Slim Jim Phantom

Melbourne Youth Orchestras will debut The Big Busk in 2025, transforming Melbourne’s Queen Victoria Market into a full-day celebration of music and fundraising on Saturday 20 September.

Melbourne’s Live at the Gardens series will hit euphoric heights this November with a triple-bill of Australian electronic heavyweights. Miami Horror, Sneaky Sound System and Bag Raiders will join forces for a one-night-only dancefloor celebration under the stars at the Royal Botanic Gardens on Saturday, 29 November 2025.

Purple Disturbance, the fierce and uncompromising post-punk/alt-rock four-piece from New South Wales, have officially joined forces with New World Artists, the booking agency behind some of Australia’s most trailblazing acts. For a young band already turning heads with their volatile live shows and razor-edged songs, this deal puts them on a major platform heading into 2026.

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds will return home to Australia in January 2026 with the official announcement today of their Wild God Australian and Aotearoa New Zealand tour. The run of shows will be the band’s first in the region since 2022 and will bring their acclaimed Wild God album to life for local audiences.

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’.