Midnight Oil drummer Rob Hirst has officially concluded the auction of his legendary 1979 Ludwig “Touring and Recording” drum kit, with the final winning bid reaching $77,500.

Genre-defying British rocker Yungblud will return to Australia in January 2026 for his biggest headline shows yet, as part of his global IDOLS World Tour. The tour announcement follows a year of record-breaking success, with Yungblud selling out his entire 24-date North American run in just one minute.

On 14 October 1985, INXS released Listen Like Thieves, the album that cracked their international code, and 40 years on it still sounds like a band discovering the shape of its future. The fifth studio album from the Sydney six-piece spent two weeks at number one on the Australian Kent Music Report and became the launchpad that propelled them into the US Top 20, peaking at No. 11 on the Billboard 200.

Half a century after the roar of Newcastle's Rabbit first shook Aussie stages, the band that helped define the mid-70s pub rock sound is back with Defenders Of Rock, a brand-new album out 31 October via Savant Guarde Records. Led once again by original AC/DC frontman Dave Evans, the record is a fist-pumping salute to the spirit of Australian rock and roll, loud, proud, and unbreakable.

Luck might be the word in the title, but Andrew Swift's success story has little to do with chance. The multi-award-winning country artist has spent the better part of a decade building his name the old-fashioned way, through persistence, authenticity, and a deep connection with fans. From flipping burgers and fixing caravans to headlining theatres and topping charts, Swift's journey has been one of grit and gratitude. His new album Lucky Stars captures it all, part victory lap, part love letter, and all heart.

My First Time have uncorked another blast of modern disillusionment with their new single Sippy Cup, a biting satire on escapism and excess that cements the Bristol-based quartet as one of the UK's most unflinchingly self-aware new acts. The track marks their fourth release of 2025, following Brand New, Much Better and Bodybag, and continues the band's rapid evolution from post-punk mischief-makers to one of the scene's most compelling provocateurs.

For Bud Rokesky, the road has always been both a teacher and a companion. Born in XXXX and raised between XXXX and the tiny XXXX town of XXXX, population 300, Rokesky spent much of his childhood surrounded by wide skies, red dust and time, time to think, to watch, to listen. That solitude shaped him, turning him into one of Australia's most distinctive modern storytellers.

Good Charlotte will return to Australia in February 2026 for the Motel Du Cap World Tour, their first visit down under in eight years. The tour marks the beginning of their global trek in support of their upcoming eighth studio album, Motel Du Cap, and will feature special guests Yellowcard and Kisschasy.

Ben Folds, one of the world's most distinctive singer-songwriters and live performers, will return to Australia in February and March 2026 for an eight-date national tour, Ben Folds & A Piano. Joining him for the run will be American artist Lindsey Kraft, an actress, singer and composer best known for her roles in Netflix's Grace and Frankie and HBO's Getting On.

The Red Hot Summer Tour will once again light up Australia in 2026, with Batemans Bay now confirmed to join the run of shows. The much-loved outdoor festival continues its legacy of celebrating Australian music under the open sky, and next year’s event promises one of the strongest all-local line-ups yet. At the forefront stands the country’s most revered songwriter and storyteller, Paul Kelly, headlining a bill that also features Missy Higgins, The Cruel Sea, The Cat Empire, Kasey Chambers, and Jess Hitchcock.

American genre-blender nothing, nowhere. will return to Australia in 2026 for The Return Of The Reaper Tour, marking ten years since he first announced himself to the world with his breakthrough release Reaper. The Vermont-born artist, the creative alter ego of Joseph Mulherin, will bring his band and two special guests, sace6 from the US and Sydney's rising post-hardcore outfit Closure, for a national run of shows next April.

Bay Area thrash veterans Testament have unleashed Para Bellum, their fourteenth studio album, out now through Nuclear Blast Records. The new release marks more than forty years since the band's 1983 formation and sees them channelling both the chaos of the modern world and their own battle-hardened legacy into a blistering, high-energy statement of intent.

Rob Zombie, the horror-fuelled heavy metal icon, is gearing up to unleash his eighth studio album The Great Satan on February 27 through Nuclear Blast Records. The follow-up to 2021's The Lunar Injection Kool Aid Eclipse Conspiracy, the new record promises a return to the raw, psychotic sound of Zombie's Hellbilly Deluxe era.

Taylor Momsen is returning to the song that started it all. Twenty-five years after she sang Where Are You Christmas as a young Cindy Lou Who in How The Grinch Stole Christmas, Momsen has revisited the tune as frontwoman of The Pretty Reckless, turning the holiday ballad into a roaring rock anthem.

