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Geelong Arts Centre presents Season 2023 Bringing the best of the best to Geelong

EDITOR

Talia Rinaldo

PARTNERSHIPS & CAMPAIGN MANAGER

Matt Wilkinson

GRAPHIC DESIGNER

Nathan Mossop

GIG GUIDE

Alex Callan

CONTRIBUTORS

Benjamin Lamb, Tammy Walters, Alex Callan, Tyler Jenke, Mackinley Campbell

distribution@fortemag.com.au

Editorial Note

2022 has been a brilliant reflection of this perfect recipe, and with the year coming to a close it’s time to bring in 2023 with a brand-new season of outstanding programs that break boundaries, start conversations and celebrate innovation. With the 2023 season launch imminent, we look at the ways they’ll be injecting a renewed sense of artistic energy and excitement into the region next year.

Looking at the music, it’s proving a pretty glorious time of year. Struck with the first barefaced inklings of another sultry summer, we’re got A Day on the Green, State of Mind and Chopped ready to make their summer stamps.

Reminding us of the depth of talent that soars far beyond the heavy hitters in the industry, we sit down with a handful of emerging artists and newcomers that we think have gone over and above to show that they’re the ones looking out for in the year ahead.

Add in a few of our favourite burger spots worth visiting when the cravings hit and a new hotel to check out this summer, Forte is here to prove that good times come all year round.

Lessgo!

Acknowledgement of Traditional Owners

Our magazine is published on the lands of the Wadawurrung People of the Kulin Nation, and we wish to acknowledge them as Traditional Owners. We pay our respects to their elders, past, present and emerging.

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DISTRIBUTION

Forte Magazine will be distributed for free monthly to hundreds of regional Victoria locations. To enquire about having Forte magazine at your venue email distribution@fortemag.com.au

Our November cover is Geelong Arts Centre.

Cover photo by Pedro Greig

Geelong Arts Centre has become part of our city’s furniture (albeit sustainable stylish furniture that’s in the midst of the ultimate glow-up). Bringing a unique mix of theatre shows and music performances is tantalising enough as it is. Add in art and community, growth in activity, innovation, outstanding spaces and people at its heart, plus an often tidy price tag, and you have the perfect recipe for the ultimate entertainment destination.

Commonwealth Games closing ceremony in Geelong

A global audience of one billion will watch Geelong farewell the 2026 Victoria Commonwealth Games in style when Kardinia Park hosts the Closing Ceremony. After 12 jam-packed days of sport in regional Victoria, athletes, officials, volunteers and fans will descend on Geelong for a fitting sendoff to Victoria 2026 on Sunday, March 29.

New open-air music festival Tracks Fest coming to Warrnambool

The one-day event will transform Warrnambool Train Station into an immersive open-air dance music event on January 14 2023 with Harvey Sutherland, Hidden Spheres, Late Nite Tuff Guy, and more. Drinks will be supplied from Laneway Bar and a slew of tasty food trucks will be on site.

Geelong Revival Motoring Festival returns for 2022

More than 800 competition and motorshow cars and bikes will decorate Geelong’s waterfront November 25-27 as the Geelong Revival Motoring Show gets your motor running. For the speedsters, Ritchie Boulevard will host some 300 classic and exotic cars as they test out their goods on a quarter-mile. The Vintage Caravan Display and National Vintage Fashion Awards are festival favourites, while live music, displays, trade stalls and good eats make for a festival with the lot.

Gang of Youths and Empire of the Sun lead Werribee’s

Now

& Again Festival 2023

Taking place across two huge custom stages – the Main Stage and the Dance Stage - on February 18 in Werribee, the festival will be headlined by Gang of Youths, Tones and I and Empire of the Sun, who will be making their return to Victoria after almost a decade hiatus.

Stafford Brothers lead Geelong’s new one-day festival, NYD 23 @ The Mills

Taking over beloved restaurant and bar 1915, the one-day festival will feature Stafford Brothers, Groove Terminator, Jolyon Petch and Dexter, plus delicious food, pop-up bars, and everything you need to have an incredible time at the 1915 premises, including a VIP lounge, beer garden, deck and main room.

Spring Fiesta is the new one-day wine festival taking over Bendigo’s Gardens

Taste your way across Bendigo’s bounty of wine, celebrate new releases and bask in the sunshine at Bendigo's highly-an ticipated event, Spring Fiesta on its new date, November 26. There will be 18 local wineries presenting more than 20 grape varietals grown in the Bendigo region –with 80 wines available for tasting, plus local food trucks and live music from the Bendigo Blues and Roots Festival team.

A massive indoor Christmas Market is coming to Geelong with 100+ local makers

The annual Piccadilly Christmas Market is returning to Geelong, going ahead on Saturday, December 3 2022 at the Barwon Valley Activity Centre in Belmont from 10am to 3pm. There will be more than 100 stalls featuring Geelong’s most talented jewellers, fashion designers, illustrators, artists, food producers, and makers,plus food trucks, outdoor seating, a fun farm for kids, face painting, giveaways and live music.

Rod Stewart, Cyndi Lauper and Jon Stevens are coming to Geelong

Legendary singer and songwriter, Sir Rod Stewart, is coming to Geelong in 2023, performing for the first time at Mt Duneed Estate on Saturday, March 18. Dubbed ‘The Hits! Australian Tour, the iconic artist will be joined by special guests Cyndi Lauper and Jon Stevens for the A Day on the Green show.

Nashville Honky-Tonk legend

Hedley is heading to Castlemaine

The much-beloved Joshua Hedley is heading to Australia for a series of shows in November this year on the back of his sophomore album ‘Neon Blue’. He’ll be supported by Emily Nenni on her debut Australian tour. See them at Bridge Hotel in Castlemaine on November 24 and Archie’s Creek Hotel on November 27.

Jimmy Barnes, The Living End, Wolfmother and more are coming to Torquay in 2023

By The C is heading to the Torquay Common on Saturday, February 4 2023 with some of the best Aussie favourites featuring Jimmy Barnes, The Living End, Wolfmother, Noiseworks, Baby Animals and Dallas Crane.

Izakaya and bar Tomodachi opens impressive new venue on Geelong waterfront

Titled ‘Tomodachi 2.0’, the small local business has taken over the bustling space at Shop 3, 6-8 Eastern Beach Road in Geelong transforming it into a bright and beautiful intimate modern space. You’ll find all the restaurant favourites, new items and the venue’s first-ever brunch menu.

Joshua

Bikini Kill, Carly Rae Jepsen and Rolling Blackouts

Coastal Fever lead Golden Plains 2023 festival lineup

Golden Plains, one of the most loved events on the Australian festival calendar, is back, announcing its highly-anticipated lineup for 2023 and with everything from Bikini Kill to Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever to Methyl Ethel to Jennifer Loveless to Carly Rae Jepsen all sharing one stage, it’s a lineup of wall to wall delights. The festival will go down from March 11th-13th at Meredith Supernatural Amphitheatre.

Melbourne's Christmas Festival returns for 2022 Melbourne’s much-loved Christmas Festival is returning to the city with the iconic 16.5 metre LED Christmas tree at Christmas Square in Fed Square, a Christmas-themed roller-skating rink, the String Bean Alley Christmas Night Market at the Queen Victoria Market precinct, the giant Christmas Maze in Docklands, the Christmas Carnival at Birrarung Marr and plenty of other festival favourites.

Great Australian Beer Festival announces return to Geelong over two days

Building on from April’s 2022 event which featured two jam-packed sessions over one day, the epic local beer festival will descend upon Geelong’s Johnstone Park bigger and better than ever; now devoting two whole days to epic eats, beats and beer with plenty of room to move, and less crowd to contend with as you sip and sample your way around GABF. The festival will now take place on Friday, January 20 from 4pm to 10pm and Saturday, January 21 from 12pm to 7pm in 2023.

M.Ward is coming to Queenscliff and Castlemaine in 2023

Hailing from Portland, Oregon, prolific singer-songwriter and guitarist M.Ward will return to Australia this February to celebrate 20 years since the release of his critically acclaimed album Transfiguration of Vincent. With ten albums under his belt, all released through Merge Records, M.Ward will perform at Queenscliff Town Hall in Queenscliff on February 4 and Theatre Royal in Castlemaine on February 5 in this special anniversary tour of one of the greatest blues-inspired Americana albums ever created.

Following an epic few years in Melbourne, GoBoat is now making its way regional Victoria, opening its second-ever Victorian operation in Geelong. Docking at Royal Geelong Yacht Club, Australia’s favourite electric picnic boats will start sailing from December. Seating up to eight people, all you need to do is BYO food, drinks, friends and pets (yes, they are pet-friendly!!).

Mat McHugh & The Beautiful Girls announce ‘Together at Last’ 2023 Australian tour

Mat McHugh & The Beautiful Girls will be hitting the road this summer, and for the first time ever combining the work of both of McHugh’s groups on stage. Catch the double headline tour locally at Westernport Hotel, San Remo on January 13, Haba, Mornington on January 14 and Torquay Hotel, Torquay on January 15 2023.

Inaugural Knotfest coming to Melbourne

Slipknot’s stacked heavy metal festival is coming to Melbourne with a lineup including Parkway Drive, Megadeth, Trivium, Northlane, Alpha Wolf and more. It’s going down at Flemington Racecourse on March 24.

Mick Thomas' Roving Commission announce East Coast Christmas tour

Mick Thomas' Roving Commission are hitting the road in celebration of a new seven-track EP 'Back In The Day' featuring new and old originals and unexpected covers of The Saints, Cold Chisel, Neil Young and Johnny Thunders. Catch them at the Pig and Whistle Tavern in Main Ridge on November 18, Shotkickers in Thornbury on December 21-23 and Archies Creek Hotel on Janaury 1 2023.

Stella Donnelly brings ‘Flood’ Australian Tour to Torquay and Castlemaine

The award-winning Australian artist released her highly anticipated and critically acclaimed sophomore record Flood in August 2022. Flood is Donnelly’s record of this rediscovery: the product of months of risky experimentation, hard moments of introspection, and a lot of moving around. Locally, Stella will perform at Theatre Royal in Castlemaine and Torquay Hotel in Torquay on February 25 and 26 respectively.

Castlemaine State Festival returns in 2023

Castlemaine State Festival, one of Australia’s most important regional arts festivals, has announced its return to the creative capital of central Victoria from 24 March to 9 April 2023, with an ever-expansive and uplifting program of performance, music, talks, visual arts and family-friendly events. The 2023 Castlemaine State Festival program will be announced on Saturday, 28 January, 2023.

Brad Cox is playing a headline show with his full band in Torquay

This tour will mark Brad’s biggest headline shows to date, and the first capital city headline shows (and very first visit to Torquay) since the release of his ARIA and Golden Guitar nominated sophomore record My Mind’s Projection. He’ll hit up the stage at the Torquay Hotel on Thursday, November 24 2022.

GoBoat is bringing its floating picnics to the Geelong Waterfront this summer

A pop-up

European-

inspired Christmas Village is coming to Lara

Taking over the Mittagong Girl Guides Campsite in Lara from Friday, December 2 to Sunday, December 4, the three-day Christmas experience is a carefully curated miniature village, designed, built and decorated in the elaborate style of an old European town at Christmas, complete with falling snow, hot chocolate and a traditional hand-built sleigh.

Party in the Paddock is coming back to Tasmania in February 2023

The Tassie music festival has announced its return from the 10th, 11th and 12th of February 2023. The event will be hosted at its brand new location Quercus Park, just 25min outside of Launceston headlined by Gang Of Youths, Benee, Vera Blue, The Presets, Meg Mac, Methyl Ethel, Hockey Dad & Genesis Owusu. This marks the first party in the paddock since the festivals then-final event in 2020.

Portsea Hotel launches Summer Series

Folk and roots music festival

Julia Morris brings her ‘75 Years in the Business’ tour to Geelong

Universally-adored Julia Morris is back in circulation and off the leash in her brand new stand-up spectacular '75 Years in the Business'. Lady JMo will be taking her new show around the country in 2023 – her first tour since 2018 – stopping by Costa Hall in Geelong on July 1 2023.

Tabula Rasa is regional Victoria’s new three-day New Year’s Eve festival

Taking to Hamilton, the independent New Year’s Eve camping event ups the ante with a bigger lineup, stronger arts and creative program, as well as talks and pop-up stands from independent Australian creatives. This includes the likes of D.Tiffany, Roza Terenzi, Sally C, Byron Yeates, DJ JNETT, Guy Contact and more.

Get festive with Adventure Park’s magical Christmas Festival

of Lights 2022

Hailed as Victoria’s largest Christmas Lights Festival, this year there’ll be a whopping three million shimmering lights and more than 1000 dazzling light installations that will illuminate Geelong’s night sky once again, with tickets on sale now. The Christmas Festival of Lights will run from 18 November 2022 to 1 January 2023.

All summer long Portsea Hotel has got an exciting lineup full of some of the country’s best live acts, mixed in with your favourite locals for the Peninsula’s biggest summer party, brought to you by Pirate Life Brewing. Upcoming acts like Yo! Mafia, Emma Peters and Daryl Braithwaite, among others.

Daniel Johns’ ‘Past, Present & FutureNever’ exhibition has been extended

Silverchair legend Daniel Johns has extended his ‘world first’ immersive exhibition, ‘Past, Present & FutureNever’, in Melbourne due to overwhelming demand, now running until December 23. Exploring the height of ‘90s Australian grunge culture through to Johns’ history-making album ‘FutureNever’, the showcase unlocks the vault of personal memorabilia from the rockstar and introduces an array of experiential exhibits from the future.

Pitch Music & Arts Festival drops 2023 lineup

The Pitch music festival 2023 will return to the foothills of the Grampian Plains from March 10 – 14 for the sixth edition of one of Australia’s premier electronic festivals. The lineup includes Four Tet, Moderat, Nightmares on Wax, Ben UFO, Mano Le Tough, Leon Vynehall, Fatima Yamaha and more. Following a sold-out event in 2022, tickets for Pitch will be secured through a balloting process.

lineup for 2023

CresFest announces

CresFest returns to the historic town of Creswick, nestled between Daylesford and Ballarat, across three days, from Friday, March 31 to Sunday, April 2. The whole town comes alive with gold rush-era buildings, local pubs, cafes, and outdoor venues hosting intimate performances by the likes of Kutcha Edwards, While + Matthews (UK), The Weeping Willows and more.

Melbourne’s iconic MoVida Spanish restaurant is coming to Geelong

Universally acclaimed as one of Melbourne’s best dining destinations, Frank Camorra is planning a takeover in his hometown Geelong. The Corio-raised chef will return to his humble beginnings in Little Malop Street and open the doors to his fifth MoVida in the exact same street, taking over the former (and entirely iconic) Eureka Hotel band room.

