December 2024
This Christmas concert is a (mostly) Mariah-free zone
The Australian Brandenburg Orchestra’s gorgeous Noël! Noël! program offers a welcome return to when Christmas music was actually about Christmas.
- Michael Bailey
Neil Finn and sons conjure The Beach Boys at Sydney show
The Crowded House statesman has installed his eldest on guitar and youngest on drums, and they harmonised like only family can at this return to the Opera House forecourt.
- Michael Bailey
November 2024
Pearl Jam surprises Sydney crowd with a rarely played hit
Eddie Vedder and his grunge-pioneering brothers peeled back the years at this spirited show - and offered one big surprise.
- Michael Bailey
At 83, Bob Dylan is at his best in years
The troubadour’s Rough and Rowdy Ways tour is marked by a new polish, performing more of a theatre piece than rock concert.
- Kate Mossman
The night Eurovision finally came to Australia
From Moldova’s Epic Sax Guy to a rapturous homecoming for Dami Im, this touring version of the song contest was great daggy fun.
- Michael Bailey
Thom Yorke keeps his Radiohead at stunning solo show
The night was long on classics, mixed with mostly engaging newer songs, and free of political intrusion.
- Michael Bailey
October 2024
Lawyers, judges forced to call for the doctor
Musical judges, barristers and partners will perform at a concert marking the 200th anniversary of the Supreme Court of NSW. But they needed help in one specialist area.
- Maxim Shanahan
Olivia Rodrigo review: pop icon remains charmingly human
The 21-year-old Californian might be a former Disney star, but at the first of four Sydney shows she related and connected with the messy awkwardness of her young female fans.
- Michael Bailey
September 2024
Teenagers slam dancing to 1990s heroes Spiderbait? It happened here
The rock veterans from Finley, NSW still play like a band thirty years their junior - and attracted many fans that age to the Enmore Theatre on Saturday night.
- Michael Bailey
June 2024
Middle Kids make their case for the top
Review: If ever guitars, clever lyrics and winding melodies come back into chart fashion, Sydney’s Middle Kids will - by the sounds of Friday night’s hometown show - be in great shape to capitalise.
- Michael Bailey
May 2024
Australian Brandenburg Orchestra proves good things come in twos
A program heavy on duets, inspired by the twin mirrors of a kaleidoscope, was a thing of aural wonder.
- Michael Bailey
March 2024
This genius drummer puts on a show - with no drum solos
Yussef Dayes is a virtuoso with the sticks, but at this Sydney show he preferred to blend in with the band on his progressive jazz jams.
- Michael Bailey
February 2024
What it was like at Taylor Swift’s show on Sunday
The billionaire songstress put in the hard work to maintain a deep connection to her 83,000 fans at Sydney’s Accor Stadium.
- Michael Bailey
- Opinion
- Performing arts
This gig was the antithesis of Taylor Swift - mostly
Writing about music is like dancing about architecture, as the old saying goes, and music comes no more pure than that of The Necks.
- Michael Bailey
- Opinion
- Opinion
Yes, the Taylor Swift hype is real
Watching Swift’s fans belt out the songs they’ve listened to endlessly in private, even this non-Swiftie had to recognise her genius.
- James Thomson
Queens Of The Stone Age just vowed to do what most bands don’t
At a cathartic show on the MONA lawns on Friday, QOTSA frontman Josh Homme became a Tasmanian hero.
- Michael Bailey
How to crash one of Sydney’s hottest restaurant events
Fine-dining restaurant Bennelong jazzes up Sydney afternoons, and it’s often full, but there’s a hack to getting in if you haven’t booked ahead.
- Mary-Ellen Hepworth
Meg Washington passes the classical test at Sydney show
The Brisbane-based performer writes songs with crescendoes in-built, so to hear them with actual crescendoes from the Sydney Symphony Orchestra was impressive.
- Michael Bailey
December 2023
Escape Mariah and Wham with the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra
Review: The Brandenburg’s Noël! Noël! concert, featuring traditional Christmas music on period instruments, is a welcome reminder that the season wasn’t always Santa and schmaltz.
- Michael Bailey
Harry Connick Jr is not just a pretty face
The New Orleans native is probably best known in Australia as a crooner and reality TV show judge, but you should have seen the guy playing piano last night.
- Michael Bailey