Sydney Festival has announced it’s first show of 2020 with Black Cockatoo, a bold new collaboration between screenwriter Geoffrey Atherden and festival artistic director Wesley Enoch. Premiereing at the festival, Black Cockatoo tells the story of legendary cricketer Johnny Mullagh, bringing together Sydney Festival and Ensemble Theatre to explore the tale of Australia’s first ever…
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Alice Springs-based cellist and multi-instrumentalist Xavia has returned with new single, “Rain Falls”, a stunning blend of strings, earthy rhythms and beautifully ethereal vocals. The new single further builds on the success of her 2018 single “Horizons”, which garnered some traction on Triple J and across a range of Spotify playlists, and was shortlisted for…
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Mumford & Sons kicked off their North American tour this week, with Portland-based Portugal. The Man opening things up for the first run of shows. This made last night’s show at Moda Center – the second of the run – a hometown show for the supports. Indeed, given how big they are here, it felt…
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On the final day of the 21st year of Portland’s iconic Pickathon festival, I arrived on site in time to catch the end of a morning art tour that runs throughout the festival and showcases the hidden art gems that you can find in the main festival space, as well as the expansive camping area….
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Sydney’s immense Queen Victoria Building is preparing to throw open doors after-hours for QVB After Dark LIVE, set for Thursday 22nd August where the complex’s rich heritage and cultural significance will be illustrated from various perspectives. Promising an interactive multi-floor experience, the building will come alive from 6pm to 9pm with hour-long sessions featuring roving…
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The legendary Three Blue Ducks, which most recently jumped into the luxury hotel game as the resident restaurant for W Brisbane, is about to go tropical. Springing off their W connections, chefs Darren Robertson and Mark LaBrooy plan to take their concept overseas for a round of pop-up dinners across W properties in Bali and…
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Surry Hills profit-for-purpose eatery Folonomo has made the big decision to close up their restaurant and transform the venue into an events space for parties and pop ups from some of Sydney’s top chefs. In doing so, it’s become the latest in a handful of Sydney venues able to host some exclusive takeovers, with legends…
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Anyone who has stayed at a DoubleTree by Hilton hotel before would be intimately familiar with the smell of freshly baked cookies. It’s a brand-wide signature, extending to DoubleTree’s extensive worldwide network and ensuring that each and every property (there may be exceptions, but I doubt it) has a daily-baked batch of chocolate chip cookies…
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As one of this country’s most beloved modern artists, it was only a matter of time before quadruple Archibald Prize winner Vincent Fantauzzo received his very own Art Series Hotel. The Australian hotel brand, now owned by AccorHotels, is a decade on from their first property – Melbourne favourite The Cullen – and has continually…
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Huawei has released two new models to its Watch GT smartwatch line – the Active and Elegant. The Active has a 46mm face and the classic watch design of the GT Classic and Sport. It has a 1.39-inch AMOLED HD colour touchscreen (454×454 pixels) where as the Elegant has a 42mm face with a ceramic…
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Today’s Track of the Day comes courtesy of Melbourne indie rockers KILNS. The four piece, consisting of Mickey Cooper, James McGuffie, Sam Swain, and Davey Noordhoff, KILNS began life as a backing band for frontman Cooper’s solo project. But the guys quickly realised they’d hit upon something bigger, and so KILNS was born, fuelled, according…
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The Tasmanian Whisky and Spirits Association (TWSA) are bringing back their annual Tasmanian Whisky Week, opening up all the many highly regarded distilleries for a huge seven day celebration. With more than 20 events taking place across the island state between Monday 12th and Sunday 18th August, the hotly anticipated event will kick off at…
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Sydney bar The Morrison and its much anticipated Oyster Festival has returned this month for its 7th year running, stretching out to the end of the month with a huge program of oyster-focused events, including a number of bespoke oyster dishes created by chef Sean Connolly. Chicken fried oyster sliders, grilled Pacifics ‘in shell’ with…
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Sydney indies YEEVS are rolling out a new album soon, and they’ve given us our second taste at what the project will sound like with the delicate “Can’t Be Seen”. Rich melodies and a striking rhythm drive this one, parking it in the same lot as the likes of Boy & Bear, The Teskey Brothers…
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Brisbane rapper Jacinta Lal is ploughing through the noise with “Superpowers”, her latest take-no-prisoners single accentuating the young artist’s undeniable swagger and desire to uplift. With confidence in spades, Lal’s follow up to breakthrough track “Miss” furthers her as one of the most promising voices in Brisbane’s booming hip hop scene, and we’re lucky enough…
