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Live music

This Month

Ozzy Osbourne with his daughter Kelly Osbourne in 2020.

Grisly to cuddly: How Ozzy Osbourne changed reality TV forever

The heavy metal frontman was known as the Prince of Darkness until his family reality show showed a different side - and became a runaway hit.

Singer Ozzy Osbourne performing in September 2022.

Ozzy Osbourne, the godfather of heavy metal, dies at 76

The gloomy, demon-invoking lead singer of pioneering band Black Sabbath died just weeks after his farewell show.

Rare Shanghai Symphony tour keeps soft diplomacy flowing

Founded in 1879, Shanghai SO is Asia’s oldest orchestra, surviving even Mao Zedong’s Cultural Revolution when Western classical music was banned.

Brad Banducci was appointed chief executive of TEG in March. He is pictured in Redfern with his dog Juno.

Brad Banducci starts to think about Ticketek’s hi-tech future

Months after taking the top job at the ticketing giant, the former Woolworths chief says he is looking forward to something more creative and entrepreneurial.

When I interviewed Noel Gallagher in January 2012 at the Sydney Big Day Out, he had only one gripe

Why the Oasis reunion is hitting ’90s kids so hard

They were the last band that wanted to be the biggest in the world – and they’re back at a time when we might need that belief more than ever.

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Noel and Liam Gallagher.

3 books to get you in the mood for the Oasis tour

Whether it’s money, nostalgia or the endlessly fascinating double act of Noel and Liam, there is no shortage of reading as the band embarks on its reunion tour.

Liam Gallagher performs in Cardiff on the first night of Oasis’s Live 25′ Tour.

Oasis brings a fashion supernova from the UK

Reaching a broad audience and riding a wave of ’90s Britpop nostalgia to higher sales in North America, retailers are jumping on the bandwagon.

June

Leipzig vocal sextet Sjaella

The shows, concerts, exhibitions and festivals lighting up your July

A violin veteran as you’ve rarely seen him, Adelaide lit up and a dancey alternative to school holiday screentime: all the best shows around the nation this month.

The Aussie rock royalty will paint the town black for the first time in nearly 10 years.

AC/DC’s Aussie tickets are about to go on sale (with a loyal promoter)

Angus Young and his band are known for their unchanging, multi-platinum selling rock. But for their first Australian tour in a decade, there’s another constant.

Lang Lang performs with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra on Wednesday night.

China’s piano man may be the world’s best (and fastest)

The world’s most famous living pianist shows the power of being in the moment as he launches a series of concerts in Australia.

Bruce Springsteen has been outspoken in his criticism of the Trump administration during his European tour.

Why Springsteen’s attacks on Trump are so controversial

The interior life of the working man that the veteran rock star made it his job to portray has been exploited by the US president.

An architects’ rendering of Northbridge Music Hall, due to open in inner Perth during summer 2026-27.

Live Nation spends $30m to stop tours skipping one city

Northbridge Music Hall promises to fill a gaping hole in the West Australian capital’s live performance ecosystem.

April

Live Nation Australia chairman and 20% owner, Michael Coppel, at Icebergs Dining Room, Bondi Beach.

Live Nation boss reveals ‘unspoken secret’ of ticket prices

Veteran promoter Michael Coppel is now the biggest Australian cog in a multinational music machine. He says local fans would be bereft without it.

March

Taylor Swift performs during "The Eras Tour" on Dec. 6, 2024, in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Your concert ticket might soon look like a bill

A federal parliamentary inquiry into reviving the struggling live music industry has proposed itemising the costs that go into the price of a show.

Robert Smith of The Cure performing in 2023.

Why the live album is back

The rise of pop and hip-hop almost killed in-concert recordings, but a few factors have led to a revival, with everyone from The Cure to Ed Sheeran releasing them.

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February

Samuel Marino, male soprano

Meet the rare male soprano shaking up concert halls

Samuel Marino is one of just a handful of professional male singers with the voice type, but his significance is more than musicological.

Bang the drum: The 68-hectare former home of the Falls Festival in Victoria’s Lorne is on sale with a reduced $2.5 million price guide.

Falls Festival site going for a song as Live Nation cuts asking price

The entertainment group wanted $4 million two years ago for the site near the Great Ocean Road. It’s less optimistic now on price.

January

Render of the proposed Broadway-style theatre at the Star complex.

Star deal crowns Sydney’s media-shy theatre king

Star’s sale of its Sydney events centre means that by 2026 the city will have three major commercial theatres under the control of one owner, Stephen Found.

Revellers at the 2019 Splendour In The Grass festival in Byron Bay.

Splendour in the Grass cancelled for second year running

One of Australia’s largest music festivals said it needed “more time to recharge” after a last-minute cancellation in 2024, although other music festivals are thriving.

Paul McCartney headlining Glastonbury in 2022.

Why Paul McCartney, at 82, cannot let it be

Back on tour last month, the legendary songman is still hungry for appreciation and intent on settling old scores.

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/topic/live-music-jhh