash.

Speaking about the ‘No Gods No Masters’ single, Shirley Manson says: “I tried to make sense of the world. I was trying to make sense of left and right, literally. Like why do some people vote right? Why do some people vote left? And all of that comes from a concern for ourselves, for our friends, for our families, ultimately, for our babies… this song is about re-imagining our society for the future, for our children and not making the same mistakes over and over again and allowing greed to corrupt our thinking.”

Produced by Garbage and long-time collaborator Billy Bush, the seeds for the new album No Gods No Masters were planted in summer 2018 in the desert in Palm Springs. The quartet convened at a home belonging to one of Steve Marker’s relatives and sketched out the skeleton of the album over two weeks, jamming, experimenting, and feeling the songs out. They then took those demos and went their separate ways, before reconvening in Los Angeles to finish the record.

No Gods No Masters will be released on neon green vinyl, white vinyl, standard and deluxe CD, and digitally. A transparent pink vinyl will be released exclusively for Record Store Day on 12 June.

The deluxe edition of No Gods No Masters features covers of classic tracks, including David Bowie’s ‘Starman’, and ‘Because The Night’, written by Patti Smith and Bruce Springsteen, which features US punk rock outfit Screaming Females. There are also rare Garbage tracks ‘No Horses’, ‘On Fire’, ‘Time Will Destroy Everything’, ‘Girls Talk’, ‘The Chemicals’ and ‘Destroying Angels’, the latter three of which feature Brody Dalle, Brian Aubert and John Doe and Exene Cervenka respectively.

KINGS OF LEON TICKETS ON SALE TOMORROW!
ON SALE THIS FRIDAY!

30 APRIL 2021 FROM 11AM (AEST) LOCAL TIME

Australian-born, LA-based actor and musician Nicholas Hamilton has today released his sparkling new single In Line, a song about coming of age that was two years in the making, out today – April 23. As a young actor and musician, Nicholas took the plunge and moved from his home in Byron Bay to Los Angeles. As an actor he has starred alongside Nicole Kidman, Joseph Fiennes, Hugo Weaving and Jessica Chastain to name a few, and has an evergrowing list of successful films under his belt, including roles in global blockbusters such as It, It: Chapter Two, Captain Fantastic, Strangerland and more.

In Line is evocative of Elle King – it’s modern pop but with a slightly retro twist that feels perfectly unique to Nicholas Hamilton. There’s plenty of room in this expert arrangement for Nicholas’ voice to soar – and it’s that voice that takes centre stage even as the beat ramps up and the chorus fills out. Written alongside Ben Kuhl and produced by Arthur Pingrey (Sia, Karen O), this track is expressive, emotive, and it feels appropriate for the subject matter as Nicholas explains, “I wrote this song just after I moved to the US. It’s all too fitting, as the song is about how I felt before and after getting on that plane to come over to the States and start my independent, adult life. I was battling my own headstrong decisions about making that leap and leaving my family, friends and childhood behind. The whole track is me singing to my brain, which was something I didn’t lean into until later on in the writing process.”

Nicholas Hamilton’s influences are eclectic, as he explains, “I listen to a ton of chill pop, similar to what I write. People like Quinn XCII, Jordan Mackampa, Ruel…but I grew up listening to Mum and Dad’s musical tastes. I remember driving with my Dad to football practice on Tuesdays and Thursdays and listening to The Eagles and Cat Stevens, or driving up the coast to my extended family with my Mum and listening to Kenny Rogers and Charley Pride.” These varied influences shine through in this layered release, and Nicholas’ deep passion for music is clearly evident when he discusses his craft.

After a year like no other, Nicholas has returned to Australia just in time to celebrate the release of In Line, a song about his life-changing move to America when he was just 18 years old. It feels like a full circle moment, as he says, “I haven’t been home since Covid, so I’m very excited to be back. The idea of releasing a song that I wrote about moving from Australia to the US, as I’m returning to Oz, is an opportunity I’d be silly to pass up. It just feels right, it makes me comfy.”

In Line is out now

JIMMY BARNES

ANNOUNCES AUSTRALIAN FLESH AND BLOOD TOUR + NEW ALBUM

Riverside Theatre | Perth, WA All Ages ticketek.com.au | Ph: 132 849

Thebarton Theatre | Adelaide, SA All Ages ticketmaster.com.au | 136 100

Palais Theatre | Melbourne, VIC All Ages ticketmaster.com.au | 136 100

Gold Coast Convention & Exhibition Centre | Gold Coast, QLD All Ages ticketek.com.au | Ph: 132 849

Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre | Brisbane, QLD All Ages ticketek.com.au | Ph: 132 849

State Theatre | Sydney, NSW All Ages ticketmaster.com.au | 136 100

In a profoundly commanding team up, pluralistic pop icons Boo Seeka and Golding have combined forces to create Don’t Waste Your Love, an irresistibly, powerful track that propels a dark human sadness and holds it up to the light, out now.

Tied to the single is the provoking film clip, directed by Jellan Merlant-Pilonchery of Clash Studio, featuring a cryptic, late night gathering with some unlikely friends.

Don’t Waste Your Love is inspired by both the multifaceted sounds of the lone artists and the culmination of their individual influences; think Chet Faker meets RÜFÜS DU SOL, Frank Ocean meets Glass Animals, Cashmere Cat meets Poolside. It’s a seductive dancefloor anthem with a measured delivery, dipping into an inner monologue to connect the track’s underlying plea for empathy. Speaking on the inspiration behind the track, Jay from Golding reflects, “Don’t Waste Your Love came about when I was going through a tough time. I was experiencing this uncomfortable anxiety that made me feel detached from both my surroundings and my emotions. Not being able to feel the love of my family around me created a shocking, yet somehow empty feeling, to the point where it was almost a physical numbness.”

There’s a special vulnerability to this track, fearless and unflinching, that pushes it further than the dancefloor – delicate and raw, the lyrics dig beneath the surface. Ben of Boo Seeka explains a moment of honesty between the artists, “Jay (Golding) and I were hanging out at his house one day and before we knew it, we were getting pretty deep and opening up about a lot of personal stuff that has happened in our separate lives over the last year. I guess for both of us the best way to deal with that stuff is to write about it – so that’s exactly what we did. The whole song was written in twenty minutes.”

The video for Don’t Waste Your Love evokes a sense of curiosity as it unfolds, ultimately leaving viewers with a thoughtful message; don’t be bluffed by your own fear. The clip reflects on emotional disconnect, a situation where you may be surrounded by people, yet feel so alone. Musing on the ideas behind the video, Matt from Golding affirms, “The clip captures Jay, Ben, Mikey and I acting normal whilst surrounded by mannequins at a party. It’s like how you’d act if you did have anxiety at an event, you just pretend like everything is fine but inside your head is like a storm brewing. The clip serves as a reminder to be in the moment and try and enjoy yourself in situations like this.”

Boo Seeka are in the thick of writing their sophomore record that will be released before the year is out, and Golding have plans to finalise their EP towards the end 2021. There are no official plans as yet for these artists to head out together on the road, but fans are sure to be keeping an eye out after this hint from Golding; “There could be a few appearances during some Boo Seeka sets…maybe.”

Don’t Waste Your Love