Adelaide’s Bad//Dreems unveil Gather Sounds, a two-day hometown festival timed with AFL Gather Round, as they prepare to release their fifth album Ultra Dundee and embark on a national tour.
by Paul Cashmere
Adelaide rock outfit Bad//Dreems are stepping into festival territory, announcing Gather Sounds, a new two-day event in their hometown that will coincide with the city’s annual AFL Gather Round influx.
Programmed and headlined by the band across both days, Gather Sounds will take over the Cloisters and UniBar at Adelaide University on April 10 and 11. The timing is deliberate. With more than 50,000 football fans expected in the city, guitarist Alex Cameron says the band saw an opportunity to spotlight independent music in the middle of a major national sporting weekend.
Friday night will double as the official launch for the band’s forthcoming fifth studio album Ultra Dundee, with fellow South Australians West Thebarton in support. Saturday expands into a full two-stage mini-festival running from 2pm until midnight.
Bad//Dreems will perform a career-spanning set, alongside headliners Beddy Rays and Phil Jamieson, with additional appearances from Caitlin Harnett & The Pony Boys, Dr. Piffle & The Burlap Band, The Empty Threats, Jack Griffith and Don’t Thank Me Spank Me.
The festival announcement lands as the band release Irish Airman, the third single from Ultra Dundee, due out on March 20 via their own Gutto Records. Inspired by the WB Yeats poem An Irish Airman Foresees His Death, the track blends literary reference with the band’s muscular guitar framework. An early version was recorded during lockdown with producer John Lee, with elements of that session retained for the final cut alongside recordings made at Mixmasters Studios in Adelaide with Dan Luscombe, known for his work with Amyl And The Sniffers and Courtney Barnett.
The accompanying video, directed by Kaius Potter, forms the third chapter in a four-part film series built around the Ultra Dundee character, portrayed by Ben Marwe. The narrative examines inherited models of masculinity and the weight of generational expectation, themes that have surfaced repeatedly across the band’s catalogue.
Since forming in an Adelaide whitegoods warehouse in 2012, Bad//Dreems have built a reputation as one of the country’s most compelling guitar bands. Their 2015 debut Dogs At Bay, produced by Mark Opitz, earned nominations across the AIR Awards, National Live Music Awards and SA Music Awards, and later received an honourable mention in Rolling Stone’s Greatest Australian Albums Of All-Time. The record’s stark portrayal of suburban malaise and masculine vulnerability resonated widely, with songs such as My Only Friend and Cuffed & Collared establishing the band’s lyrical voice.
Subsequent albums Gutful, Doomsday Ballet and Hoo Ha! expanded that framework. Hoo Ha! secured an ARIA nomination for Best Rock Album and placed at No. 2 in Double J’s 50 Best Albums Of The Year. Alongside domestic tours, the band have played extensively in the UK and US, recently marking the 10th anniversary of Dogs At Bay with a sold-out national run and supporting Grinspoon on their 30th Birthday Bonanza tour.
Ultra Dundee also represents a further step in the band’s independence. Gutto Records follows public comments from members Alex Cameron and Miles Wilson about the challenges facing artists in the current industry climate. Their first self-released project, the live album Quality Meats, sold out within two days.
Following Gather Sounds, Bad//Dreems will take Ultra Dundee on the road nationally through April and May, performing headline dates in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. A second Sydney show has been added due to demand.
Tour Dates
Fri 10 April, Adelaide, UniBar
Sat 11 April, Adelaide, UniBar
Sat 18 April, Melbourne, Thornbury Theatre
Thurs 30 April, Sydney, Marrickville Bowlo
Fri 1 May, Sydney, Marrickville Bowlo
Sat 2 May, Brisbane, Brightside Outdoors
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