Australia’s newest big landmark, The Big Rainbow, is coming to regional Victoria

The regional Victorian town of Daylesford is soon to become home to another ‘big’ landmark with The Big Rainbow. Australia’s first “big” landmark dedicated to the celebration of regional LGBTIQA+ pride and inclusion, the 12 metres wide and six metres high Big Rainbow was designed with members of the LGBTIQA+ and First Nations communities.

Thirsty Merc are bringing their

‘Celebration’

album tour to Bannockburn

Unquestionably one of Australia’s finest live acts, Thirsty Merc are back on the road for the first time in two years with The Celebration Tour, performing their much-loved hits alongside songs from their fifth album Celebration, the long-awaited follow-up to 2015’s Shifting Gears. See them at Bannockburn Railway Hotel in Bannockburn on December 4.

Urban Wine Walk is coming to Geelong in December for a one-day cellar door festival

The perfect event for lovers of fine wine, the Urban Wine Walk will see the streets and laneways of Geelong come alive on Saturday, December 3 as a line-up of the best venues transform into an Urban Cellar Door for you to visit on a self-guided trail. Venues include 18th Amendment Bar, Black Sheep, There There and Union Street Wine among others.

The Blues Train expands popular Next Generation Concert Series into 2023

Following the sell-out success of November’s Next Generation Concert Series on Queenscliff’s legendary Blues Train, the 2023 program will continue to blend emerging and established blues and roots artists as an ongoing commitment to the next generation of both audiences and musicians.

Mudhoney are coming to Torquay and Castlemaine as part of 2023 Australian tour Seminal Seattle four-piece Mudhoney return to Australia in 2023, marking nine years since their last local shows in 2014. A mammoth odyssey spanning April and May will see them playing headline shows across six states, with a handful of festival dates among them. Locally they’ll perform at the Theatre Royal in Castlemaine on April 28 and the Torquay Hotel on April 29.

Ben Harper leads 2023 SummerSalt Festival in Torquay

This year showcases exciting interna tional artists alongside some Aussie favourites for a stellar line-up featuring Angus & Julia Stone, Ben Harper, City And Colour, The Rubens, Middle Kids, and Alex The Astronaut. Catch the festivities at the Torquay Common on February 5.

Circus Mania heads to Castlemaine

Circus Mania is an inaugural four day and night Circus Festival running from November 17-20 in Castlemaine. Big Tops & Tiny Tots is aimed for littles ones aged between three and six and combines entertainment and education through plate-spinning, hula-hooping and unicycling. Suitcase Circus is for the whole family, complete with acrobats, aerialists, jugglers and balancers. Rogue is a circus for grown-ups, an 18+ visual spectacle of circus and cabaret.

Kim Churchill announces his biggest-ever Australian tour

Live at the Bowl 2023 acts announced

Tom Gleeson is bringing his Hard Quiz Live show to Geelong, Bendigo and Warrnambool

‘Hard Quiz’ Master, Overlord and Gold Logie Award-winner Tom Gleeson is adding a third dimension to Australia’s hardest TV quiz, swapping the studio for a theatre and hitting the road. Audience members will be pulled on stage for a live roasting from Tom, the most brutal quizmaster since the inquisition. Hard Quiz Live arrives at Lighthouse Theatre in Warrnambool on February 10, Costa Hall in Geelong on March 17 and Ulumbarra Theatre in Bendigo on May 13 2023.

Kingswood announce new album ‘Home’ and huge 60-date Australian tour ARIA and APRA-nominated iconic Melbourne band Kingswood have announced their forthcoming studio album ‘Home’ and a huge Australian tour, taking to 60 locations around Australia. Locally, Kingswood will perform at the Barwon Club in Geelong on February 18, Sooki Lounge in Belgrave on February 19, Volta in Ballarat on February 24, Croxton Bandroom in Melbourne on February 25 and Haba in Rye on February 26.

Touring his seventh studio album, Dawn Sounds, set for release on 13 January 2023, Kim will take to 44 locations across the country in 2022 and 2023. Locally, Kim will perform in Phillip Island and Warrnambool in December and then Portland, Castlemaine, Koroit, Rye and Melbourne in January and March next year.

Australia’s largest and fastest alcohol delivery service Jimmy Brings launches in Geelong Operating all over Australian major cities, Jimmy Brings has now expanded its offering to conveniently deliver cold beverages to Geelong and surround ing suburbs. With a fully stocked and ever-evolving offering of wine, beer, spirits, lower and zero-alcohol drinks, as well as mixers and nibbles, the best part about Jimmy is that your goods are delivered in minutes.

Don McLean is coming to Geelong with an American Pie 50th anniversary tour

Celebrating the 50th anniversary of one of the most iconic songs and albums ever this year, McLean will entertain fans across the country in 2023, proving that “bye-bye, Miss American Pie” will forever remain a classic staple in music. He will be supported by one of Australia’s most revered singer/songwriters, Andrew Farriss. See him at Costa Hall, Geelong on Sunday April 30, 2023.

Live at the Bowl has dropped a blockbuster lineup featuring Arctic Monkeys, Bon Iver, Lorde, Boris Brejcha and more. Spanning four months with more acts yet to be revealed, it's set to be a ripper summer at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl.

ChillOut Festival reveals full 2023 lineup

Victoria’s longest running regional LGBTQIA+ pride festival, ChillOut Festival, will be back in the spa capital of Australia 9-13 March 2023. Australian opera-pop Eurovision superstar Kate Miller-Heidke and Drag Race Down Under’s Art Simone headline the lineup.

First & Forever brings a huge First Nations lineup to Hanging Rock

First & Forever is a new, day-long festival that celebrates contemporary First Nations culture and music. Hand-picked by Briggs, the line-up is Baker Boy, Budjerah, Jess Mauboy, King Stingray, Sycco, Thelma Plum, Alice Skye, Busby Marou, Christine Anu, Dan Sultan, Electric Fields, Emma Donovan, Tasman Keith, Ziggy Ramo, Barkaa, dameeeela, Jess Hitchcock, JK-47, Kardajala Kirridarra and Kobie Dee. The Gathering Place, Hanging Rock, Macedon Ranges on November 27.

We respectfully acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the land on which the Geelong Arts Centre stands, the Wadawurrung People of the Kulin Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past, to Elders present and to emerging leaders, recognising their continuing connection to land, water, culture and community.

GEELONG ARTS CENTRE PRESENTS SEASON 2023

Bringing the best of the best to Geelong

Prepare to experience absolute entertainment excellence as Geelong Arts Centre prepares to dazzle in 2023 with extraor dinary arts to suit everyone. Launching December 1, 2022, and supported by Major Artistic Partner, Deakin University and Innovation Partner, Costa Asset Management, Geelong Arts Centre Presents 2023 is designed to offer something for every one across four outstanding programs that break boundaries, start conversations, and celebrate innovation.

Guided by the strong belief that the arts have the power to provide new perspectives, challenge our thinking, and reveal otherwise hidden sides to the stories we tell ourselves and one another, Geelong Arts Centre have designed a 2023 program that embraces creativity; transforming minds, shifting ideas, and encouraging us to reconsider our preconceptions.

Our Season 2023 features high-calibre works, fit for Victoria’s fastest-growing city. The must-see season features performances from a multitude of the nation’s most highly regarded companies, including Sydney Theatre Company, Opera Australia, The Australian Ballet, Sydney Dance Company, Griffin Theatre Company and many more. Putting the spotlight on those with a reputation for producing outstanding work, the Geelong Arts Centre’s Our Season 2023 celebrates both internationally acclaimed talent and rising homegrown powerhouses.

Soon to be the largest regional arts centre in Australia, it’s here in the heart of Geelong that audiences can experience an amazing array of carefully curated performances that are nothing short of extraordinary.

Credit Michelle Grace Hunder

OUR SEASON 2023

From contemporary dance and ballet to musical theatre, comedy and orchestral extravaganzas, Geelong Arts Centre is bending genres, sharing stories and raising the bar with Our Season 2023. Highlighting the country’s most celebrated artists as well as the brightest rising stars of the stage, Geelong Arts Centre is playing a pivotal role in navigating the way forward for bold entertainment experiences and unique opportunities across our region.

Covering a diverse and timely range of subject matter, including the #MeToo movement and First Nations perspec tives, Geelong Arts Centre continues to platform the voices of those with important stories to be shared. The full season of performances will be announced on 1 December, so be sure to visit their website or sign up for their newsletter to be the first to know.

FAMILY MAGIC

Back by popular demand in 2023, Geelong Arts Centre’s Family Magic program will continue to captivate, inspire and entertain children under 12, as well as their parents, siblings, grandparents and carers. For many kids across the region, the Family Magic program provides their first theatrical experience and allows families to immerse themselves in the magic of the performing arts. Sometimes fantastical, funny, and always engaging, Geelong Arts Centre’s Family Magic program will have the young (and young at heart!) leaving the theatre with sore cheeks and full hearts.

DELIGHTFUL DAYS & MATINEES

After a brief hiatus, it’s finally time to re-welcome an essential part of Geelong Arts Centre's daytime entertainment calendar, Delightful Days & Matinees, to the party. Bringing some of Australia's best-loved performers to Geelong, Delightful Days & Matinees (formerly Musical Mornings) returns to Geelong Arts Centre with two unmissable performances. Due to be revealed very soon, you can trust the ever-adventurous team at Geelong Arts Centre to make daytime events at your Arts Centre as memorable, engaging and utterly delightful as possible.

REWIRE

Solidifying its place as the creative heart of the G21 region, Geelong Arts Centre is announcing a brand-new program of genre-bending performances and unique experiences with REWIRE. Launching for the first time in 2023, REWIRE is a celebration of new works, contemporary Australian voice, new mediums, immersive experiences and shows that are seriously great fun. Staging works that challenge, thrill, and delight all at once, REWIRE will deliver an assortment of acts that encourage interaction and exploration with a modern edge. Learn what it means to REWIRE your brain and adapt to the ever-evolving world. REWIRE is the home of bold, curious, creative and a little bit crazy within Geelong Arts Centre’s 2023 lineup and we are absolutely here for it.

SUBSCRIBE AND SAVE

Who doesn’t love saving money? To experience any or all performances within Geelong Arts Centre Presents 2023, Geelong Arts Centre will open five flexible subscription pack age options on December 1, 2022, to include shows across all programs, from Our Season 2023, REWIRE, Family Magic and Delightful Days & Matinees! Whether you’re after shows to cover date night, mate night or a fabulous family day, with an extensive lineup of incredible arts experiences on offer next year, there truly is something for everyone and any occasion.

SUPPORTING THE COMMUNITY

But that’s not all! Devoted to supporting the Greater Geelong community, from students and teachers, right through to emerging local artists, Geelong Arts Centre’s Creative

Learning education program and Creative Engine artistic development program are set to return bigger and better than ever in 2023.

CREATIVE ENGINE

Equally dedicated to lining up the next big thing to hit Geelong, and supporting local artists and people working in the creative industries, Geelong Arts Centre continues to grow its spirit for experimentation through its Creative Engine program, supported by Innovation Partner, Costa Asset Management. Bringing new content and cultural experiences to Geelong, embracing a desire to extend the art form's boundaries and create a community of shared practice, Geelong Arts Centre’s Creative Engine relishes the opportunity to facilitate connec tions and bring together the creative community. Launched in October 2019, no matter what art form you practise, Creative Engine offers a place for locally-based creatives to test their work, develop new projects, and then share them with the world. In 2023, Creative Engine will continue to offer regular grant rounds to invest in emerging projects, and provide professional development opportunities to assist artists on their journey to building sustainable, thriving practices and careers in the creative arts. Watch this space.

CO-WORKING SPACE

Boasting sleek, state-of-the-art office and studio facilities promoting professional and creative collaboration, the co-work ing space at the Geelong Arts Centre is among the most creative, central and affordable arts business hubs in Geelong. Located on Level 2 of Geelong Arts Centre’s landmark Ryrie Street building, the co-working space offers a contemporary open-plan office space and a range of purpose-built studios, enabling you to get shoulder-to-shoulder with local creatives and connect with likeminded, creative practitioners from all disciplines, in a space where you can foster new ideas, collaborations, networking and skill sharing.

CREATIVE LEARNING

The brilliant teachers of the region haven’t been forgotten. Supported by APCO Foundation, the Creative Learning program is designed to spark a love for the creative industries among students and open them to a world of opportunity, supported by professional theatre makers, technicians and artists. Interested educators can browse the Creative Learning program and submit an expression of interest form on the website to get ahead of their 2023 planning. Creative Learning offerings include performances and workshops embedded within the Victorian curriculum, festivals for all ages, and engaging professional development for teachers. Offering a diverse suite of programs ranging from music to movement, puppetry and theatre, the 2023 Creative Learning program offers affordable and enriching educational arts experiences that are immersive and fun for students in Kindergarten right through to Year 12.

WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?

Big enough to attract the world’s best talent, but small enough to remain friendly and local, Geelong Arts Centre really is a one-of-a-kind venue providing endless opportunities for the local community to witness incredible live performances that breathes freshness and challenges the notion of traditional theatre.

So go on, make 2023 your most entertainment-filled year yet. With so many more exciting details to come, make sure you are up to date with the latest Geelong Arts Centre announcements by signing up for the What’s On e-Newsletter via geelongartscentre.org.au.

THE KILLERS

To Implode Mt Duneed Estate for A Day On The Green

Words by Tammy Walters

The closing line of Vegas rockers, The Killers, impeccable 2006 album Sam’s Town offers.

“It’s good to have you with us / even if it’s just for the day...”

Geelong get ready because The Killers are joining us for a day… A Day On The Green that is!

Yes, that’s right, The Killers are making their debut at A Day On The Green 2022 at Geelong’s Mt Duneed Estate on Saturday 10 December, and Peter Lehmann in the Barossa Valley on Saturday 3 December.

With support from genre-busting pop narrator Alex Cameron with his full band and Australian rock singersongwriter, guitarist and composer Jack Ladder, the 2022 tour arrives with the rescheduling of their 2020 Imploding The Mirage World Tour, which will see the stadium rockers perform arena shows in Auckland, Christchurch, Brisbane, Perth, Melbourne, Hunter Valley and Sydney.

Initially announced for 2020 to coincide with their sixth studio album, Imploding The Mirage, which sees The Killers exploring a new sonic direction with belters ‘Caution’, ‘Blowback’ and the stage ready ‘My Own Soul’s Warning’, the Imploding The Mirage World Tour became a Covid casualty.

“We’ve played a few songs and we’ve done a string of dates here in the States - did I just write a song? - and we played a few tracks and it felt really good, songs like ‘Dying Breed’ and of course ‘Caution’ but there are so many more we want to step into and play for people,” explains The Killers drummer, Ronnie Vannucci Jr.