Lloyd Cole, one of Britain's most literate and enduring songwriters, will return to Australia in March 2026 for a national run of solo shows - but this time, he's plugging back in.

As Oasis return to Australia for their long-awaited Live '25 stadium tour, fans will have the chance to experience the band's history from behind the lens. Behind The Gallery will present Oasis: Seen By The Lens, an exclusive photography exhibition featuring three of Britain's most iconic music photographers - Chris Floyd, Kevin Cummins and Scarlet Page, each of whom played a pivotal role in visually defining the Britpop era.

Melbourne is turning the volume all the way up as the city prepares to welcome home one of its most iconic exports, AC/DC. In a nod to the legendary band's roots, hundreds of Victorian bagpipers will descend on Fed Square on Wednesday 12 November for The Great Melbourne Bagpipe Bash, an event set to recreate one of the most famous moments in Australian rock history and attempt a world record at the same time.

French electronic music powerhouse David Guetta has dropped a brand new single, Gone Gone Gone, teaming up with Teddy Swims and Tones And I for what's shaping up to be one of the standout collaborations of 2025. The track, out now through Atlantic Records / Warner Music, fuses Guetta's euphoric dance production with gospel-infused soul and emotional pop vocals from two of the world's most distinctive voices.

Australia's signature travelling alternative-rock festival, Good Things Festival, has just turned up the heat with a blockbuster announcement: a sweeping array of sideshows featuring many of the international acts on the main lineup.

Rhino Records is reviving one of the most prestigious listening formats in music history with the release of two iconic albums - Electric Warrior by T. Rex and The Yes Album by Yes - on reel-to-reel tape. Following the successful return of vinyl and cassette, the label is turning the clock back even further, reintroducing reel-to-reel for a new generation of audiophiles seeking the most authentic analogue sound possible.

Ian Watkins, the former lead singer of Welsh rock band Lostprophets, has been killed in prison while serving a lengthy sentence for child sex offences. He was 48.

Crowded House have officially kicked off the 2025 Red Hot Summer Tour, launching the season with a Legends On The Lawn event in Cairns on 11 October. The full Red Hot Summer season gets underway next weekend at Sandstone Point, Queensland.

Legendary actress Diane Keaton, the award-winning star of Annie Hall, The Godfather films, Father of the Bride and countless others, has died in California aged 79. Her passing brings to a close a career that transformed Hollywood with humour, authenticity and emotional depth.

When Simply Red released their debut album Picture Book on 11 October 1985, few could have predicted that it would introduce one of the defining British voices of the decade. Fronted by Manchester's fiery-haired Mick Hucknall, the band's blend of soul, pop and sophisticated R&B gave them a sound that bridged the late 70s' blue-eyed soul movement with the sleek production of the mid-80s. Forty years on, Picture Book remains one of the most polished debut albums of its time, the record that established Simply Red as one of the UK's most enduring musical exports.

Australian country star Morgan Evans has gone back to where it all began. After two years away from the studio, Evans returns with a new single, Beer Back Home, and has revealed his long-awaited second studio album Steel Town will arrive on 20 March 2026 through Virgin Music Group.

Two of Melbourne's most promising young singer-songwriters, Aimee Isobel and Connor Stanton, have come together for a hauntingly beautiful new single, Rainy Weather, a powerful duet that explores heartbreak, healing, and self-discovery.

Finnish rock veterans The Rasmus have handed their outsider anthem Creatures Of Chaos a fresh shot of international muscle, enlisting Theory Of A Deadman frontman Tyler Connolly for a new version that pits two gravelly voices against each other in a bruising, sing-along chorus. The updated track arrives alongside a lyric video and follows the band's recent run of singles from their eleventh album Weirdo.

In honour of World Mental Health Day, American pianist and wellness advocate Chad Lawson has released Where We Are, Together, a three-track companion to his 2024 album Where We Are. The new EP, available through Decca Records US, sees Lawson expand on his unique blend of modern classical composition and mindfulness with an ensemble of collaborators including VOCES8, Esther Abrami, Seth Parker Woods, harpist Ashley Jackson, and poetry by Rupi Kaur.

Frank Zappa's most famous live ritual returns from the vault this month with Halloween 78: Live At The Palladium, New York City, the latest instalment in the late composer's long-running “costume party” concert series. Out 24 October via Zappa Records and UMe, the new collection revives one of his most mischievous line-ups and celebrates the height of his creative madness.

You Got Gold, a new feature documentary celebrating the life, music and influence of John Prine, will begin its national theatrical rollout in New York on 28 November at The Quad, before expanding across North America.