Lady Gaga gave Melbourne something rare last night. Her performance of Brooklyn Nights marked only the second time she has ever performed the song. The first time was also in Melbourne on 24 August 2014 during her last Australian tour, when she played it as an impromptu fan request.

The Damned have released See Emily Play, the second single from their upcoming covers album Not Like Everybody Else. The track captures a vivid new reading of the Pink Floyd classic, blending psychedelic colour with the band's sharp punk character. Guitarist Captain Sensible takes lead vocals on the single, which channels a playful but urgent energy. The band shaped each song on the album as a tribute to their late founding guitarist Brian James, whose influence remains central to their history.

Troye Sivan will celebrate ten years since the release of his debut album Blue Neighbourhood with a new edition titled Blue Neighbourhood, Ten Years On, set for release 13 February 2026. The updated edition features reimagined artwork by original illustrator Hsiao-Ron Cheng, signalling a full-circle moment for the record that launched Sivan from a rising Perth singer-songwriter into an international pop presence.

Foy Vance has opened a new chapter with the release of his latest single, I Think I Preferred The Question, out now through Rounder Records. The track finds the Northern Ireland-born, Scotland-based songwriter leaning into uncertainty, using that tension as creative fuel. Produced by Brit Award winner Ethan Johns, whose credits span Paul McCartney to Ray LaMontagne, the single reflects Vance's continuing pursuit of candour, truth and human complexity.

Chet Faker has released his new single Can You Swim?, a poignant preview of his forthcoming album A Love For Strangers, scheduled for release on 13 February 2026 through BMG.

Laneway Festival has announced five new additions to its 2026 national lineup, with each act selected through the annual triple j Unearthed competition. The initiative continues its long history of elevating breakthrough talent across Australia, with the winners set to perform across Laneway's February run in the Gold Coast, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth. The program has been a launchpad for many rising acts, and the 2026 group reflects the depth of new Australian music.

Brisbane rock outfit Sound Affliction have unveiled their fourth single, The End, as they prepare to release their debut album Behind The Walls. The new song confronts modern pressures, and the band deliver it with blunt honesty and compositional control. The single follows Sober, Devil In Me, and Leave The Light On, each single showing a different facet of the group's sound.

Poppy has released her new single Guardian, a fierce preview of her upcoming album Empty Hands, which will arrive on 23 January through Sumerian Records. The song offers another step in her continued evolution as one of metal's most inventive modern artists, a role she has expanded since breaking from her early electronic pop persona.

5 Seconds Of Summer have expanded their Everyone's A Star! World Tour with the confirmation of a new Adelaide show, scheduled for Wednesday 4 November at Adelaide Entertainment Centre, after strong demand from South Australian fans. The additional date lands toward the end of the Australian leg, which closes a near year-long global run beginning in Europe in March.

The Wombats have issued an extended edition of their sixth studio album Oh! The Ocean, out now via AWAL Recordings, marking a significant new chapter for the Liverpool-formed trio. The expanded release broadens the musical and emotional palette of the original album, adding four additional tracks including two brand-new songs, Love You Like A Rainbow and Different Next Time.

Guns N' Roses have released two new singles, Nothin' and Atlas, marking the band's first new music since 2023 and revealing yet another chapter in the long afterlife of the Chinese Democracy recording era. Both songs originate from sessions conducted more than two decades ago, yet they arrive today with clear modern intent, foregrounding the current working unit of Axl Rose, Slash and Duff McKagan.

Linkin Park will return to Australia in March 2026, with Adelaide receiving its first headline show from the band in 12 years. The group, featuring Mike Shinoda, Dave “Phoenix” Farrell, Joe Hahn, Emily Armstrong, and Colin Brittain, will perform at Adelaide Entertainment Centre on Thursday 12 March. The show expands their Australian run to seven major arena dates across Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide, and Sydney.

British electronic innovators Faithless will return to Australia and New Zealand in March 2026, marking their first visit to the region in fifteen years, as they bring their signature mix of house, trip-hop and dub to Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Auckland. Their last appearance on Australian soil was at the Good Vibrations festival in 2011, a moment remembered for showcasing one of the most influential acts in global club culture.

A sweaty crowd suitably warmed up by our local Gravemind and Brisbane’s legendary death metal stalwarts Disentomb packed into 170 Russell when right on cue, the band everyone was here to see - New Jersey’s Lorna Shore - hit the stage. They launched into ‘Oblivion’ from their two-month old album ‘I Feel The Everblack Festering Within Me’ and it was on.

Eight years since their debut LP announced their uncompromising arrival, Melbourne trio Grim Rhythm return with a new single, Forever Eating Shit, which also serves as the title track for their next album. The release signals the start of a long-awaited chapter for a band that has spent more than a decade building its reputation outside the usual channels. The new album arrives 11 March through Suspect Records.

Steve Cropper, who shaped the sound of American soul from the heart of Memphis, died on 3 December 2025 at age 84, leaving behind one of the most consequential bodies of work in popular music.