“We had this thing all thought out, everyone has their own problems with this Covid thing, but we were getting excited to be playing all of these songs and then the sky fell and here we are a few years later.”

As fans patiently lined the live music waiting room, the glamorous indie rock and rollers gifted fans another album and childhood documentation, Pressure Machine, released in August last year which included a collaboration from Phoebe Bridges on ‘Runaway Horses’. Whilst combining album tours would cover the old ‘kill two birds’ scenario, Vannucci says they will allow each album to have its own breathing space.

“We talked about it. Some of the songs on Pressure Machine, we owe it to those songs to give them their own venue almost, and others we’ve adapted for the live show. I would like to have a night where we could dedicate a mood to a specific venue and play Pressure Machine as well as do alternate versions of other songs that we have in our pocket. But we will see - we sort of turn on a dime and go with what makes the most sense and feels the most organic,” says Vannucci.

Over the years, The Killers have graced our shores for a multitude of performances from festival appearances including Big Day Out in 2013, to sold-out stadium tours, and even offering a stellar hits medley as the AFL Grand Final entertainment in 2017, each time stepping up their energetic live performance and production. This time around they want a generous blend of drama and raw performance.

“We have a few ideas. We keep dreaming really, really big and talking crazy production and we always sort of end up yanking it back because we feel like it’s too many smoke and mirrors so I think we will find a nice middle ground to settle on,” he says.

“One of the things we excel at is being a really good live band - people see us play live and when they see us, they like it. So many times when you get into talking to people in production they want to do something so fantastic that the personnel; the people; on stage are forgotten about. We don’t want that, we want to be part of the whole transformation from real life to this two-hour getaway for people to see, but we don’t want them to show up and watch a fucking movie. We want them to see us play.”

The Killers will take to Mt Duneed Estate, Geelong on Saturday, 10 December 2022. For further event information and tickets, visit www.adayonthegreen.com.au

Credit Danny Clinch

D.Matthews

The Nigerian afrobeat singer-songwriter inspires with ‘Be Somebody’

Championing his own brand of motivational and energetic calm Afrobeat and Afropop driven by the beats of Africa, Australianbased Nigerian-born singer-songwriter D.Matthews has been thoroughly embossing his name in the industry over the past few years.

With a string of releases to his name, countless nightclub and festival performances and an EP and 2023 debut tour firmly in his sights, there’s no doubt that this artist has the drive, not to mention the talent, to capture people’s attention.

Inspiring, upbeat and unapologetically body-mov ing, D.Matthews’ newest single ‘Be Somebody’ finds the up-and-coming Afrofusion artist and producer spellbinding in a song full of heart, soul, courage and unrelenting drive.

‘Be Somebody’ serves as an awakening to live your best life and to keep pushing onward to get to where you want to go or to be who you want to be: it’s an energizing reminder that the fight is most worth it in the times that are the most difficult.

“It’s a motivational track,” D.Matthews explains. “For whoever wants to be somebody in life, you have to press forward, apply pressure and rough things out a bit before you get to the success/winning stage.

“Not most want to go through this at most times, but obviously, if it was easy, everyone would do it. Everyone runs a thousand miles, it comes down to how well you can utilise those miles to get/attain what you want for your future.”

Intimate and universally accessible, the charged anthem reveals yet another side to D.Matthews’s burgeoning, multi faceted artistry, teaming up with UK-born, Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland) based Nigerian artist, producer, content creator and educator Mazbou Q to further bring the track to life with his intoxicating flow and particular brand of hiphop.

“It’s been in my books to work with Mazbou Q. I had to make the call in mid-2021 for him to get prepared for collabo rative work in early 2022. It had been a long time coming. I’m glad it happened.”

Listen to ‘Be Somebody’ on your preferred music service.

Bridget Sharp

Australia's answer to Maggie Rogers

Despite having only released her second solo single, Bridget Sharp has one of the most authentically beautiful voices in the industry. Her mixture of soulful, raw lyricism and soothing pop vocals complement the synth-y dream pop rhythms and melodies of her music beautifully.

Making her debut with ‘Overgrown’ last year, the Geelong indie-pop songstress and Dandecat frontwoman is back, showcasing her breathtakingly soft, delicate vocals against a whirlwind of ethereal instrumentation in her sophomore release, ‘Laundry Day’.

With nods to the likes of Maggie Rogers, King Princess and Asha Jefferies, ‘Laundry Day’ has an easily listenable and carefully crafted pop ambience that fits perfectly into the contemporary mainstream, but it’s also distinctive, naturally vibrant and a platform for Sharp to leave a mark of her own.

An overwhelming surrender, ‘Laundry Day’ was spawned by the emotional turmoil of reflecting on a past lover, with Sharp suggesting the need to break the cycle by starting with something as simple as the song's title.

“‘Laundry Day’ came from a place of emotional reca libration. I was desperately wanting to move on from this relationship, yet it seemed to continuously haunt my thoughts, both good and bad. I sought closure, tried catching up a few times to be friends, which only made it hurt more as it seemed so easy for them to move on.

“I knew in order to cleanse my mind that the change had to come from me – as no amount of time was healing the wound. So, I started trying to accept the weight of how I was feeling, telling myself that it was powerful to be vulnerable and ok to feel a bit behind in life.”

Beginning in 2019 and brought to life with Melbourne producer Sam Phay and mixed by powerhouse Peter Holz, the track has evolved into the pulsing anthem that it is today, filled with a vulnerability and strength not heard from her before.

“It’s taken me this long to release it as it was a song that felt deeply personal. Admitting that you’re not doing well after a breakup can take a lot of power – because it feels like it meant more to you than it did to them.”

Listen to ‘Laundry Day’ on Spotify and find out more at www.bridgetsharpmusic.com

Toni Wilkinson

THE WAIFS

Finding Their Feet At Port Fairy Folk Festival

Words by Tammy Walters

Credit

30 years ago, sisters Vikki Thorn and Donna Simpson took off in a van with Josh Cunningham to busk and gig around Albany in Western Australia. This was the beginning of The WAiFS, as it was originally styled, endless touring cycle. Fasting forward three decades and The Waifs are still on the road every week end. Sans a forced break during the lockdown, The Waifs have consistently led festival lineups across 2022 and dived into a headline national tour, but to Vikki Thorn, the folk band have slowed down.

“We have a history of constantly touring, but that obviously came to a grinding halt, and then the rest of the world did. But now we don't go out as much anymore and we're trying out this new way of touring where we go out just for weekends rather than head out for six weeks at a time.

“It’s just, I think, a natural phase for a band into a 30-year career, you wind back your live touring, especially when we're not recording albums, and we haven't recorded albums in a few years. But after having a long hiatus it’s come in waves. Now it feels like we're very busy. I've been busy and I know individually we've been busy with our solo projects over the last few years, but it hasn't actually been a lot of Waifs stuff until this year and suddenly it starts up: Summersault Series, all these big outdoor concerts, this Crowded House series and festivals. It's like nothing. And then bang,” she explains.

As they head into the A Day On The Green shows, support ing Crowded House, The Waifs have been announced as joining the Port Fairy Folk Festival lineup. It’s a stage that they’ve graced multiple times before, and the giant in The Waifs beanstalk story.

“It was pretty instrumental in The Waifs' career. It kick started our whole career in Australia and overseas, that one festival because we were a band that was doing pretty well around Melbourne and I know Port Fairy draws from Victorian artists. We went from sort of doing all the local hangs in Melbourne and then Port Fairy booked us and they just sort of drop you in on one of those big tents. When you've got a few thousand people sitting there, but maybe they haven't heard of you, maybe they're waiting for the next act; the amount of exposure that a young and up-and-coming or unknown act can get at those festivals is almost equivalent to an overnight success, really,” Thorn explains.

“That's really what happened to The Waifs. People started booking us and just putting us on in front of a huge amount of people that were interested in our sort of music that was Australian and that’s when our career started to take off. The Waifs became really popular in Victoria, more so than in WA, and I would say that is exclusively due to Port Fairy. It also launched our overseas career because the National Folk Alliance was based and did a lot of work with Port Fairy. They were the first people to sort of call us up and say, “Hey, we're going to go overseas and do these shows overseas and in Canada”.”

It would lead to the next phase of their career, where their 2003 multi-award-winning album Up All Night would burst The Waifs into legendary territory. Yet The Waifs don’t forget their roots, returning to the festival year after year. Their longstanding relationship with Port Fairy Folk Festival is mutually favourable, with the festival acknowledging the band as Maton Artist of the Year during the last festival appearance.

“They presented us with an amazing guitar with an inscrip tion on it. That was really nice! I still play the Port Ferry guitar; it was one of my favourite, most cherished festival moments. But the festival itself just has the best community spirit vibe. I always loved Port Fairy because I think it feels like a little Irish town. I just love seeing the quality of the musicians that they bring, whether they're from Melbourne or from overseas, and there’s the Irish and Celtic music there, that's where I fell in love with that music, just watching these world-class musicians

play that beautiful hypnotic music on that stormy coastline. It’s really special.”

Their 2023 return to the coast will see the band playing songs across their revered catalogue including their celebrated 2017 ARIA #1 album, Ironbark and their debut 25-year-old titular album, looking at having a full circle moment with their fans and the festival.

“We want to go on this little journey with you as well because we were there 25 years ago, so we're gonna check in with you again here. And that was a testament to Ironbark going number one and realising you’re all still listening. Our sound hasn’t changed, it's not like we're artists that have morphed and changed a lot. The sounds got more electric and bigger probably, starting out on those Port Fairy stages we were initially just three of us, Donna, Josh and I playing two acoustic guitars. Maybe we'll

bring back that a little bit at the set next year; do an acoustic section where there's just the three of us.”

The process of touring, setlist curation and celebrating milestones has Thorn itching to start writing the next The Waifs album with her aim of making their legacy album.

“The band has been having like a real reflective moment where you go, yeah, this, we made a career out of this and we're doing really well. I'm amazed that we’re still doing it. We were just talking the other day about making the definitive Waifs album, which, up to this point, I think it's been Up All Night, but making an album now 30 years down the track where we actually sit and write songs together based on the music we love because we've never actually written whole a album together. We write songs individually and just put them together collectively. I think you know the album we still need to make is the one where we sit in a room and actually write the songs together. But it isn't an easy process. But I think we've all agreed it's something we should be able to do. Like, it can't be that hard after playing music for as long as we have to just go, “OK, let's knock this out and write a song collectively; write an album collectively”. I think it would be fun to do while we’re on the road,” explains Thorn.

The Waifs will be spending plenty of time in vehicles over the coming months so album number nine will hopefully be on the horizon before 2025. In the meantime help the legendary folk act celebrate their history at Port Fairy Folk Festival from 10 - 13 March 2023.

Tickets are at portfairyfolkfestival.com

"I always loved Port Fairy because I think it feels like a little Irish town. I just love seeing the quality of the musicians that they bring, whether they're from Melbourne or from overseas, and there’s the Irish and Celtic music there, that's where I fell in love with that music."

Abraham Dunovits

Charango Unchained reminds us of how art can move

Melbourne musical melange, Argentinian-born songwriter Abe Dunovits has spent thirty years crafting his unique blend of rock and roll meets pop rock, with an underlying Latin, Spanish and African fusion and a dash of experimental to garnish.

Just like its creator, Dunovits’ new album Charango Unchained contains multitudes, released independently on November 10, marking his fourth solo album.

Approaching music with feeling and spontaneity, Dunovits blends deep substance with deeper sound as he creates an immersive, multi-dimensional experience. The follow-up to April’s Saved by the Taco Belle, Charango Unchained features 14 songs, mostly in Spanish. It’s a play on Django Unchained, making reference to the nature of the music presented: a mix of different musical textures and styles, featuring charango, a ten-string ukulele-like instrument from Latin America, tan-tan drum from Brazil, shakers, small nylon acoustic guitars, some songs mini- electric guitar for the most part and vocals.

“I have always had an eclectic taste in music, as I research and learn new styles instrumentally they tend to filter through in my compositional process,” says Dunovits.

“I have been getting into Brazilian and Mexican folk styles in the last few years, so those mixed with Afro-Caribbean music styles make a great fusion, but ultimately it’s my own imagina tion, improvising and adventurous musicianship that leads me to create new grooves.”

Lyrically the songs are fuelled with messages of social justice or just plain tenderness, and while in Spanish, Dunovits uses the power of language and its intention behind it.

Recorded, mixed and mastered by Dunovits himself, the uplifting album earns its place as a dynamic deliverance of artistry that sees the songwriter stripping it back compared to previous releases and entirely embracing his first language.

“I think as a musician I try to hone into the adventurous aspect of music, always working towards having no fear of creating. [With the new album], I have tried to have fewer instruments in each track.

“I wanted the music to become simpler, more concise, rawer and essential. Initially, the album was going to be just charango and voice.”

Charango Unchained is out now. Find out more at abrahamdunovits.com

Katie Noonan

Bringing Joni Mitchell’s landmark album ‘Blue’ to Geelong in 2023

If you grew up in Geelong, you’ve heard of the Palais. Just up the hill from the stadium, this heart and soul of Geelong culture has been a world-class dance hall, a cinema, a bingo centre, and a music venue for iconic Australian artists such as INXS, Cold Chisel and John Farnham.

Now, Palais Geelong welcomes audiences from the region to experience once again the best that the Australian and inter national music scene has to offer.

2022 saw sensational sell-out shows from classic rock legends Goanna, country royalty Adam Harvey and Beccy Cole, the best of world music from Ausecuma Beats, Chikchika, Ajak Kwai and Sudan’s “King of Music” Gordon Koang, and Australia’s most popular independent artist Lior.

Now the beloved venue has announced an incredibly intimate concert to kick off its 2023 season with a perfor mance by one of the greatest Australian singers of all time, Katie Noonan. On January 7, the celebrated Queensland artist will be presenting Joni Mitchell’s Blue, accompanied by guitar virtuoso Ben Hauptmann.

According to Mitchell, Blue was “the purest emotional record that I will ever make in my life… there’s hardly a dishonest note in the vocals.” Today, Blue is generally regarded by music critics as one of the greatest albums of all time; the cohesion of Mitchell's songwriting, compositions and voice are frequent areas of praise.

Over the past 20 years, five-time ARIA award-winning artist Katie Noonan has proven herself one of Australia’s most hardworking, versatile and prolific artists.

“Blue is an album that unequivocally changed my life. From a compositional, lyrical and vocal performance point of view it has inspired me deeply,” says Katie Noonan.

“I love that the album was gifted to me from another female artist, and it is an album I regularly recommend to up-and-coming female artists also. Joni’s artistry and music genius is unparal leled, and I absolutely love singing her songs,” says Katie Noonan. This concert will be a spine-tingling evening you won’t want to miss.