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Throughout all four days of Lollapalooza, you could tell what the most anticipated show of the weekend was. No, it wasn’t Tenacious D’s or even Shaquille O’Neil’s DJ set… It was the Queen of Lollapalooza 2019, Ariana Grande. It is a very big deal to me that Grande was the Sunday night headliner. There are…
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The Lumix G9 and I were first introduced at its Australian launch in Sydney in November 2017, where it was presented as a wildlife or sports photographer’s dream – super-fast shooting speeds, wild autofocus speed and a rugged weatherproof design. I’m a humble wedding and portrait photographer living in a semi-tropical Australian city, but I…
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It’s quite clear L.A based singer-songwriter Your Smith wrote her new single “In Between Plans” about the best day of her life. The unbridled energy and free sprit coursing this stunning road-trip-ready production is infectiously optimistic as Your Smith barrels towards the unknown. Hopeful and extremely confident, the tireless soundscape of upbeat synths and pulsating…
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Saturday was definitely filled with a little something for everyone. If you wanted to see a show with fire, crowd involvement, and crowd surfing, twenty-one pilots were for you. If you wanted to see the first-ever Lollapalooza Latino headliner in J Balvin was where you need to be. Or if you just wanted the greatest…
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Losing luggage can be devastating for travellers who’ve carefully planned their USA trip. Meticulously going through a to-do list of fool-proof luggage mishaps is now a must for anyone heading over to a country with so many interconnecting flights, but even the hardiest plans can’t completely protect against this travel nightmare. Whether the airline has…
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Whatever the reason we had to wait so long to get this in Australia, I for one am just glad that it’s here and that it exists. Adelaide-based indie developers Team Cherry truly blessed the gaming community when they released Hollow Knight a few years ago, followed by a widely acclaimed roll-out on all current-gen…
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French director Céline Sciamma is one of the best writer/directors in French Cinema working today. She specializes in coming-of-age dramas and this reviewer has been a fan of her work ever since he saw her film Tomboy. From fantastic directorial work like her directorial debut Water Lilies and her prior film Girlhood to stellar screenwriting…
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Rohan Wilson’s latest novel, Daughter of Bad Times is a novel with an extremely global outlook, but this may just be its problem. The novel follows two protagonists, Rin Braden and Yamaan Ali Umair, two lovers from very different circumstances. Rin is the daughter of Alessandra Braden, the CEO of Cabey-Yasuda Corrections, a company which owns…
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The Peppers brand has always been a valuable player in Australia’s hotel industry, with a penchant for seeking out great locations and turning in interesting accommodations with distinct identities. From the mighty bright Peppers Soul on the Gold Coast, to the fascinating Peppers Silo Hotel in Launceston, which has converted disused silos into luxury accommodation…
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In the last few years, I’ve watched on as friends with happy, Super Nintendo-infused childhoods got to grips with the SNES Mini. The SNES Mini is a recreation of Nintendo’s legendary machine that is as elegant as it is functional — a curatorial showcase of its greatest titles, controllers that were made of the same…
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Epson Australia has released its first portable laser projector in a sleek and attractive body. Consumers have the choice between the EF-100W and EF-100B, in white and black respectively, which come in a compact and lightweight chassis – weighing only 2.7kg and it’s longest side is only 22.7cm. Both EF-100 models feature minimal buttons, a…
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Kicking things off for Saturday at Pickathon, Zia from The Dandy Warhols was DJing when I arrived, as DJ Rescue, who grooved us into the first set from New York’s Bodega, who delivered a high energy performance that asked everyone to “sweat the toxins out”. The five piece are described as “art rock”, but they are…
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Following the opening of food destination Eat Street, Rooty Hill’s immense West HQ development is getting ready to welcome the brand new Sydney Coliseum Theatre. The developers behind the precinct have pulled out all stops to stamp the new venue’s grand opening, rounding up an impressive program of live performances from the likes of Keith…
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Music festivals can put their attendees in tough spots. Lollapalooza is known for doing this every year. With over 100,000 fans in attendance, festival organizers have to devise plans to scatter the crowd and they do this by booking the biggest names of the festival against each other. Saturday brought two of the hardest decisions…
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Set about 40 minutes out of Portland in idyllic wilderness, Pickathon is a boutique festival with a strictly limited capacity that brings up memories of festivals back in Australia like Secret Garden, Peats Ridge and Dashville Skyline. Crowds are quiet and respectful, here for the music, and surrounded by good food and amazing drink. It’s…
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