Former Mondo Rock and Stars drummer JJ Hackett has died in Adelaide

Sydney’s Electric Pandas, the cult pop-rock outfit who made their mark in the mid-80s with one album and a hit song 'Big Girls', are officially back together. Lin Buckfield has revived the Pandas for 2025 with a refreshed line-up, and they’ll share the stage with James Reyne this November.

On July 31, 1985, John Cougar Mellencamp released Scarecrow, his eighth studio album. Reaching #2 on the US Billboard 200, the album became a commercial milestone, eventually earning 5× Platinum certification in the U.S.

Chrissie Hynde, legendary singer-songwriter of The Pretenders, returns with an unexpected, warmly intimate project: Duets Special, issued under the inviting banner Chrissie Hynde & Pals, set for release on 17 October 2025 via Parlophone (and Rhino).

Vernon Reid, the Grammy-winning guitarist best known for his incendiary work with Living Colour, has announced the release of his new solo album Hoodoo Telemetry, due October 3 via Artone / The Players Club Records. Ahead of the full release, Reid has unveiled the single Beautiful Bastard, a song he originally considered for his Yohimbe Brothers project but has now reclaimed for this collection.

Midge Ure’s postponed 2025 Australian tour has been rescheduled for October 2026.

"Tell us a story" ...That’s how Paul Kelly begins his forthcoming album SEVENTY, an invitation as old as childhood, whispered from the back seat of a family car or around a glowing campfire. Who better to ask than Australia's master storyteller himself? For more than 45 years, Paul Kelly has chronicled lives, characters and contradictions with matchless insight and heart.

In 2026, Brisbane audiences will be given a rare and remarkable opportunity: the southern hemisphere premiere of The Last Ship, the acclaimed musical written and composed by Sting.