See Katie Noonan at The Palais Geelong on Saturday, January 7 2023. Tickets at www.palaisgeelong.com

Credit Cybele Malinowski

SAVAGE HONEY

Considering their short tenure as a band, things have been coming together pretty quickly for Savage Honey. Having gained a tonne of attention from their opening slot for Melbourne/ Naarm based nü jazz outfit Glass Beams, the Jan Juc-based indie-rockers have wasted no time carving a name for them selves in the local gig scene, appearing on gig lineups all around the city.

For the group, it still feels like a fever dream, with lead vocalist Jake Hunniford admitting that even he has been blown away by the immediate warm reception the band has received. Although, for him, it’s a sign that they are on a pretty good trajectory.

“At this point, it feels like the sky's the limit,” he laughs, “Truthfully, when we were first starting I thought a lot about what I wanted to achieve with this band. My biggest goal was to play in a room full of people who like our music. Quite honestly, we are lucky enough to have achieved that already.

“If we never moved further than where we are right now, I don’t think I’d mind. We are still so early on in our career and I am already incredibly proud of what we have done, I feel very privileged in that regard. But that said, we just want to enjoy the ride and push it as far as we can, and if that gets us amazing support slots; headliner tours, or regular radio play, that would be amazing. They are definitely things we want to reach for, but I’m enjoying the process rather than the destination.”

“I think more than having any specific goals that we want to achieve, we just want to make sure that our music is good; something that we are proud of and of a high standard,” affirms the group's keyboardist Alex Mathieson.

With the band featuring members from a wealth of differ ent musical backgrounds and levels of experience - including Dom Paver, Savannah Higgs and Jack Wilby, alongside Hunniford and Mathieson, Savage Honey spoke about how their overall mentality and demeanour have shifted to finding solace in the comradery of their bandmates, as opposed to the glorified rockstar lifestyle.

“It’s been therapeutic for me,” states Hunniford, “having spent so many years on the open mic circuit, I’ve played enough gigs hungover or intoxicated and I know that it’s not the way to go.”

“It’s a mindset that we all share. We like having fun, being social and having a party, but we know that partying and making music isn’t necessarily conducive to each other, and we take

that seriously. It’s really important for us to be coming in fresh so we can deliver a good performance because that is the most important thing to us.”

“I think the trajectory we have been on has definitely been aided by us having that mindset, you know, music first, fun after,” agrees Mathieson.

Having spent the last few months cutting their teeth on the gig scene, the group discussed their plans for recording, with many fans beginning to ask, ‘where can I find your music?’

“We are looking at recording in January,” states Mathieson, “I think Dom is getting keen on the idea of recording, which is pretty evident every time someone comes up after a show to ask where they can find our stuff,” he laughs. “But, it’s something we are looking into.”

With the band having “almost an album’s worth of material” ready to be tracked, Hunniford spoke about the group’s writing process, which sees the majority of the lyrical writing done by Hunniford and rhythm guitarist Dom Paver. Having spent so long crafting himself as a solo artist, Hunniford says he’s found it relieving to share songwriting responsibilities.

“I find it refreshing,” he candidly remarks. “I wanted this project to be collaborative, so straight away sharing songwriting duties with Dom and having Jack [Wilby, lead guitar] who is very unapologetic and straightforward has been refreshing. There are certainly times when your ego gets in the way, but you just have to relinquish that control and make sure everyone is heard.”

With plans to record over the summer, a recent support slot for surf-rockers Majak Door and some currently unannounced festival appearances, Savage Honey are gearing up for a pretty flat-out couple of months, but according to Hunniford, it’s a level of acceleration the band hopes to maintain.

“There’s no faltering anyone’s commitment. We are all passionate, committed and hungry for opportunities, as long as we keep that up, I feel we will continue on this trajectory.

Keep up with the latest news and gigs on Instagram @savage_honey_

Meet the Jan Juc-based indie-rockers riding a wave of success

Words by Alex Callan

The Von Robertsons

Bring Their Sound Of Music To Next Gen

Words By Tammy Walters

From the Julie Andrews hill-singing Von Trapp family to the Partridge Family which made David Cassidy an instant heartthrob, The Jackson 5 where Michael Jackson shot to star dom and Sister Sledge, family bands have been around for generations. It’s continued with Disney siblings, the Jonas Brothers and has been resurrected with another ‘I Want You Back’ band, Haim. Geelong’s Bellarine has its very own music family, The Von Robertsons.

Consisting of members of the Robertson family, mother Andrea Robertson, father David Robertson, son Heath Robertson and daughter Carly Robertson, The Von Robertsons emerged organically out of Andrea and David’s solo careers.

“My husband and I are both performing musicians, so I just perform under Andrea Robertson as a songwriter. So I guess it started coming together because the kids have always been around music even before I started doing my own stuff.

“When they were babies I was in a band and, you know, when I was pregnant, I was singing so they've always been around music. I play piano and guitar and sing and song-write, and my husband is a drummer, so the kids just started joining in at very young ages. Both showed a lot of natural ability, so we always wanted to give them opportunities, but we never forced them into music. It's just something that they gravitated towards and they got to the point that they used to just jump up and join us on the occasional song at performances and it kind of just grew from there,” explains Andrea Robertson.

As the family appearances became more prominent in Andrea’s sets, locals started to brand the unit as The Von Robertsons as a nod to the Austrian singing family.

“A lot of locals would say, ‘Here comes The Von Robertsons or the Von Trapp family of Ocean Grove. It was just a bit of a joke, and then it got to the stage where we were performing well enough that we could actually do stuff together and the name just kind of stuck because it had been bestowed upon us anyway,” she continues.

It was during lockdown that The Von Robertsons cemented their status as a family band. The proximity and lack of activities to do during the hard lockdowns, The Von Robertsons turned to their common interest to provide them, and in turn, their commu nity, with entertainment.

“We started doing kind of busking at bars and I think there were a couple of gigs, but it was more in the lockdowns that we got more into the full Robertsons idea of doing proper gigs for live streams,” explains youngest Carly Robertson.

Andrea agrees, “We decided to do some live stream gigs and it sort of snowballed from there. That's one way to get through the lockdowns! It was a bit of a lifesaver at times for all of us; our music. I don't know what we would have done if we didn't have that to fall back on. It was a good outlet for us.”

Unlike their namesakes, The Von Robertsons sit in the blues department adding a fresh twist to their stage family dynamic with rotating roles. Andrea takes on vocals and guitar, David sits on drums, Heath, who like his mother is an award-winning artist in his own right, dabbles in vocals and guitar, and rising talent Carly is on vocals and bass, with the three vocalists interchanging singing lead and regularly breaking into stunning three-part harmonies. Their collective music draws on from all of their shared bloodline influences and individual projects to create a distinct Von Robertsons sound.

“My music is very influenced by my parents and I've grown up listening to Ben Harper, Led Zeppelin, Lenny Kravitz and Aretha Franklin. There's so many differ ent elements. Alabama Shakes as well. There’s a collective assortment of genres and artists and Mum’s very influenced by them with her songwriting, and then I'm influenced by them and mum's songwrit ing. It's a bit of a picture of everything,” Carly explains.

“We’ve all got our own sound going on but it all complements each other and works and I think because we all lived in the same house for so long we just know where we are going with our music. It all falls into place really easily and when we play together it’s very organic,” Andrea agrees.

They’ll be bringing their multi-gen erational, multi-instrumental high energy act to the Blues Train for the Next Gen Concert Series playing shows on 5 and 12 November 2022 and on 21 January 2023.

It’s not to be missed!

Tickets at www.thebluestrain.com.au/ artist/the-von-robertsons

WAAX

Words by Benjamin Lamb

Brisbane alternative rockers WAAX have come a long way since their first release back in 2014. The group dropped their debut album back in 2019, Big Grief, which hit the number 11 spot on the Aussie charts.

The group then supported Rock Heavyweights Fall Out Boy on their Aussie tour. The band just dropped their new record At Least I’m Free, and we caught up with guitarist James Gatling to dive into it all.

The album dropped back in August and has received a great deal of audience and critical acclaim, reaching the top 20 of the ARIA charts. When bands have a few albums under their belt, they wouldn’t be blamed for feeling like things get a little bit monotonous and similar, many groups changing up elements here and there.

James notes that while most of the process stayed the same, the extra time they had due to COVID saw elements come out in the album that may have not been the case otherwise.

“There’re some things that are the same between two albums, like who we record with but that's where the similarities stop.

“This album, because it was written over COVID, we had the benefit of having so much time to think about it and to rework songs. We wrote up to 30/40, songs, and some of them got vetted straightaway.

“For some of them, we were like; ‘Oh, we really liked that part’, so we had the benefit of time to explore.”

The idea of spending more time on music and playing around with sounds and motifs that are new and interesting may be a way for the future of WAAX, James adds.

“We’ve been experimenting a little bit with sampled sounds and stuff like that. When we do get writing again, we're going to experiment with different ways of doing it.

“I know Maz (Marie DeVita, Vocals) likes to write with different producers and different sorts of collaborators all around the world.”

State of Mind

Boo Seeka leads the new mental health charity party coming to Torquay

For years now, the team at UNO Presents has been bringing some of the finest names in the live and electronic music movement as well as festival-level productions to regional cities.

Now they’re back with State of Mind, a fundraiser music festival event with the goal to raise awareness, destigmatise, drive conversation and raise funds for mental health support and intervention in Australia.

Taking over the iconic Torquay Hotel on Friday, November 25, the event will welcome electro-pop legend Boo Seeka as event headliner.

Gold Coast-based Boo Seeka has become a staple of the Australian live scene. Delivering a combination of pulsating sounds that bed down layered textures of electronic bass, percussive beats and smooth synths, Boo Seeka has earned himself a reputation as one of the country’s funnest live acts, with incomparable energy making him a must-see every time he comes around.

Alongside the massive headliner, State of Mind will feature Eva, House Cat, Meetwally, Soul Shakin’ and DJ Swella, bringing the beats to the loved beachside town, making sure punters are partying well into the night.

Taking cues from UNO Presents’ flagship project Coastal Jam, with world-class music acts, mental health and wellbeing remain at the festival’s heart, bringing the music community together to normalise conversations around it while raising important funds to go to some of the nation’s leading mental health support organisation, as well as local initiatives. It’s no secret that mental health is a huge issue among today’s youth more than ever with the world quickly transitioning online - connecting with each other has never been more important.

The festival’s goal is to support the narrative of creating positive connections, strengthening relationships, and being a catalyst for people to open up to their loved ones/professionals to start that difficult conversation about mental health if they’re suffering in silence.

All profits of State of Mind’s door sales will be donated to Beyond Blue (40%), lifeline (40%) and Feed Me Bellarine (20%).

Tickets via www.stateofmind.net.au

Going beyond Australian rock and into a weirder, wilder landscape

At Least I’m Free is out now via Dew Process.

ARTS GUIDE

Exhibitions to see in November + December

Mandy MartinA Persistent Vision

Mandy Martin (1952-2021) was a critically acclaimed Australian feminist artist whose career spanned 45 years, focusing mainly on a landscape-based art practice that examined the European and industrial colonisation of Australia, and a long-term and active commitment to the Australian environment. In 2020 and 2021 Martin worked closely with Geelong Gallery Director & CEO Jason Smith on the selection of 67 prints, drawings and paintings dating from 1975-2017. The gifted works, in addition to the Gallery’s existing holding of her work on show in this exhibition, encapsulates Martin’s career-long picturing of the power and politics of industry and the impacts of human beings on natural environments. This exhibition will present a powerful survey of Mandy Martin’s iconic industrial and landscape subjects.

Geelong Gallery’s new major survey exhibition, Mandy Martin - A Persistent Vision runs until February 5 2023.

Looking Across The Bay: An exhibition celebrating the Goanna archives

Australia’s most iconic band Goanna will bring their extensive national tour home to Geelong on Friday 18 November. To coincide with the event, Goanna have dived deep into their incredible archives drawing out posters, memorabilia and nostalgic artefacts for Looking Across the Bay, a nostalgic exhibition in Geelong. Looking Across the Bay will celebrate 40 years of Goanna’s game-changing 1982 debut album, Spirit of Place, sparking memories, stories and moments led by Goanna and their songs of social protest.

Looking Across the Bay is a free exhibition on display from 14 – 20 November 2022 at The Project Space at Deakin Waterfront Campus, 1 Gheringhap Street, Geelong.

Beating About the Bush: A new lens on Australian Impressionism

This ground-breaking exhibition chal lenges traditional notions of “the bush”, by bringing works by contemporary Australian women photographers together with paintings from the Ballarat Gallery’s outstanding collection of works by Australian Impressionist artists including Tom Roberts, Arthur Streeton and Frederick McCubbin. The exhibition addresses themes such as gender, the hardship of life in the bush, immigration, urban growth, environmental concerns and the presence of Indigenous peoples.

Beating about the Bush: A new lens on Australian Impressionism runs until February 19 2023 at The Art Gallery of Ballarat

Joel Wolter: Silent Tides

Silent Tides is the new solo exhibition from Geelong-born visual artist Joel Wolter, featuring a selection of recent paintings and works on paper completed over the last couple of years, during an unusual period of social and environmen tal dissonance. These works continue the exploration of the natural environment, the sea and the coastline where the artist lives and works. Tides and waves move through these works, and occasionally the sea is met with echoes of humanity traversing the forces of nature and time.

Silent Tides runs until December 4 at Boom Gallery in Newtown.

Liz Fitzgerald: Salt Water

Liz Fitzgerald is a contemporary artist creating abstract and abstracted land scapes and seascapes with her first solo show in three years, the ocean-inspired Salt Water . Inspired by the coastal environment and the surroundings of the Mornington Peninsula south of Melbourne, she produces artworks primarily in acrylic and mixed media. Her works move between abstraction and more realistic interpretations of the landscape.

Salt Water runs until November 26 at Verandah Studio and Gallery in Belmont.

Gypsy Pennefeather: A Survey of Printed Photographs

This exhibition showcases one-off painted photographs by Ballarat artist Gypsy Pennefeather. On display are two series of works. Joyful Harmony - a collec tion of photographs from visits to Japan in 2007, capturing people going about their everyday life and Sawdust on the Brain - a series drawn from Gypsy’s time as a mural painter with various circuses from 1984 - 2000.

Gypsy Pennefeather: A Survey of Printed Photographs runs until December 16 at Michael Nichols Studio/Gallery, open Wednesday to Sunday by appointment.

Masters of Australian Photojournalism

Cementing its place as the city’s hub for both analogue and digital photography, Focal Point Studio, Darkroom and Gallery is currently hosting its third Masters of Australian Photojournalism exhibition. The exhibition features more than 130 photos from eight of Australia's best press photographers, with many famous and award-winning photos. A must-see exhibition for anyone with an interest in sport, news, portraiture and current affairs photography.

Masters of Australian Photojournalism runs until December 4 at Focal Point Studio, Darkroom and Gallery in North Geelong.

