Live music
Queensland’s struggling live music venues call for national rescue plan
“This is Halley’s Comet, not the end of the dinosaurs. I think this is an extraordinary moment in front of our eyes,” Kris Stewart from QMusic told an inquiry.
- by Liz Hobday
Latest
Charming, awkward: This pop star’s joy is infectious
Girl In Red made her Australian debut in 2023 – and this year returns to play a venue seven times the size.
- by Giselle Au-Nhien Nguyen, Tony Way and Sonia Nair
‘What I was put on this Earth to do’: One-handed pianist to perform with MSO
British concert pianist Nicholas McCarthy is a champion of left-hand alone repertoire – and next year will be performing with the MSO.
- by Elizabeth Flux
Tenacious D pushed boundaries for 30 years, but one joke brought them undone
The self-proclaimed “greatest band on Earth” enjoyed a proud history as political provocateurs. Now the group is on the brink of demise.
- by Thomas Mitchell
Updated
Comedy
Jack Black ends Tenacious D tour after bandmate’s Trump assassination joke
Black said all future creative plans for the musical-comedy duo are on hold following a bad taste joke at a Sydney gig on Sunday.
- by Karl Quinn
ABBA Voyage negotiations bog down amid ‘greedy’ accusations
The state government was heading towards a deal to bring the concert to Melbourne but talks stalled.
- by Stephen Brook and Kishor Napier-Raman
These music festivals defied the trend and sold out. What’s the trick?
Defying the gloomy trend of cancellations, Strawberry Fields, Mundi Mundi Bash and Harbourlife have all sold out. Is there a pattern here for festivals to emulate?
- by Karl Quinn
Lady Macbeth deserves a better fate. Does this play offer that chance?
Horrors both supernatural and human abound in this creative and provocative re-working of The Scottish Play.
- by Cameron Woodhead, Barney Zwartz, Andrew Fuhrmann, Vyshnavee Wijekumar, Michael Dwyer, Jessica Nicholas and Tony Way
A musical Little Women brings Jo’s lurid imagination to life
Our critics deliver their verdict on the latest shows around town.
- by Joyce Morgan, Daniel Herborn, Bernard Zuel, Chantal Nguyen and Harriet Cunningham
How Australia’s music cartels are driving up the cost of live shows
The ACCC has told a parliamentary inquiry that “vertical integration” adds as much as 20 per cent to the cost of live music events in Australia.
- by Karl Quinn
His metal band was huge, his rock memoir tackles something bigger
Serj Tankian was frontman for System of a Down and his new memoir is already a bestseller. Don’t expect to read about the parties though: “I’m telling real stories here,” he says.
- by JP O'Malley