Queen's A Night At The Opera marks its 50th anniversary with the same impact it carried on release in November 1975. The album arrived during a crisis for the band, who were close to collapse due to a punishing contract and limited funds. They had earned hits with Sheer Heart Attack yet lived on tight weekly payments. Brian May lived in a bedsit. Freddie Mercury lived in a damp flat in Kensington. John Deacon was denied a modest loan to buy a house. The frustration led to the band parting ways with Trident and moving to EMI, a decision that would change their future.

For the first time since 2013, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra will revive its long-loved tradition of free outdoor concerts at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl, with four major events planned for 10 to 14 February 2026. The series, presented by the MSO with ABC Classic, The University of Melbourne and Arts Centre Melbourne, promises a week of symphonic music supported by Australian composers, celebrated soloists and rising talent.

Netflix will present Sean Combs: The Reckoning on 2 December, a four-part documentary series chronicling the rise and fall of Sean “Diddy” Combs, a figure whose influence shaped mainstream hip-hop for more than three decades. The series arrives during a period in which Combs is serving a federal sentence following his conviction for two counts of transportation for purposes of prostitution, a ruling delivered in July and followed by a sentence of 50 months and a fine of $500,000.

Commuters at London's St Pancras International witnessed a rare lunchtime spectacle when The Darkness arrived unannounced for a stripped back performance that marked a milestone week for the band. The British rock favourites, led by the Hawkins brothers Justin and Dan, performed beside the station's famed piano as crowds gathered in the main Arcade, a location that has grown into one of London's busiest cultural hubs. The performance aligned with the twentieth anniversary of One Way Ticket To Hell… And Back, the band's 2005 album that featured a steam train on its memorable cover, a fitting link to one of the country's most iconic rail stations.

Oasis have closed the chapter on their long-anticipated Live ‘25 Tour, finishing in Sao Paulo after 41 shows across 142 days that reignited one of the most influential partnerships in British rock. The tour marked the first time Liam and Noel Gallagher had shared a stage in 16 years, a break defined by personal tension, separate solo careers, and persistent speculation about the fate of the Britpop giants.

Victorian Opera will launch its 2025 season with a fresh staging of Gilbert and Sullivan's The Pirates Of Penzance. The production will run at the Palais Theatre from 31 January to 6 February, with tickets ranging from $39 to $165. The company will open its twenty-first anniversary season with one of the most recognisable operettas in the English canon, a work that has remained a fixture of theatre programming since its 1879 premiere.

Augie March will honour the twentieth anniversary of Moo, You Bloody Choir in April 2026 with a national tour that will feature the full album performed live for the first time. The band will also add a selection of long-loved favourites. The album, released in 2006, became an instant Australian classic and elevated the Shepparton-born group from cult acclaim to major national recognition.

For more than two decades, The Used have pushed the boundaries of post-hardcore and emo, shaping a global movement through melodic volatility and emotional candour. In 2026, the Utah-formed band will reach a milestone few in their genre have achieved, with an exclusive orchestral performance inside the Sydney Opera House on Sunday 29 March 2026, a black tie event presented as A Mid Summer Night's Symphony.

Newcastle's Maple's Pet Dinosaur has released her new single Chorus, marking the next step in one of the most rapid rises for a young Australian artist in recent memory. At just 15 years old, Maple has moved from backyard DIY experimentation to major-festival stages in the space of months, fuelled almost entirely by a homemade video that took the global internet by storm.

British metal force Sylosis will enter 2026 with their seventh studio album, The New Flesh, set for release on 20 February 2026 through Nuclear Blast Records. The announcement arrives with the title track, a fierce lead single that captures the band's renewed sense of intent.

Nearly half a century after KISS marched through the streets of Manhattan in borrowed business suits, the band's third studio album Dressed To Kill has returned in a lavish 50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition. Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley have produced an unboxing video of new set, revisiting the frantic early years that forged the record and ultimately launched KISS toward global domination.

WOMADelaide has expanded its 2026 program with the addition of 20 new artists, reinforcing its long reputation as one of Australia's most adventurous global music gatherings. The festival returns to Botanic Park, Tainmuntilla across the March long weekend, 6 to 9 March 2026, with a lineup that blends iconic names with vital new voices.

Guns N' Roses will extend their ongoing resurgence with a major 2026 world tour, following an extensive 2025 schedule that returned the group to Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Latin America. The new run will begin in Mexico in March, continue through Brazil with a full sweep of major cities, then move into Europe, before reaching stadiums and arenas across the United States and Canada. The tour will culminate in a significant homecoming at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, marking the band's first performance at the historic venue in more than three decades.

“Murder On The Dancefloor,” a track that first stormed charts more than twenty years ago, has once again proven its rare cultural stamina. Across one London weekend, two major UK shows brought the song back to centre stage when Sombr and Royel Otis each delivered surprise moments anchored by the Sophie Ellis-Bextor hit. The song's original cowriter, New Radicals leader Gregg Alexander, witnessed part of the resurgence first-hand in Brixton, creating a potent link between its past and present.