Self-Creation

Curated by Aaron Bradbrook and Daniel Newell, Self-Creation features works by CHRISTEENE (USA); Vaginal Davis (USA/ DEU); The Huxleys (AUS); Max Lawrence (AUS), and Dyan Tai (MYS/AUS), and explores a nuanced area in the artform of drag and the idea of gender presenta tion through the specific medium of DIY and low budget - self-produced music videos. This exhibition invites audiences to reconsider the popular imagination of drag as binary - men cross-dressing as women - and used exclusively as a tool for subversion; to instead open up reflec tions about what this specific medium can offer contemporary understandings of gender, sexual identity, community care building, and individual identity self-creation.

Self-Creation runs from November 26 2022 to March 5 2023 at Warrnambool Art Gallery.

After 21 years, 1960 artist performances, 63,000 t-shirts, 172,000 stubby holders, more than four million punters and a billion memories… our favourite A Day On The Green is celebrating its 500th show with the award-winning icons Crowded House at Mt Duneed Estate in Geelong on November 19.

Ever since its beginning, A Day On The Green has remained Australia’s premier outdoor winery concert event and has become a blueprint for how Australians experience music outdoors – cleverly curated musical line-ups, stun ning venues and quality food and wine.

“It’s a remarkable mile stone that a day on the green have reached. Congratulations – that’s a legacy to be proud of. We were there at 220 and now it’s our good fortune to be able to mark their special occasion, the big 500!!! We will be fully energised and singing our hearts out, under the stars with all the good folk on the Green,” says Crowded Houses’ Neil Finn ahead of the band’s long-awaited Geelong leg of the Dreamers Are Waiting tour.

Michael & Anthea Newton started a day on the green out of their garage in Elwood, calling it a “Big Day Out for grown-ups”. The concept was simple –and remains the same 21 years later: good food, fine wine and great music in magnif icent locations.

director Newton reflects. “Being a concert promoter is a tough gig, as every one has realised in the past few years, but thanks to our loyal audience and our great team, we’re still going strong. And we’re still having fun.”

Since 2001, A Day On The Green has given regional communities around Australia a much-needed economic boost, injecting millions of dollars into local economies while bolstering tourism in the regions. A day on the green has played host to international superstars such as Fleetwood Mac, Robbie Williams, Elton John, Blondie, Florence + the Machine,

“Everyone seemed to get the concept – that it was a day out, eating, drinking, hanging out with friends and enjoying the music,” recalls Newton. “It was an indicator that we were onto something.”

“We’re very excited that we’re getting to celebrate our 500th show with Crowded House, a band that means so much to Australians. And what a great line-up – Crowded House, Angus & Julia Stone and The Waifs. We can’t wait!”

The significant milestone of Crowded Houses’ Geelong show is the latest in a string of the concert series’ successes in the region.

500 for A Day On The Green

Crowded House to perform the famed outdoor concert series' 500th show in Geelong

Words by Talia Rinaldo

A Day On The Green has achieved immense success with music acts at Mt Duneed Estate over the years, hosting some of the biggest names in music including Leonard Cohen, Neil Young, Fleetwood Mac, Paul Simon, Don Henley, Florence + The Machine, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Elton John, all courtesy of A Day On The Green.

Robbie Williams’ 2018 performance at Mt Duneed Estate marked the largest A Day On The Green concert at the time, entertaining 20,000 adoring fans, while Red Hot Chili Peppers Geelong show in 2019 marked the series’ fast-selling show in more than 20 years.

Roundhouse Entertainment later partnered with Michael Gudinski’s Mushroom Group, a partnership that continues to this day with Michael’s son, Matt Gudinski.

“Doing shows in wineries was a unique concept when a day on the green first launched 21 years ago, so to have now hit 500 shows is an amazing feat,” Matt Gudinski says.

“Credit to everyone involved in the journey which has seen some of the world’s greatest artists perform in truly amazing settings across Australia. There’s no slowing down and we’re looking forward to the next 500. Congratulations a day on the green!”

“It was an honour to walk side by side with MG on the journey, and our vision remains the same,” Roundhouse

It also helped pioneer homegrown line-ups to showcase iconic local legends including Archie Roach, Cold Chisel, Crowded House, INXS, Jimmy Barnes, John Farnham, Tina Arena, Kylie, Midnight Oil, Paul Kelly and Vika & Linda, as well as always promoting up-and-coming new talent, including the first outdoor shows by a young Missy Higgins.

The first A Day On The Green was at Mount Eliza’s Morning Star Estate on 26 January, 2001, with 1,800 people enjoy ing an all-Australian bill: James Morrison, Renée Geyer, Stephen Cummings and Rebecca Barnard & Shane O’Mara.

While the past couple of years has presented a raft of challenges for the events brand, Crowded House’s upcoming gig is just the latest in a string of shows heading for Geelong, including the just-announced Rod Stewart, Cyndi Lauper and Jon Stevens triple-header, Sting, The Killers, Tent Pole festival and Robbie Williams in the next 12 months alone.

Often imitated, never bettered, a day on the green is turning 21, cele brating its 500th show – and looking to the future!

A Day On The Green’s 500th show will see Crowded House with Angus & Julia Stone, The Waifs and Maistrato take to Mt Duneed Estate, Geelong on Saturday, November 19.

Neil Young, Sting, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Rod Stewart.

STAGE GUIDE

Shows to catch in November + December

Small Wonders

Written by Blink Dance Theatre’s creative team and accompanied by original sound design by composer Josh Mitchell, Small Wonders see participants guided on a mythic journey through headphones to reclaim their animal bodies and find the fullness of nature within. Utilising spatial audio and ASMR binaural mixing techniques in an experiential new work that challenges the audience/performer relationship found in traditional theatrical contexts, this is an immersive audio, text and movement experience, with a focus on deep listening, embodied connection, and resonance. A place where wonder becomes the bridge between the ordinary and the extraordinary.

Blink Dance Theatre presents Small Wonders at Platform Arts in Geelong on November 23 & 24.

The Bleeding Tree

Shining a light on powerful social issues, Anglesea Performing Arts is bringing the staging of Angus Cerini’s Gothic Australian masterpiece The Bleeding Tree to the region for a limited run at the Anglesea Memorial Hall this November. Triggered into thrilling motion by an act of revenge, The Bleeding Tree unravels a complex, brutal and searing examination of abuse, power and control, resulting in a rude, rhythmical, heartbreaking and darkly funny performance. Imagine a murder ballad blown up for the stage, set against a deceptively deadly Aussie backdrop, with three fierce females fighting back.

The Bleeding Tree will show from November 10 until November 19.

The Kings Of Christmas

The Kings Of Christmas will bring cheer, charm and song to Geelong for its world premiere. Australian actor and singer Rob Mills and Irish-born Aussie Actor Bobby Fox, two of Australia’s leading men, are bringing their cheer, charm, cheek and Christmas classics, in the world premiere of their brand new show – The Kings of Christmas! Joining them onstage, sprin kling some Christmas magic, will be their “little BIG Band” and the Rockin’ Rob and Bobettes.

The Kings of Christmas take to Costa Hall in Geelong on December 18.

Emilia

Fierce and provocative, Emilia is the perfect mix of comedy and fury; a rollicking ride that takes audiences on an exuberant and moving journey through love, loss, identity, ambition, power, rebel lion and what it is to be a woman in a man’s world. From the West End to Australia, the ground-breaking triple Olivier Awardwinning stage show EMILIA is making its Australian debut, talking about the life of the 17th-century poet and revolutionist Emilia Bassano – the speculated ‘Dark Lady’ of Shakespeare’s sonnets. The cast is made up of 13 women and non-binary performers, each bringing something special to the performance.

Emilia is playing at the Arts Centre’s Playhouse until November 27.

Movember Comedy Night 2022

If you’re looking for a night packed with laughs, this is it. Movember Comedy Night returns to Bendigo featuring an all-star cast of comedians, including Luka Muller (MC), Sam Gebreselassie, Danny McGinlay (Bulldogs Bannerman) and Ivan Aristeguieta (Melbourne International Comedy Festival All-Stars). Raising money for testicular cancer awareness, suicide prevention, and depression treat ments, you’ll probably not do more to help without growing a moustache. Unless you grow a moustache and also come to this gig – in which case you’re a bloody legend.

It all goes down a The Engine Room in Bendigo on November 30.

Ballarat Cabaret Festival

The Ballarat Cabaret Festival is back for two days of live and in-person enter tainment, featuring main stage shows, brunch, late-night club events and much more. Shows include Ballarat’s Rising Stars, Vivian Fonteyn’s Born in a Trunk, Miss Frisby’s Mile High, LGBTQIA+ event Brunch Darling!, Glee Club, Trevor Jones by Request, Family Show featuring Dandyman, Glamour Pussy and Club Cabaret with Issie Hart.

Ballarat Cabaret Festival runs from November 18 & 19.

Celtic Illusion Reimagined

Breaking barriers by fusing unparalleled art forms, Celtic Illusion (the Irish dance and Grand Illusion sensation) is back with a Reimagined Tour. The show will feature new spellbinding illusions and choreog raphy alongside a musical score that will either make you cry or send shivers down your spine. Led by the multi-talented former lead dancer of Michael Flatley’s Lord of the Dance and Star Illusionist Anthony Street and Georgia May, a cast of champion dancers recruited from renowned productions across the world will deliver a theatrical masterpiece that will have you mesmerised from the moment the curtain is raised. Celtic Illusion Reimagined will surpass your expectations and leave you wanting more.

Celtic Illusion Reimagined takes to Costa Hall in Geelong on December 9.

Deni Todorovic

Brings their book ‘Love This For You’ live to the stage in Geelong

Non-binary icon, fashion editor, content creator, activist, creative director, podcast host and now author Deni Todorovic (they/them) is gifting their hometown of Geelong a night to remember, bringing their new book Love This For You to the stage in an intimate conversation with their audience.

Renowned for their popular Instagram page, Style by Deni, Deni shows their followers what it means to lead a joyous, open-hearted life, but this wisdom has been hard-won. As a queer, non-binary person and as a child of migrants, Deni knows firsthand what it means to exist between worlds and to step into one’s truth.

Available in bookstores now, Love This For You takes you on a journey, with the former celebrity stylist and former fashion editor of Cosmopolitan magazine sharing how they’ve learned to live on their own terms. Full of intimate, insightful reflections on everything from family and culture to friendship, dating and career goals, and packed with useful tips, tools and techniques, Love This for You invites you to explore each pillar of your identity to start healing and live with great intention.

Hailed one of the warmest, most captivating voices of our generation (by Shameless Podcast’s Michelle Andrews), Deni will bring their heartwarming and eye-opening story to the stage in Geelong this November with the Love This For You Live Tour.

Audiences will hear how Deni navigated and transitioned through life to date as they share their story in hopes of inviting us all to navigate through our life journey with anecdotes and life pillars that we all share at one time or another. The evening promises to inspire us to see the world on many levels in hopes of acceptance and understanding that we are not all the same and through conversation and connection we can move toward a safer world for all… A world in which we live authentically.

Join Deni for a night on how to rewrite the rules and live authentically at The Palais Geelong on November 24 from 7:30pm. You can purchase tickets at www.palaisgeelong.com

Sunnymead Hotel

The new retro-inspired 4.5-star hotel to open on the Great Ocean Road this Summer

Adding to the vibrant culture at Aireys Inlet, Sunnymead Hotel is the new boutique accommodation and it’s full of fun and personality, appealing to “fun seekers + sun seekers”.

Previously Lightkeepers Inn Motel, this classic motel has been given a complete retro-inspired renovation. Receiving the ultimate glow-up, Sunnymead’s 20 guest suites have been designed for the modern traveller, with the warm colour palette bringing an “always sunny” vibe to its guests. The rooms have been playfully styled with a curated local mini bar, luxury local bathroom products from The Herbalist Bells Beach and a custom yellow Nood Co. basin in the ensuite bathrooms.

Designed for shared experiences, the outdoor area is made for entertaining with a sparkling magnesium pool and pool bar, affectionately named “Sunnies”. The space can be booked out for private functions or corporate groups, which can also take advantage of the fire pit and lounge area with a pizza oven. Breeze blocks complete the outdoor spaces livened up with greenery and accented with our signature pop of colour.

Sunnymead Hotel will be home to Indie Spa and Santara Restaurant, with both facilities opening to guests and the general public in early 2023.

What was once the manager’s residence is being trans formed into a unique day spa with three individual treatment rooms, including a dual suite with a Vichy shower, ideal for couples, and a Rasul and bathhouse. Indie Spa was brought to life through the creative interior design team at award-winning architect Cera Stribley, achieving the vision of a unique ‘non’ spa that goes against the norm.

The existing conference space will become Santara Restaurant, celebrating colour, flavour and freshness. Expect Indian-inspired dining designed for sharing and grazing, paired with fun cocktails and a vibrant atmosphere!

Fitting with the fun and nostalgic theme of Sunnymead, the property comes with its own sunshine-yellow Volkswagen Kombi. “Daisy” will provide private tours for corporate groups, bridal parties, travelling friends and international visitors.

Sunnymead Hotel, located at 64 Great Ocean Road, Aireys Inlet, is accepting bookings from December 16 2022. Head to www.sunnymeadhotel.com.au

Mandy Martin— A Persistent Vision

Exhibition partner

Stuart Leslie Foundation

Mandy Martin, Unknown industrial prisoner II 1977 screenprint; edition 8/35, Geelong Gallery Gift of the artist 2021, © Estate of Mandy Martin Photographer: Andrew Curtis

FOREVER GIVING HANDSHAKES

Album Reviews by Alex Callan

Having only formed in March 2021 Delivery are still a relatively fresh face on the scene, with the majority of their career thus far being spent in lockeddown rooms and recording studios, but that’s about to change.

With the group having just dropped one of the strongest Aussie punk albums of the past few years, it’s only a matter of time before Delivery are recognised as up-and-comers worth keeping a close eye on.

With their debut release Forever Giving Handshakes epitomising promi nent aspects of Melbourne’s modern-day art-punk movement, as well as a healthy dose of classic pub rock nostalgia, it’s an

revered pub-rock singer Graeme ‘Shirley’ Strachan of The Skyhooks.

‘Office Party’ highlights unique tonal shifts due to its collation of vocals from all members of the band, adding an undeniable punch as each member's voices overlap and intertwine. As does ‘No Homes’, which stands out due to its adoption of guitar distortion and an almost spoken word cadence from lead vocalist Daniel Devlin. In another defining moment for the group, ‘Wear It Well’ ushers in punchy chanted choruses and staggered angular builds that’ll un doubtedly go down a treat live.

Heading in a different direction to its predecessors, ‘Lifetimer’ veers towards the alt-rock stylings of ‘Take It From The Man!’ era

The Brian Jonestown Massacre, with its droney reverbed vocals channelling some psychedelic textures.

