One of our rock’n’roll greats reveals his pancreatic cancer fight
Diagnosed with the killer disease two years ago, this legend who changed the face of Australian rock is on borrowed time – but he’s not beaten yet.
Music
Lyndon Terracini takes the country’s best opera singers … and goes bush
Lyndon Terracini, the artistic director behind the globally famous Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour, has gone out on his own to create a new operatic festival in a very different locale.
Why George Harrison’s only child long believed his dad was a gardener
It wasn’t until he was seven that the son of the Beatle realised his father was much more than a weekend strummer.
Powderfinger’s only real successor? Ball Park Music excels again
This Brisbane quintet has continued to pump out excellent albums at a regular clip, exploring more mature themes without ever losing its winning sensibility and penchant for a wry chorus lyric.
DJ haunted by his interview with John Lennon
Andy Peebles was a BBC Radio 1 DJ when he conducted one of the last interviews with his hero John Lennon, just before the fatal shooting. It haunted him for the rest of his life.
Lady Gaga announces first Australian shows in 11 years
The Mayhem Ball is coming for Sydney, Brisbane, and Melbourne this December.
Gordi: ‘Staying in shape is part of my job on stage’
The ARIA-nominated artist, also known as Sophie Payten, speaks of parallel careers in music and medicine and staying fit while touring (and how she does it).
Tribute to ‘a stoned Forrest Gump’
British band the Waterboys has made an album about the odd and unpredictable late actor Dennis Hopper that features Bruce Springsteen.
‘Stomp-clap-hey’ all over again on Mumford & Sons’ return
There are times on the British folk-pop trio’s fifth album where you find yourself wondering whether they’ve simply copy-and-pasted some of the old banjo arpeggios recorded in their heyday.
Bruce Springsteen to release a trove of 70 ‘unheard’ tracks
More than 70 never-before-heard songs are set for release, revealing a hidden chapter in the rock legend’s career.
No sugar and 2am workouts: Lenny Kravitz gives 60 the rock star treatment
How the music legend looks – and feels – this good as he tours the globe.
Missy, Troye, Stingray among APRA song of the year finalists
The creativity and diversity of voices on display in this five-song playlist is remarkable, and together show that Australian music is in rude health | READ THE FULL LIST
Actors playing The Beatles in Sam Mendes’ biopics unveiled
The Oscar-winning director will bring the Fab Four back to the big screen with The Beatles – A Four-Film Cinematic Event, an ambitious multi-part biopic touted the first ‘binge-able theatrical experience’.
Tommy Emmanuel: ‘I never coast out there, ever’
Ahead of an Australian tour, the master guitarist speaks about giving his all on stage, avoiding retirement, searching for silver linings and being inspired by the music of Taylor Swift.
MJ Lenderman Sydney Opera House review — dudes rock
North Carolina’s slacker saint, who put out one of the finest albums of last year, played the biggest show of his career on Tuesday.
The K-pop megastar playing a shy resort employee on The White Lotus
The sky’s the limit for Lalisa Manobal as she releases a solo album and makes her acting debut in The White Lotus.
‘Madonna would take what everyone was doing and make it hers’
When Cyndi Lauper’s first album was released in 1983 it was a huge hit – but there was another smart-talking, working-class, Catholic-raised pop star waiting in the wings. Ever after they were compared by the press and set up as rivals.
Jason Isbell goes the full monty on vulnerable post-divorce LP
Solo album No.4 for this acclaimed US singer-songwriter is naked in both form and content: several songs address Isbell’s 2024 divorce from wife and musical partner Amanda Shires.
‘Within seconds there was a dolphin right underneath me’
Canberra musician Sally Walker could not believe what happened when she played her flute on the water in Port Stephens.
MSO wants ‘political case’ thrown out
Former MSO managing director Sophie Galaise is on track to settle a political discrimination claim brought against her by a pianist who criticised Israel’s conduct in Gaza.
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs pleads not guilty to new indictment
A case has been building against the one-time rap superstar since late 2023, with a superseding indictment alleging he sexually abused people and coerced them into drug-fuelled sex parties.
Tom Morello: ‘Good political art is always created on enemy territory’
Ahead of an Australian tour, the Rage Against the Machine guitarist speaks about knocking on Springsteen’s door bearing hellraising ideas, raising a 13-year-old guitar hero in-the-making, and the impossible task of separating his politics from his art.
‘No pants dance’ just the beginning
‘Mad March’ has revealed more than one naked truth in the festival-fuelled South Australian capital.
Rocked by weather when on a roll
When dangerous weather forces concerts to be rescheduled, the cost for touring artists can be significant, as Brisbane band The Butterfly Effect discovered.
‘The endless cycle of maintenance’: hard rocker Tim Rogers’ big life change
After a deeply personal confession about his drinking made headlines, the You Am I frontman reveals his relationship with booze now, taking up team sport in his 40s and ‘outrunning the black dog.’
What happens when AI infiltrates the art of songwriting?
Artificial intelligence is fast becoming ubiquitous. But what are the consequences for music when the creative struggle is reduced to a set of text prompts? We meet some of the globe’s greatest songwriters to find out.
The ‘best band in the world’ play the Sydney Opera House
Dublin rockers Fontaines D. C. — hailed as the greatest by Elton John — brought their stadium-ready Romance to the Opera House forecourt for a blistering set blending post-punk fury with emotional depth.
Bernard Sumner: ‘If you’re a working class white male, you’re a bit forgotten about’
The Joy Division guitarist and New Order frontman on the necessity of creative escape and the promise of punk.
Honeymoon exhumed: ‘It’s very traumatic, being in a band’
Life, loss and longevity: behind the scenes with The Cruel Sea amid a surprise victory lap for the veteran rock act — with no less than Cold Chisel watching on in a packed arena.
Now famous at 30, Fender flicks switch to epic on third album
All the government ad campaigns and slogans will never do for young men – and young women – what a few great songs from the likes of Sam Fender can achieve, as the British singer-songwriter shows once again here.
Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/arts/music