The Rolling Stones reach a significant milestone as December's Children (And Everybody's) turns sixty in December 2025. The album arrived at a moment when the band was shifting from R&B disciples to songwriters with a distinct identity. It followed the American edition of Out Of Our Heads, and it landed just months before Aftermath started a new phase for the group. The release served as a bridge between the group's early reliance on covers and the growing confidence of the Jagger and Richards songwriting partnership.

Leftfield will return to New Zealand and Australia in March 2026, their first visit in eight years, with a headline run marking 36 years since the release of their debut track “Not Forgotten”. This milestone gives fans a chance to reconnect with one of the most important names in British electronic music, a group whose influence shaped the direction of club culture and contemporary dance production throughout the 1990s.

After closing its third season only days ago, Live At The Gardens has confirmed its 2026 return to Melbourne, with the Royal Botanic Gardens again hosting one of the city's signature outdoor music experiences next March. The Observatory Precinct will transform across two weekends, from 6 to 8 March and 13 to 15 March, with five headline events presented across the heritage landscape.

Fletcher Kent will step into a major new phase of his career in February 2026 as he launches his first national headline tour across Adelaide, Perth, Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney. The run follows a year of rapid growth for the Australian singer and songwriter, and it arrives as he releases his new single Open To The Light. The track signals a shift in tone for the Melbourne based artist as he continues to shape a mature and reflective sound.

Snot will return to Australia in January for their first local headline show in more than ten years, with the band announcing a sole Melbourne date as ticket demand surges for their special appearance on the Soulfly, Nailbomb, Snot bill. Their standalone performance will take place on 29 January at Max Watts, with the group preparing to revisit their seminal catalogue and mark a fresh chapter in a turbulent, influential and often tragic history.

Australia's strained festival sector has claimed another significant event with the cancellation of Park Waves Australia, the touring heavy-music festival led by Parkway Drive and promoter Destroy All Lines, which had been scheduled for February 2026. The announcement ends plans for an 11-show national run that would have introduced the German-born event to local audiences, with organisers confirming that rising costs and unsustainable financial pressure made the tour unviable. Parkway Drive said the decision “feels like a kick in the guts”, reflecting the frustration felt across the wider industry. All ticket holders will receive a full refund, with emails already dispatched.

Bernie Leadon, founding member of the Eagles and one of the main builders of country rock, has released the title track from his upcoming album Too Late To Be Cool. The new video shows an artist who knows exactly where he came from and where he's going.

Clare Bowditch will continue the 20th anniversary celebrations for What Was Left with new East Coast concerts, beginning with a What Was Left Reimagined performance at the Melbourne Recital Centre on Friday 20 March 2026. Tickets for the Melbourne show are on sale now, with additional dates in Brisbane and other East Coast cities to be announced soon. The new dates follow a successful run of regional shows staged earlier this year, which marked the two decade milestone of the ARIA Award-winning album.

David Byrne has spent more than four decades redefining what a live performance can be, so the notion of squeezing his latest touring ensemble into NPR's famously cramped Tiny Desk seemed, at first, close to impossible. Byrne's shows have long been known for their sprawling casts, precision choreography and inventive use of non-traditional instrumentation. From Stop Making Sense through to American Utopia, the artistic director in him has always demanded more space, more movement and more sonic experimentation. Yet, remarkably, his Tiny Desk appearance proved that even a dozen musicians playing everything from marimba and cello to timbau and zabumba can still operate with Byrne's trademark clarity, humour and discipline.

Lainey Wilson has opened the festive season with a new animated video for her version of Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! with Bing Crosby. The clip presents Wilson and Crosby as stylised characters who inhabit a nostalgic winter scene that aligns with Crosby's long legacy in seasonal music. Crosby helped define the modern Christmas canon with White Christmas, which became one of the most successful singles in history. Wilson's new version links two eras of country and pop tradition while embracing her growing international reach.

Melbourne artist Lithe will return home in February 2026, presenting the Australian leg of his global Euphoria Tour, a run that precedes his largest North American shows to date. The announcement follows the release of his debut album Euphoria, a record that confirms his profile as one of Australia's most progressive voices in R&B, hip-hop and atmospheric trap production.

Los Angeles band Death Lens have released their galvanising new single “Power”, a high-energy statement that closes out their year with a renewed sense of resolve. The track arrives as the group's first new music since the 2024 album Cold World, a release that solidified the quartet's standing in contemporary West Coast punk. As the self-described Brown boys from La Puente continue their ascent, “Power” showcases a sound sharpened by more than a decade of evolution.

Las Vegas outfit Roman Candle have released their new single Nothing Is Original, a forceful statement that signals the emotional direction of their forthcoming full-length. The track arrives with a stark music video that reflects the tension and vulnerability at the core of the band's evolution. It continues a prolific chapter for the group following their signing to Sumerian Records earlier this year, a move that has elevated their profile across the global hardcore landscape.

Multi award-winning singer and songwriter Kutcha Edwards will honour six decades of music, memory, and cultural truth when he presents 60 Cycles Around The Sun Celebrating A Lifetime Of Song And Stories at the Melbourne Recital Centre on Friday 17 April 2026. The one-night event brings together long-time collaborators, musical allies, and emerging voices who hold deep connections to the respected Mutti Mutti, Yort Yorta and Nari Nari Songman.