The album closer ‘Best Western’ highlights a more subdued direction, letting its prominent bassline act as the song’s lead driving force up until its chaotic final moments.

album that’ll quickly strike a chord with punters of any age.

Opener ‘Picture This’ provides a linear post-punk nature to the rhythms, reeling you in immediately with its metronomic bassline and a repetitive Joy Division quality to the strumming, whilst ‘PoorTo-Middling MoneyMaking’ maintains more of a manically aggressive quality, feeling closer to the likes of contem poraries such Clamm or Stiff Richards.

Lead single ‘Baader Meinhof’ stands out due to its punchier synths and the sharp pitch of Bec Allen’s vocals, at times feeling reminiscent of the high tones of

As you may have picked up, Delivery’s first effort transcends the rudimentary confines of traditional punk, pulling influence from a vast array of beloved acts both old and new. With twangy guitar lines; art-punk complexities and a healthy dose of wit in tow, Forever Giving Handshakes defines Delivery as one of the most unique punk outfits in Melbourne, with their debut effort wasting no time carving out a distinct sound for the group.

An absolute standout release that’ll continue to influence the emerging Aus punk scene for years to come.

Label: SpoilSport Records/Anti Fade Records (Au & NZ) and Feel It Records (US)

Release date: November 11

Georgia

Fields Hiraeth

It’s rather challenging to write about themes of death, infidelity and moth erhood with the level of sincerity and candour that Georgia Fields does. Drawing inspiration from pain, Fields' brand of indie-pop explores melancholia and tragedy through a hauntingly intimate first-person perspective.

On Hiraeth, Fields’ presents an unflinchingly honest depiction of loss; intimately unpacking the traumatic events she has endured alongside a guise of warm textures, vibrant guitar licks and joyous singalongs.

Opener ‘Find Your Way Back’ deliv ers luscious drum hooks, melodic guitar leads and punchy pop vocals, whilst ‘Persuasion’ drips in soulful swagger and enigmatic harmonies.

‘Water To Water’ unpacks Fields’ experience with miscarriage in a powerful performance that employs stripped-back guitars and a haunting conviction to Fields’ vocals. In another painstakingly intimate moment, ‘In My Blood’ discusses the coping mechanisms employed by Fields after receiving a diagnosis of acute postnatal depression.

Whilst most songs present a contrast between sombre lyricism and uplifting pop musicianship, ‘I Saw It Coming’ steps away from the normal dream-pop stylings, switching it up with eloquent string arrangements and simmering ‘prom’ inspired drum rolls behind Fields’ impressive vibrato.

Hiraeth isn’t just an album that offers catharsis for Fields; it’s a bold declaration that will empower fans for years to come. This is an essential release that distinguishes Fields’ songwriting as a cut above the rest.

Label: Independent/MGM Distribution

Release date: November 17

Adalita Inland

There are a lot of artists out there who spend effort trying to convey a certain image; formidable Australian rock icon Adalita is not one of them. If anything, the last 20 years have established Adalita as a songwriter dripping with individuality, with her nonchalant vocals and grungey riffs now serving as the benchmark of the noughties pubrock sound.

Whilst Magic Dirt cut their teeth on the grunge sound of the 90s, with down-tuned riffs and droney distor tions at the forefront of their sound, Adalita’s solo material differs, with her long-awaited third solo album Inland showing a more introspective side of the revered artist.

This is pretty understandable considering that at its core Inland is a breakup album, with Adalita exploring the varying levels of torment and vulnerability that many are riddled with post-breakup over the 10 tracks.

In a particularly baring moment, opener ‘Private Feeling’ sees the explo ration of a romantic relationship with a younger partner, with the songwriter evocatively grounding herself in the realisation that “company is [her] liberty”. ‘Savage Heart’ on the other hand, ushers in feelings of despair, asking the now separated partner, “how could you leave me this way?”

They are stark confessions but ones delivered earnestly, with Inland highlighting bare and exposing glimpses into Adalita’s life; the tenderness of love and the empowering perception of oneself in the wake of heartache.

King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard

Changes

It’s hard to discredit King Gizzard’s ability to turn any idea into a full-fledged album. With a mentality that no idea is too grand or too minute, the group have explored a wealth of different concepts across their 23 studio albums. With their catalogue now ranging from melodic jazz to 80’s inspired speed-metal, there are many different genres at their disposal.

But yet, impressively, the group continues finding new ways to push themselves as songwriters, with Changes standing out as one of their most ambitious releases.

Adopting a more minimalistic approach than its predecessors, Changes focuses on the exploration between a singular chord+key change. Tying in with releases such as Quarters! and Sketches Of Brunswick East, Changes roots itself in a free-flowing jazz style; with melodic key arrangements, meandering guitar licks and unrelenting off-kilter percussion all at the forefront of its sound.

From the enigmatic rattled snare tones on opener ‘Change’ to the unme thodical inclusion of flute on ‘Astroturf’, there’s certainly enough to keep most fans happy, with Changes providing a myriad of atmospheric grooves, disso nant harmonics and lush soundscapes.

Changes isn’t just an album that will appease Gizz fanatics, instead, it’s a release that’ll simultaneously impress music nerds; Gizzverse loyalists and the everyday radio goer to equal extents, with its melodic explorations marking Gizzard’s most accessible release to date.

Label: KGLW

Release date: October 28

The Smith Street Band Life After Football

Ageing sucks. No one likes getting older; paying taxes, losing their looks and then eventually dying. And whilst it’s a reasonably predictable aspect of life, it’s a concept that many blokes really struggle with. That’s why The Smith Street Band’s Life After Football is such an important release.

Part Wil Wagner’s personal journal and part ‘How To Be An Ageing Aussie Barfly For Beginners’, Smith Street’s sixth album doesn’t waste any time trying to be cool. Instead, with lyrics covering the monotony of working life; the insecurities of hair loss and the fear of “being no one forever,” Life After Football resonates with a take-it-or-leave-it attitude. This is something that can be said about the band’s output, with the group’s newest effort highlighting a return to their fuzzy distorted origins.

It’s rough around the edges, as pub rock should be. ‘Everyone Is Lying To You For Money’ maintains a manic feeling throughout, with a haphazard nature to its rhythms matching the sullen lyrical content. ‘Dilute’ juxtaposes rapid drum patterns and quick staccato picking with slow drawled vocals, building into a high-stakes crescendo that sees Wagner spewing his vocals out with a rabid slurred cadence.

It’s Smith Street at their finest, with Life After Football highlighting a renewal of the group’s pub rock roots and showing that overall, the group are ageing pretty damn well.

Release date: November 25

Label: Pool House Records

Label: Liberation Records via Mushroom Group Release date: December 2

OK Smash

OK Smash is the Michael Jordan of Geelong's burger scene. Arguably one of the best things to come out of 2020 thanks to renowned Igni and Hot Chicken Project chef-restau rateur Aaron Turner, OK Smash has gone from a brilliant pop-up retro sports bar specialising in cheeseburgers and champagne, to a cult figure in Geelong’s burger world with its intimate, fullyfledged burger bar.

Moving into the space next door to their previous location, now at 88 Little Malop Street, OK Smash have built up a hefty following of burger obsessors devoted to their killer burgers, hot dogs and delicious beer on tap.

As expected regarding Aaron Turner’s outputs, this space was made for good times.

Inside, you’re greeted by a gritty fit-out with neon signage and fairy lights strung up over the bar. The room is immersed in a subtle blue glow, with stools at the bar, tables lining one side of the intimate restaurant and a quirky red-light fixture hanging over the front of the bar.

As for the menu, the burger goodness has evolved and expanded with a new larger menu. Serving up double patties, you will find the OG Classic Cheeseburger (beef, American cheese, pickles, ketchup and mustard) and Oklahoma Smash Cheeseburger (beef, American cheese, onions, pickles and sauce), alongside the likes of the mushroom cheeseburger and the Slugburger circa 1917. Served with fries, you can even up the ante and add on an extra patty or two for a couple of extra dollars. Bar the Slugburger which is $15, these works of burger art are all $22.

Having already perfected the art of whipping up mean burgers from scratch that will have you licking your fingers for days with Hot Chicken Project, rest assured you’ll be treated to the same consistency and high quality from the team with these beef burgers, making each bun-wrapped treat a delight.

Worshipping the food of the Gods, OK Smash is here to satisfy our hunger cravings and undying affection for meat in a bun… you won’t regret checking them out.

Where: 88 Little Malop Street, Geelong

Pistol Pete’s Food N Blues

Pistol Pete’s Food n Blues is the Southern feast you’ve been looking for. It’s the only place in the Geelong region where you can taste, smell, hear and actually feel like you are right in the middle of the Southern States – minus the travel fare.

Drawing from passions of both blues music and the cuisine of the Southern States, owner, Geelong chef and Blues lover Pete Raimondo has aimed to create a true American experience since opening back in 2014, now creating a place you can go late at night for a full dining experience with a side of amazing live music, or for quality food takeaway while experiencing the true flavours of southern Louisiana.

If you are craving a burger from the Southern States, Pistol Pete’s has you covered with more than a dozen burgers, Po Boys and Rolls on the menu.

Spoil yourself with the Mojo Burger, our top pick for Pistol Pete’s. Complete with a mouthwatering 125g beef patty, smokey bacon, baloney, pulled pork, double cheese, cajun onions and BBQ & Creolaise sauces, crowned with a whole pickle.

While the Mojo is our go-to, also try the Cajun Burger (Cajun seasoned 125g beef patty, andouille sausage, cajun onions, cheese, creolaise and Louisiana hot sauce), or treat yourself with a Cheese & Bacon BBQ Burger, Tofu Burger or your classic Cheese Burger.

It’s the triple cheeseburger though that has earned Pistol Pete’s its stripes as a cult figure in Geelong’s burger world. This beast is stacked high with three 125g beef patties, triple cheese, lettuce, tomato, red onion and BBQ sauce, which packs just the right amount of punch.

All burgers are made using 100% Angus Beef with La Madre Buttermilk Bun’s holding the goods together. Gluten-Free rolls are available though if you need them.

Flippin’ patties for almost a decade, Pistol Pete’s was a classic when they opened, and remains a classic in 2022 and beyond.

Where: 93A Little Malop Street, Geelong.

Burger Plus

A Geelong mainstay within the burger community, Burger Plus has been at it for a while now and cemented itself as one of the best burger purveyors in Geelong, voted Geelong’s best burger in the past.

Tucked away at the northern end of Mercer St, right under the Belmercer Hotel, Burger Plus have been slinging juicy, stacked creations and satisfying our hunger cravings and undying affection for meat in a bun since 2017. Expect to find the finest ground beef burgers (from your regular beef, to double beef), chicken schnitzel burgers, pulled-pork burgers, and even juicy vegan and veggie burgers that have you licking your fingers for days.

Standouts include the Fyre Chicken Burger, made with chicken schnitzel, cheese, jalapeno, coleslaw and spicy mayo; as well as double beef No 1, which comes stacked with double beef, double cheese, tomato, lettuce, caramelised onion and homemade sauce.

While they nail the classics, their inventive and testing nature has led to some of the best burgers our region has ever seen, like the truffle beef burger packed with beef, cheese, lettuce, caramelised onion, fries and truffle mayo; or the chorizo beef burger with beef, cheese, chorizo, lettuce, salsa fresca, chipotle mayo and caramelised onion. Their plant-based burgers are also known to make our tummy rumble, featuring a plantbased meat patty, cheese, lettuce, caramelised onion, tomato, pickle and homemade sauce, pulled off with flawless execution

If you’re not feeling like a burger (infrequent, but possible), they’ve got you covered with a selection of beef and chicken wraps, chilli-cheese fries, bacon cheese fries, chicken schnitty strips, hard and soft shell tacos, sweet potato fries and even macho fries – complete with Japanese style seasonings and spicy mayo.

Save room for their sugar-filled selection of shakes for the full burger experience.

Where: 14A Mercer Street, Geelong

Blackman’s Brewery and Burger Bar

When beers and burgers come together it’s always an epic time, especially when it’s in an epic location on the main street of Ocean Grove, courtesy of Blackman’s Brewery and Burger Bar. This independently-owned brew company known for its colourful, in flavour and appearance, beers have created another bright and bubbly venue to reflect its signature brand on Ocean Grove’s main strip in one of the town’s most historic buildings and with it, an epic burger menu to match.

Blackman’s Brewery’s inventive and testing nature has led to some of the best burgers the region has seen, a credit which can be attributed to head Chef Russ. An Ocean Grove local who previously owned an award-winning burger bar in Melbourne, chef Russ made his return home to the coast, bringing along a renewed focus on fresh and seasonal ingredients, including innovative new specials bi-weekly.

On the meat and bun front, hero burgers include the signature beef burger and crowd favourite, The Blackman, featuring an Angus beef patty, bacon, lettuce, tomato, pickles, American cheddar and house mac sauce.

Entirely memorable, the Southern Chicken burger (complete with pickled slaw, American cheddar and house chipotle mayo) and the Barramundi Burger round out our top three choices, providing an impeccable pairing to beers and ocean views.

Perfecting the basics, the cheeseburger is top-notch, their cheesy schroom burger is a great option for one of the best veggie burgers going around and they also nail the double beef and bacon burger. All are served with chips, there are also gluten-free buns on hand.

You’ve also got chilli chips, pickled slaw and mac n cheese croquettes, plus onion rings, Southern chicken pieces and buffalo wings for when you’re feeling snacky. Oh, and these legends even dish out an option for the kids with the Lil Shorty.

With locations in Geelong and Torquay too, the summerinspired Ocean Grove space includes a beer garden, rotating taps of their core range and seasonals and live music on Sundays, truly making this spot well worth the trip.

Where: 82 The Terrace, Ocean Grove

Credit Jamie Wdziekonski

Chopped Festival Amyl

Words by Talia Rinaldo

Rain, hail or shine, the drag races of the 1950s and 60s went off regardless; tearing up the dirt and mud, flicking it up into the wheel trims and panels of the hundreds of cars and bikes that took its path. Regional Victoria’s Chopped festival is a homage to this time and returning for 2022 with more than 25 powerhouse bands performing, it’s an event that’s for the rockers, the petrolheads, hipsters and greasers.

Hailed a hybrid hot rod, motorcy cle and music camping festival that embraces the path less trodden by mainstream society, Chopped is making a triumphant return for its 11th year, taking over Carisbrook with a wild three-day event (from December 2 to December 4 2022) headlined by Melbourne’s explo sive retro-punk rockers Amyl and the Sniffers, presented by Always Live.

