The Download Set Times Are Up

Sammy Hagar has always had a reputation for surrounding himself with powerhouse players, but his upcoming live album, Sammy Hagar & The Best Of All Worlds Band – The Residency (out October 10, 2025 via Big Machine Rock), brings a distinctly Australian twist. On keyboards, vocals and guitar is Rai Thistlethwayte, best known at home for fronting Thirsty Merc and more recently as a member of The Fabulous Caprettos. For Australian fans, the inclusion of Thistlethwayte in Hagar’s latest chapter is a striking reminder of how far the Sydney-born musician’s career has travelled.

Nick Cave has let slip what Aussie fans have been hoping to hear for months: Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds will return to Australia in January 2026 for the Wild God tour. In a recent post on his Red Hand Files website, Cave revealed the news with typical candour, writing:

Jon Stevens has been quietly heading towards a new album, feeding fans a song a week. This week, he is at week four with ‘Paradise’.

Melbourne’s deep funk heavyweights Cookin’ on 3 Burners are back with a brand new double-sided 7”, the first taste of their forthcoming studio album Cookin’ The Books (out October 31 on Soul Messin’ Records).

Sydney five-piece The Rubens are celebrating a milestone in Australian music with the 10th anniversary reissue of their career-defining second album, Hoops. Originally released in 2015, Hoops was the record that propelled the Menangle, NSW group back to the Top 10. Now, a decade later, the album reached no 2 on the album chart, a Hottest 100 number one, and multiple platinum singles, is getting a fresh vinyl pressing with reimagined artwork.

Australian electro-pop exports Parcels have joined forces with dance titans PNAU for a remix of their latest single ‘Yougotmefeeling’. The track, now reimagined with PNAU’s unmistakable French Touch-inspired sheen, is out via Because Music.

Ed Kuepper, twice inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame as a founding member of both The Saints and Laughing Clowns, will finally bring his acclaimed collaboration with Dirty Three drummer Jim White to the United States for the first time this November. The pair will perform in Los Angeles on November 4 and New York on November 17, with support from none other than Mick Harvey of The Birthday Party and The Bad Seeds.