Ella Hooper will open 2026 with a return to the road, as the acclaimed singer releases her new single Growing Up Is Hard To Do and confirms dates for her Australian Summer Tour '26. The tour starts on Saturday 10 January in Mansfield, then moves through Tamworth, Sale, Archies Creek, Newcastle, Mangrove Mountain, Bathurst, Boyup Brook, Ocean Grove and Balnarring Beach, with each show designed to showcase her current creative phase, shaped by country influences and personal reflection.

Extreme have marked the completion of their ambitious visual cycle for their 2023 album Six with the release of the twelfth and final clip, Here's To The Losers. The project began with the intention of giving every track on the album its own visual identity, and the band have now delivered on that commitment with a final release timed to coincide with the Thanksgiving week in the United States. The new video acts as a gift of appreciation to fans, who have supported the Boston band since their emergence in the late 1980s.

Conrad Sewell will return to Australian stages in June 2026 with the Bloodline Tour, a national run that brings his powerful vocal presence together with his family story. The tour marks the first time Conrad will perform alongside his sister Grace Sewell, known internationally as SAYGRACE, who has passed a billion global streams and reached Grammy nomination status.

A mass of John Farnham fans will unite at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl on 13 March 2026 for We Are The Voice, a one night only celebration aiming to set a new world record for the largest crowd singing Farnham songs. Led by long-time Farnham music director Chong Lim and the classic Farnham Band, the event invites thousands of voices to form a single colossal choir, raising funds for Head And Neck Cancer Australia.

Airbourne have unwrapped a loud and cheerfully indecent present for fans with their new Christmas single Christmas Bonus, a raucous blast of holiday mischief delivered with the band's trademark volume. Produced by Brian Howes, recorded by Karl Dicaire, mixed by Zakk Cervini and mastered by Ted Jensen, the track arrives with a high-energy animated video created by director and animator Ryan Ortgiesen.

Spin Doctors will return to Australia in May 2026, marking their first visit in more than thirty years, as they celebrate the 35th anniversary of their landmark debut album Pocket Full Of Kryptonite. The tour will also include the band's first ever New Zealand performance, extending the anniversary celebrations across an eleven-date run through capital cities and key regional centres.

Lenny Kravitz performance at John Cain Arena was one of those unforgettable moments in live music. Real musicians performing real songs by a real rock star. For any young musician watching in the audience last night, this was a benchmark ‘How To Do It’ performance.

The Black Sorrows returned to Melbourne Recital Centre on 22 November 2025 with a show that honoured more than four decades of music. Close to 50 musicians have been part of the group since the early years, yet founder Joe Camilleri remains the steady force at the front. His voice still rings clear and strong, and his energy has not faded.

Josh Groban will return to Australia and New Zealand in 2026, with the GEMS World Tour set to showcase the full scale of his catalogue, his theatre triumphs, and his enduring influence as one of the most distinctive vocalists of the modern era. The tour marks his first regional visit since 2016, with fans welcoming the return of a voice that helped define the pop-classical crossover era.

Vikki Thorn spent three decades shaping Australian folk-rock as one-third of The Waifs, and her solo project ThornBird confirms that her voice remains one of the most distinct in modern roots music. ThornBird will return to Victoria in February 2026 for a short run of Big Girl Pants shows.

Austin's roots-driven Americana rock outfit Uncle Lucius will release a new live album, Live In ‘25, on 21 November 2025. The project documents two sold-out performances at Texas landmark Gruene Hall, a setting that has shaped the band's evolution for close to two decades. The shows yielded a collection that spans the group's catalogue, includes four new songs, and salutes the long history of Texas songwriting.

Bluesfest Tours has expanded The Black Crowes' 2026 Australian run with a second headline show at The Forum in Melbourne on Thursday 2 April, following the immediate sell out of their Friday 3 April date. The extra performance strengthens an already packed national schedule that includes stops in Brisbane, Sydney, Newcastle, and Byron Bay, with several shows close to capacity.

ARN Media Limited shareholders have every reason to be worried after the final 2025 radio survey delivered yet another Kyle and Jackie O flop in Melbourne.

Rose Gray, the East London artist shaped by the energy of club culture, will bring her debut Australian tour to Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney in February 2026. The tour extends a rapid rise that has pushed her from late night sets in London clubs to the global stages she now occupies. Her art draws from years spent in nightlife, where she worked shifts, danced through mornings and found a voice that mixes honesty, hedonism and heart.

Jimmy Cliff, born James Chambers on 30 July 1944, has died at 81. His wife confirmed that he passed away on 24 November 2025 in hospital after complications from pneumonia. His death brings to a close a career unmatched in scope and significance across Jamaican music. At the time of his passing, Cliff was the only living reggae artist to hold the Order of Merit, which remains one of the highest honours granted by the Jamaican government for achievements in the arts and sciences.

American artist Quadeca will bring his ambitious and experimental sound to Australia in May 2026, with a three-date East Coast run presented by Frontier Touring and Penny Drop. At 25, he has built a global reputation through inventive production, genre fluidity, and a catalogue that traces a fascinating rise from internet creator to acclaimed multi-disciplinary musician. His fourth album Vanisher, Horizon Scraper has been central to that rise, showcasing a detailed narrative style and a signature self-produced approach that has brought him strong international attention.