Since 2016 Amyl and the sniffers have been a snarling, dirt-covered gem of the Melbourne punk-rock scene. They sport a raw, 70’s style in sound, dress, and attitude, and their records demand being played at max volume, which barely compares to their blistering live performance, which sees frontwoman Amy Taylor consistently deliver maniacal, lewd energy as she careens around the stage between her mulleted companions. Renowned for their ball-tearing live show, Amyl and The Sniffers – rounded out by guitarist Dec Martens, bassist Gus Romer and drummer Bryce Wilson – has gone from strength to strength in recent years, going from Melbourne dive bars to US television screens, bringing along their raw self-expression, defiant energy, and unapologetic vulnerability.

You couldn’t find a band more fitting to headline the return of this Victorian favourite festival.

Alongside The Sniffers, Chopped has managed to lock in the best Australia’s got in punk, rock, garage, psych and country including the likes of Andy Golledge, C.O.F.F.I.N, Grindhouse, Smoke Witch, Parsnip and Nick Nuisance & The Delinquents, among many others who will keep you pumping throughout all the action of the cars and bikes in the smoke and dust.

These acts will perform across the iconic ‘Wolfman’s Rambling Truck’ which will roll through the festival by day moving the music to the people through the campgrounds, arenas and displays, as well as the favourite ‘Main Stage’ by night, belting it out in the middle of all the action at the Entertainment Arena.

The music is merely one part of this rip-roaring event. Chopped will also feature noisy, smokey and powerful Asphalt Drag Racing presented by ‘HARD METAL’; the tradition of live ‘Dirt Drag’ racing; and Chopp’A’rammA, an indoor Chopper Motorcycle Show presented by ‘Thanks Tattoo Sydney’. The curative vision of Mitch Bailey, one of Australia’s lead painters within the traditional custom chopper scene, here you’ll find 30 of the best Choppers from across the nation on display. You can also get some fresh ink from the Thanks Tattoo crew who will have their mobile studio on site.

Over in the vehicle arena, punters can get around pre-1966 Traditional Rods and Customs from every corner of Australia mixed with Traditional Style Bobbers and Choppers. Driven and ridden from all corners of Australia these bikes and cars are a tribute to the scene, hours of devotion and love are poured into the creation of the vehicles, they are artworks of their own.

Within the Entertainment Area, there’s a genuinely excellent ‘Young Henrys’ Tiki Tavern and Tiki Isle ‘Cocktail Cave’ where a range of Young Henrys will be flowing among the palm and the coco nuts, with cocktails shaking in the island sounds and vibes. Drop in a Saturday night Toga Party and this island will get loose with the late-night DJs taking over when the Main Stage wraps.

As with every quality multi-day festival, there will also be an excellent range of vendors and food fitting for the scene.

This is also a camping festival, so get your shit in order because you’ll be pitching a tent. Camping is included in the Chopped Full Festival Pass, and if you have a Camper, Bus, Caravan, 4WD with roof tent there will be a dedicated campground for you all.

Chopped will take over Carisbrook Racecourse and Recreation Reserve, Carisbrook, Victoria from December 2 to December 4 2022. Purchase tickets at www.chopped.com.au

Gigs + Events

Nov17

–

Dec11.

For more gigs head to fortemag.com.au/gigguide

Thursday November 17th

ROLLING BLACKOUTS COASTAL FEVER ‘ENDLESS ROOMS’ TOUR WITH FLOODLIGHTS AND MAPLE GLIDER. Torquay Hotel. Torquay. 7:30pm. $59.90

VOID OF VISION, DIAMOND CONSTRUCT, THE BEAUTIFUL MONUMENT. The Barwon Club. South Geelong. 7:30pm. $28.60.

SURPRISE CHEF, GUESTS (TBC). The Eastern. Ballarat. 8:30. $20.

AN EVENING WITH THE WAIFS. The Capital. Bendigo. 8pm. $65.

TIM FREEDMAN. Piano Bar. Geelong. 8pm. SOLD OUT.

DAYLESFORD MUSIC COLLEGE SHOWCASE. Palais Hepburn. Hepburn. 5:30pm. $10.

LIVE MUSIC. Bombora’s Beach Bar. Torquay. 4pm. Free.

LIVE MUSIC. Beavs. Geelong. 9:30pm. Free.

FRIENDLYJORDIES. Sphinx Hotel. Geelong. 7:30pm. $49.50

CIRCUS MANIA. Castlemaine. Various Times. $15-$40

Friday November 18th

LOCH HART MUSIC FESTIVAL FEATURING: ALIEN NOSEJOB, DIGITAL AFRIKA, EMPRESS; GOOD SNIFF, HARVEY SUTHERLAND; WURST NURSE AND MORE.

The Great Ocean Road. Princetown. November 18-20. $249.

ABERRATION, THE BLISTERED MINDS, FUTURE TONGUES, BLAZING TWIGS.

The Barwon Club. South Geelong. 7:00pm. $18.40.

SURPRISE CHEF, GUEST (TBC). Theatre Royal. Castlemaine. 8pm. $30.60.

ILLY. Torquay Hotel. Torquay. 8pm. $51.

THE HORNETS ‘CELEBRATING 25 YEARS’. Pistol Pete’s Food and Blues. Geelong. 9pm. $20.

AN EVENING WITH THE WAIFS. Palais Hepburn. Hepburn. 6:30pm. SOLD OUT.

GOANNA ‘CELEBRATING 40 YEARS OF SPIRIT OF PLACE’ WITH LUKE BISCAN AND LUKE RYAN. Costa Hall. Deakin University Geelong Waterfront. 8pm. $95.78 - $70.55.

LIVE MUSIC. Beavs. Geelong. 9:30pm. Free.

LIVE MUSIC. The Elephant & Castle. Geelong. 6pm. Free.

LIVE MUSIC AT THE JUKE. THE JUKE. The Grovedale Hotel. Geelong. 8:30. Free.

LIVE ENTERTAINMENT. The Barwon Heads Hotel. Barwon Heads. 7pm. Free.

LIVE MUSIC AT GUITAR BAR. The Barking Dog. Geelong West. 5pm. Free.

FLORENCE BAR FRIDAYS. Geelong Hotel. Geelong. 9pm. Free.

LIVE MUSIC. Bombora’s Beach Bar. Torquay. 3pm. Free.

LIVE MUSIC. The Hop Inn. Mt Duneed. 6pm. Free.

RUBY GILL, ANNIE ROSE MALONEY. The Bridge Hotel. Castlemaine. 9pm. $15.

STRESS WALTERS. Valhalla Taproom. Geelong. 8pm. Free

OPEN FOLKIN’. Old Church On The Hill. Bendigo. 6pm. Gold Coin Donation.

YACHT ROCK REVIVAL. The Gateway Hotel. Corio. 8:30pm. $29.60.

MICHAEL BLEACH, DELIVERY. The Eastern. Ballarat. 8:30. $15.

RADIO REJECTS, THE

COOLABAHS, HAROLD HOLT SEARCH PARTY. The Golden Vine Hotel. Bendigo. 9pm. $15.

TRIPOD. Sphinx Hotel. Geelong. 8:30pm. $41.66

CIRCUS MANIA. Castlemaine. Various Times. $15-$40

BIGGEST EVER BLOKES LUNCH. Red Energy Arena. Bendigo. 12pm. $154.75

BALLARAT

CABERET FESTIVAL. Ballarat Mechanics Institute. Ballarat. Various Times.

Saturday November 19th

FORTAY AT LARGE, CORRUPT CONSORTIUM, RIBBY247, MASE ONE. The Barwon Club. South Geelong. 7:00pm. General Admission $44.90. Meet & Greet + General Admission $86.70.

ILLY. Volta. Ballarat. 8pm. $50.75.

COOL SOUNDS, WAY DYNAMIC. The Bridge Hotel. Castlemaine. 7:30pm. Free.

BARRACOUTA, BITCH EYES, COSMONAUT. The Eastern. Ballarat. 8:30. $15.

QUEEN FOREVER - ‘BREAK FREE TOUR’. Costa Hall. Deakin University Geelong Waterfront. 8pm. $65 - $45.

MY DISCO, GUEST (TBC). Theatre Royal. Castlemaine. 8pm. $35.70.

‘SAY MY NAME’ 90’S & 00’S PARTY. Torquay Hotel. Torquay. 8pm. $20.

MANIFOLD RESOLUTION FEAT. LAURA ENTWINED, SAXY & DJ MICKEY SPACE. Palais Hepburn. Hepburn. 7pm. $25.

RUNNING IN THE SHADOWS: THE FLEETWOOD MAC SHOW. The Capital. Bendigo. 8:30pm. $65.

GEORGE KAMIKAWA, AARON POLLOCK, PHIL COYNE &

THE WAYWARD ACES, THE MOJO CORNER. Bluestrain. Queenscliff. SOLD OUT.

CRAIG ATKINS. Pistol Pete’s Food and Blues. Geelong. 9pm. $15.

WOOSHKA.

The Elephant & Castle. Geelong. 9:30pm. Free.

LIVE MUSIC. Beavs. Geelong. 9:30pm. Free.

LIVE MUSIC AT THE JUKE. The Juke. The Grovedale Hotel. Geelong. 8:30. Free.

LIVE ENTERTAINMENT. The Barwon Heads Hotel. Barwon Heads. 5pm. Free.

LIVE MUSIC AT GUITAR BAR. The Barking Dog. Geelong West. 5pm. Free.

SATURDAY NIGHTS AT THE GH. Geelong Hotel. Geelong. 9pm. Free.

LIVE MUSIC. Bombora’s Beach Bar. Torquay. 12pm. Free.

LIVE MUSIC. The Hop Inn. Mt Duneed. 6pm. Free.

THE BLUES GUITAR ROADSHOW. Macedon Railway Hotel. Macedon. 3pm. $38.

PAUL BURKE FUNK COLLECTIVE. Handle Bar. Bendigo. 7pm. Free.

DAN EYCKENS. Aireys Pub. Aireys Inlet. 7pm. Free.

TROUBLE PEACH. Major Tom’s. Kyneton. 8:30. $15.

BABBA. The Golden Vine. Bendigo. 8pm. $45.

THINGS OF STONE & WOOD. The Piping Hot Chicken Shop. Ocean Grove. 8pm. $15

BLUES GUITAR ROADSHOW. Macedon Railway Hotel. Macedon. 6pm. $38

CIRCUS MANIA. Castlemaine. Various Times. $15-$40

BALLARAT CABERET FESTIVAL. Ballarat Mechanics Institute. Ballarat. Various Times.

CROWDED HOUSE FOR A DAY ON THE GREEN. Mt Duneed Estate. Geelong. 3pm. $479.90

Sunday November 20th

GOCSY LIVE IN GEELONG WITH JONATHAN SCHUSTER.

The Barwon Club. South Geelong. 6:30pm. $34.70.

GUY SEBASTIAN T.R.U.T.H ON THE EAST SIDE TOUR.

Costa Hall. Deakin University Geelong Waterfront. 7:30pm. Sold Out.

GARRY ALLEN. Pistol Pete’s Food and Blues. Geelong. 3pm. Free.

BENDIGO THEATRE COMPANY’S 70TH ANNIVERSARY.

Ulumbarra Theatre. Bendigo. 1:30pm. $20.

CV DANCE STUDIO: WE’VE GOT THE BEAT. The Capital. Bendigo. 2pm. Adult $35. Child (Under 12) $25.

ORIGINAL SUNDAYS. Beavs. Geelong. 5:00pm. Free.

GUITAR BAR SUNDAY SESSIONS. The Barking Dog. Geelong West. 2pm. Free.

ROOFTOP SUNDAYS. Geelong Hotel. Geelong. 2pm. Free.

CAPTAIN SUNDAYS: SUMMER SERIES. Bar Captain. Geelong. 3pm. Free before 5pm.

LIVE MUSIC. Bombora’s Beach Bar, Torquay. 12pm. Free.

LIVE MUSIC. The Hop Inn. Mt Duneed. 1:30pm. Free.

MERMAID AVENUE.

The Bridge Hotel. Castlemaine. 3pm. Free.

LIVE MUSIC. Beavs. Geelong. 9:30pm. Free.

QUEEN FOREVER - ‘BREAK FREE’ TOUR. Lighthouse Theatre. Warrnambool. 8pm. $69.

GEORGIA FIELDS. Daylesford Hotel. Daylesford. 3pm. THINGS OF STONE & WOOD. Hotel Warrnambool. Warrnambool. 3pm. $15 CIRCUS MANIA. Castlemaine. Various Times. $15-$40

Thursday November 24th

IVOR S.K. (NEW ORLEANS). Pistol Pete’s Food and Blues. Geelong. 8pm. $15.

RHONDA BURCHMORE, JACK EARLE TRIO - ‘MERRY CHRISTMAS BABY’. Piano Bar. Bendigo. 6pm. $50.

JOHN BUTLER. Palais Hepburn. Hepburn. 6:30pm. SOLD OUT.

JOSH HEDLEY & BAND, EMILY NENNI. The Bridge Hotel. Castlemaine. 8pm. $57.20.

LIVE MUSIC. Bombora’s Beach Bar. Torquay. 4pm. Free.

BRAD COX. Torquay Hotel. Torquay. 7:30pm. $45.90.

GUY SEBASTIAN - T.R.U.T.H ON THE EAST SIDE TOUR. Lighthouse Theatre. Warrnambool. 7:30pm. SOLD OUT.

Friday November 25th

QUEENSCLIFF

MUSIC FESTIVAL.

Queenscliff. November 25th-27th. SOLD OUT.

MASKELL LOVE BAND.

Pistol Pete’s Food and Blues. Geelong. 9pm. $15.

JARROD SHAW, ANNA SCIONTI, MISSION BROWN, LAZY EYE. Bluestrain. Queenscliff. SOLD OUT.

STARS AND STRIPES: GERSHWIN AND COPLAND. Costa Hall. Deakin University Geelong Waterfront. 7:30pm.$94 - $48.

SUPPERCLUB FRIDAY PRESENTS: JIMMY O’HARE. Palais Hepburn. Hepburn. 6:30pm. $15.

CARLA DAL FORNO, YUTA MATSUMURA. Theatre Royal. Castlemaine. 8pm. $35.70.

LIVE MUSIC. Beavs. Geelong. 9:30pm. Free.

LIVE MUSIC. The Elephant & Castle. Geelong. 6pm. Free

LIVE MUSIC AT THE JUKE. The Juke. The Grovedale Hotel. Geelong. 8:30. Free.

LIVE ENTERTAINMENT. The Barwon Heads Hotel. Barwon Heads. 7pm. Free.

LIVE MUSIC AT GUITAR BAR. The Barking Dog. Geelong West. 5pm. Free.

FLORENCE BAR FRIDAYS. Geelong Hotel. Geelong. 9pm. Free.

LIVE MUSIC. Bombora’s Beach Bar. Torquay. 3pm. Free.

LIVE MUSIC. The Hop Inn. Mt Duneed. 6pm. Free.

MOUNT LIBERATION UNLIMITED. Bar Captain. Geelong. 7pm. Free.

MARINA PRIOR & DAVID HOBSON - ‘THE 2 OF US’ ENCORE. Lighthouse Theatre. Warrnambool. 8pm. $69.95.

THE TTTDC, GARETH SKINNER, THE SWEDISH MAGAZINES, SPACEJUNK.

The Eastern. Ballarat. 8:30. $17.

NICK CAVE & WARREN ELLIS. Hanging Rock. Macedon Ranges. Sold Out.

QUEENSCLIFF MUSIC FESTIVAL. Queenscliff. Sold Out.

ALISTER TURRILL Valhalla taproom. Geelong. 8pm. Free

Saturday November 26th

WICHITA, SMOKE STACK RHINO, THE TENDER SHIPS, VOLT JOLT. The Barwon Club. South Geelong. 7:00pm. $18.40.

LAZY EYE. Pistol Pete’s Food and Blues. Geelong. 9pm. $20.

THE GLITTER GANG. The Elephant & Castle. Geelong. 9:30pm. Free.

MARINA PRIOR & DAVID HOBSON ‘THE 2 OF US’ ENCORE.

Costa Hall. Deakin University Geelong Waterfront. 8pm. $69.95. Child (Under 16 Years) $34.95.

STAGE 29 STUDIOS: SYNERGY DANCE PERFORMANCE. Ulumbarra Theatre. Bendigo. 6pm. Adult $47.50. Concession $37.50. Child (Under 12) $25.

BARRY MORGAN’S WORLD OF ORGANS. Palais Hepburn. Hepburn. 6:30pm. $30.

THE MCNAMARR PROJECT, BILL BARBER, THE WINDSAVERS, LAZY EYE. Bluestrain. Queenscliff. Lunch Show SOLD OUT.

THE WINDSAVERS, BRET MOSLEY, EDDY & THE EXCITERS, LAUREL AND THE PAINKILLERS. Bluestrain. Queenscliff. Evening Show SOLD OUT.

LIVE MUSIC. Beavs. Geelong. 9:30pm. Free.

LIVE MUSIC AT THE JUKE. THE JUKE. The Grovedale Hotel. Geelong. 8:30. Free.

LIVE ENTERTAINMENT. The Barwon Heads Hotel. Barwon Heads. 5pm. Free.

LIVE MUSIC AT GUITAR BAR. The Barking Dog. Geelong West. 5pm. Free.

SATURDAY NIGHTS

AT THE GH. Geelong Hotel. Geelong. 9pm. Free.

LIVE MUSIC. Bombora’s Beach Bar. Torquay. 12pm. Free.

LIVE MUSIC. The Hop Inn. Mt Duneed. 6pm. Free.

SONS OF BLUES. Handle Bar. Bendigo. 7pm. Free.

TRAVALLEY. Aireys Pub. Aireys Inlet. 7pm. Free.

ADAM HATTAWAY & THE HAUNTERS. Red Hill Hotel. Chewton. Free

NICK CAVE & WARREN ELLIS. Hanging Rock. Macedon Ranges. Sold Out.

GEELONG REVIVAL MOTORING FESTIVAL. Geelong Waterfront. 9am. Various Prices.

QUEESCLIFF MUSIC FESTIVAL. Queenscliff. Sold Out.

Sunday November 27th

VIOLET, MUNDANE JANE, GOOD WOOD, DYSPHORIAC.

The Barwon Club. South Geelong. 4:00pm. $15.30.

RHONDA BURCHMORE, JACK EARLE TRIO - ‘MERRY CHRISTMAS BABY’. Piano Bar. Geelong. 5pm. $50.

‘NEON NIGHTS’ OFFICIAL SCHOOLIES PARTY. Torquay Hotel. Torquay. 8pm. $19.40.

BILL BARBER. Pistol Pete’s Food and Blues. Geelong. 3pm. Free.

LUCY DURACK’S ROM CONCERT.

Ulumbarra Theatre. Bendigo. 8pm. Tickets Starting From $81.50.

SEEKER LOVER KEEPER, GUEST (TBC). Theatre Royal. Castlemaine. 7pm. $35.70.

ORIGINAL SUNDAYS. Beavs. Geelong. 5:00pm. Free.

BECCY COLE. Palais Hepburn. Hepburn. 12:30pm. $35.

CAPTAIN SUNDAYS: SUMMER SERIES. Bar Captain. Geelong. 3pm. Free

GUITAR BAR SUNDAY SESSIONS. The Barking Dog. Geelong West. 2pm. Free.

ROOFTOP SUNDAYS. Geelong Hotel. Geelong. 2pm. Free.

LIVE MUSIC. Bombora’s Beach Bar, Torquay. 12pm. Free.

LIVE MUSIC. The Hop Inn. Mt Duneed. 1:30pm. Free.

DRIVE SOUTH. The Bridge Hotel. Castlemaine. 3pm. Free.

GEELONG REVIVAL MOTORING FESTIVAL. Geelong Waterfront. 9am. Various Prices.

QUEESCLIFF MUSIC FESTIVAL. Queenscliff. Sold Out.

FIRST & FOREVER FT. BAKER BOY, BUDJERAH, SYCCO, DAN SULTAN AND MORE. THE GATHERING PLACE, Hanging Rock. Macedon. 1pm. $79

Thursday December 1st

DEAN LEWIS, BLAKE ROSE. Costa Hall. Deakin University Geelong Waterfront. 8pm. SOLD OUT.

JUDITH LUCY AND DENISE SCOTT. Lighthouse Theatre. Warrnambool. 7:30pm. SOLD OUT.

DISNEY N DINE. Piano Bar. Ballarat. 7pm. $25.

LIVE MUSIC. Bombora’s Beach Bar. Torquay. 4pm. Free.

LIVE MUSIC. Beavs. Geelong. 9:30pm. Free.

DECEMBER BURLESQUE.

The Golden Vine. Bendigo. 8pm. $30.

Friday December 2nd

KIM SALMON & THE SURREALISTS. The Barwon Club. South Geelong. 8:00pm. $39.80.

MURRAY COOK’S

SOUL MOVERS. The Wool Exchange. Geelong. 7:30pm. $28.60.

CHECKERBOARD LOUNGE. Pistol Pete’s Food and Blues. Geelong. 9pm. $25.

RED SANDS BIG BAND PRESENTS: THE SOUNDS OF SWING. The Capital. Bendigo. 8pm. Adult $32. Concession $22.

DEAN LEWIS.

Ulumbarra Theatre. Bendigo. 8pm. $79.90.

LIVE MUSIC. Beavs. Geelong. 9:30pm. Free.

LIVE MUSIC. The Elephant & Castle. Geelong. 6pm. Free.

LIVE MUSIC AT THE JUKE. The Juke. The Grovedale Hotel. Geelong. 8:30. Free.

SUPPERCLUB FRIDAY PRESENTS: TWILIGHT GYPSI. Palais Hepburn. Hepburn. 6:30pm. $15.

LIVE ENTERTAINMENT. The Barwon Heads Hotel. Barwon Heads. 7pm. Free.

LIVE MUSIC AT GUITAR BAR. The Barking Dog. Geelong West. 5pm. Free.

FLORENCE BAR FRIDAYS. Geelong Hotel. Geelong. 9pm. Free.

LIVE MUSIC.

Bombora’s Beach Bar. Torquay. 3pm. Free.

LIVE MUSIC. The Hop Inn. Mt Duneed. 6pm. Free.

MARC LEON. Handle Bar. Bendigo. 6pm. Free.

THE SHORTS, SOCIAL HAUNTS, THE STRIPP. The Eastern. Ballarat. 8:30. $10.

EMILY LUBITZ - ‘BEGIN AGAIN’ EP LAUNCH. The Bridge Hotel. Castlemaine. 8pm. $20.

QUIVERS, BEST WESTERN. Major Tom’s. Kyneton. 8:30. $15.

Saturday December 3rd

DAMAGE INCTHE AUSTRALIAN METALLICA SHOW. The Barwon Club. South Geelong. 8:00pm. $55.10.

JIMI HOCKING, OSCAR LADELL, THE WINDSAVERS, THE MASKELL LOVE BAND. Bluestrain. Queenscliff. SOLD OUT.

TAXIRIDE. Palais Hepburn. Hepburn. 7pm. $35.

LADIES LUNCH ‘HOLIDAY EDITION’. Piano Bar. Geelong, Ballarat & Bendigo. 1pm. $45.

SUNBEARS. Pistol Pete’s Food and Blues. Geelong. 9pm. 1pm. $15.

ELVIS TO THE LIMIT. The Elephant & Castle. Geelong. 9pm. $20 (Plus Booking Fee).

LIVE MUSIC. Beavs. Geelong. 9:30pm. Free.

LIVE MUSIC AT THE JUKE. The Juke. The Grovedale Hotel. Geelong. 8:30. Free.

LIVE ENTERTAINMENT.

The Barwon Heads Hotel. Barwon Heads. 5pm. Free.

LIVE MUSIC AT GUITAR BAR. The Barking Dog. Geelong West. 5pm. Free.

SATURDAY NIGHTS

AT THE GH. Geelong Hotel. Geelong. 9pm. Free.

LIVE MUSIC. The Hop Inn. Mt Duneed. 6pm. Free.

ROSS WILSON & THE PEACENIKS. Bannockburn Railway Hotel. Bannockburn. 9pm. $53.84.

SHANN LIONS. Handle Bar. Bendigo. 7pm. Free.

SPILT MILK. Ballarat. Sold Out.

KIM SALMON & THE SURREALISTS.

The Bridge Hotel. Castlemaine. 9pm. $35.

THE SUNBURY KINGS. The Golden Vine. Bendigo. 9pm. $15.

Sunday December 4th

SEAL PRINCE AND THE ROOF RATS, STRESS WALTERS, MADDY PETCH (TRIO). The Barwon Club. South Geelong. 5:30pm. $15.

THIRSTY MERC. Bannockburn Railway Hotel. Bannockburn. 8pm. $53.84.

WAYNE JURY. Pistol Pete’s Food and Blues. Geelong. 3pm. Free.

ORIGINAL SUNDAYS. Beavs. Geelong. 5:00pm. Free.

GUITAR BAR SUNDAY SESSIONS. The Barking Dog. Geelong West. 2pm. Free.

ROOFTOP SUNDAYS. Geelong Hotel. Geelong. 2pm. Free.

LIVE MUSIC. The Hop Inn. Mt Duneed. 1:30pm. Free.

CAPTAIN SUNDAYS: SUMMER SERIES. Bar Captain. Geelong. 3pm. Free before 5pm.

SKIFFLE PARTY. The Bridge Hotel. Castlemaine. 3pm. Free.

Friday December 9th

MEREDITH MUSIC FESTIVAL. Meredith. December 9th-11th. SOLD OUT.

LIVE MUSIC. The Hop Inn. Mt Duneed. 6pm. Free.

NIGEL WEARNE. Pistol Pete’s Food and Blues. Geelong. 9pm. $15.

PSEUDO ECHO. Theatre Royal. Castlemaine. 8pm. $55.

MACY ROSE, ATOMIC ENTOURAGE, VOLT JOLT, CHELSEA ELDER. Volta. Ballarat. 8pm. $18.40.

JUNE JONES.

The Bridge Hotel. Castlemaine. 9pm. $15.

LIVE MUSIC. Beavs. Geelong. 9:30pm. Free.

LIVE MUSIC. The Elephant & Castle. Geelong. 6pm. Free.

LIVE MUSIC AT THE JUKE. The Juke. The Grovedale Hotel. Geelong. 8:30. Free.

LIVE ENTERTAINMENT. The Barwon Heads Hotel. Barwon Heads. 7pm. Free.

LIVE MUSIC AT GUITAR BAR. The Barking Dog. Geelong West. 5pm. Free.

FLORENCE BAR FRIDAYS. Geelong Hotel. Geelong. 9pm. Free.

JOHNNY CASH THE CONCERT: BACK TO SAN QUENTIN. Ulumbarra Theatre. Bendigo. 8pm. Adult $65. Concession $60.

RHYLEY MCGRATH. Saints and Sailors. Portarlington. 7:30pm. Free.

Saturday December 10th

THE KILLERS, ALEX CAMERON, JACK LADDER FOR A DAY ON THE GREEN. Mt Duneed Estate, Geelong. 4pm. $112

CONTINENTAL ROBERT BLUES PARTY. Pistol Pete’s Food and Blues. Geelong. 9pm. $20.

SPEED, J.O.Y, PSALM + INSTANCE. Volta. Ballarat. 8pm. $28.85.

THE MCNAMARR PROJECT, JARROD SHAW, ANNA SCIONTI, JIMI HOCKING. Bluestrain. Queenscliff. SOLD OUT.

TARAB ENSEMBLE. Palais Hepburn. Hepburn. 7pm. $25.

LIVE MUSIC. Beavs. Geelong. 9:30pm. Free.

LIVE MUSIC AT THE JUKE. The Juke. The Grovedale Hotel. Geelong. 8:30. Free.

LIVE ENTERTAINMENT. The Barwon Heads Hotel. Barwon Heads. 5pm. Free.

LIVE MUSIC AT GUITAR BAR. The Barking Dog. Geelong West. 5pm. Free.

SATURDAY NIGHTS

AT THE GH. Geelong Hotel. Geelong. 9pm. Free.

LIVE MUSIC. The Hop Inn. Mt Duneed. 6pm. Free.

ELVIS BY ANTHONY PETRUCCI. Bannockburn Railway Hotel. Bannockburn. 9pm. $43.29.

CELTIC MUSIC

CELEBRATION. Old Church On The Hill. Bendigo. 2pm. Gold Coin Donation.

ROYALE WITH CHEESE. The Wool Exchange. Geelong. 8pm. $28.60.

Sunday December 11th

JARRAD SHAW.

Pistol Pete’s Food and Blues. Geelong. 3pm. Free.

BENDIGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA: SYMPHONIA CHORALIS. Ulumbarra Theatre. Bendigo. 8pm. Adult $55. Concession $45.

ORIGINAL SUNDAYS. Beavs. Geelong. 5:00pm. Free.

GUITAR BAR SUNDAY SESSIONS. The Barking Dog. Geelong West. 2pm. Free.

ROOFTOP SUNDAYS. Geelong Hotel. Geelong. 2pm. Free.

LIVE MUSIC. Bombora’s Beach Bar, Torquay. 12pm. Free.

LIVE MUSIC. The Hop Inn. Mt Duneed. 1:30pm. Free.

CAPTAIN SUNDAYS: SUMMER SERIES. Bar

Captain. Geelong. 3pm. Free before 5pm.

WARRNAMBOOL SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA. Lighthouse Theatre. Warrnambool. 7pm. $5.