HEALTH’s latest single YOU DIED is a heavy, unflinching meditation on mortality — turning pain into something strangely transcendent. The track arrives ahead of the band’s new album CONFLICT DLC, out December 11 via Loma Vista Recordings.

Party In The Paddock is back for its 13th rotation around the sun, and the 2026 edition is already shaping up to be one of the biggest events of the summer. Supported by the Tasmanian Government through Events Tasmania, the festival returns to Quercus Park on the banks of the tilapangka/Liffey River in Lutruwita/Tasmania from February 5th to 8th, 2026, promising four huge days of music, community, and celebration. This year’s lineup is stacked with some of the most exciting names in music, from homegrown heroes to international icons, making 2026’s Party In The Paddock one for the history books.

After five sold-out shows and over 1,600 fans left on waiting lists, Memphis May Fire return to Australia in 2026 — joined by Blessthefall for their first Australian shows in nine years, in what’s set to be a defining moment for metalcore fans.

Melodic hardcore veterans A Wilhelm Scream will return to Australia in 2026 for a seven-city headline tour, joined by Authority Zero and The Decline in Melbourne — a showcase of integrity, energy, and timeless punk craftsmanship.

While fireworks exploded across Nottingham’s skyline, inside the Motorpoint Arena a different kind of spark was flying. On a cold, clear 5th of November, Danish Rock heavyweights Volbeat brought their UK arena tour to town, supported by Bush and Witch Fever, a line-up that promised range, power and unpredictability. What followed was nearly four hours of high-volume catharsis, slick production, and genuine moments of connection that proved live Rock is still very much alive and thriving. By the time the lights dimmed for Witch Fever the arena floor was already filling up, denim jackets, Volbeat shirts, and a healthy number of parents with their kids.

Brisbane’s riverfront will come alive in March 2026 with On the Banks, a new open-air concert series featuring The Streets, De La Soul, Bernard Fanning, Peach PRC, and more — a landmark moment for the city’s live music scene.

The Apartments‘ magnificent album ‘In And Out Of The Light’ was one of the brief rays of light of the grim 2020 – one of my favourite albums of that year. With one of Brisbane’s greatest singer/songwriters, Peter Milton Walsh (briefly an early Go-Between), The Apartments are possibly one of the most underrated bands coming out of Australia, leaving an indelible impression on indie music in the southern hemisphere and beyond. The band has just released ‘That’s What The Music is For’ via Riley Records/MGM and in Europe, UK and USA by Talitres and it is another example of Walsh's heartbreakingly beautiful delicate songwriting filled with luscious imagery and haunting melodies.

On West End Girl, Lily Allen turns heartbreak into art, transforming private devastation into one of her most fearless and musically assured albums yet.

Sudan Archives returns to Australia in March 2026 for her first shows since 2023, performing at Perth Festival and headline dates nationwide following the release of The BPM

Arizona-born rapper Pertinence will make his Australian debut in February 2026, performing in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane with his unique blend of lyricism and introspection.

Florida’s Rain City Drive will make their first-ever Australian headline tour in March 2026, performing across five cities with support from TX2 and Melrose Avenue.

Australian cult legends TISM will perform their 1995 album Machiavelli and the Four Seasons in full at the Sydney Opera House on April 10, 2026 — an exclusive one-night-only event marking three decades of the landmark release.

The Pogues return to Australia for the first time in 14 years to celebrate Rum Sodomy & the Lash’s 40th anniversary, while blues legend Buddy Guy brings Ain’t Done With the Blues to the Sydney Opera House for an extraordinary week of live music.

Scottish rock powerhouse Biffy Clyro will return to Australia in April 2026 for their first tour in eight years, performing in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane following the release of their chart-topping new album Futique.

The new album 'Silverlinings' from Tasmania’s Verticoli puts on show their musical versatility and range of expression. A mix of tangible anger with a punkish delivery, hard rock swagger and some more laid back tracks combine to deliver something that is quite exciting and very cathartic. Opening with the fittingly entitled 'A Kick in the Teeth', Vertici show an uncompromising hard rock edge that is leavened by the melodies and jangling guitars. Singer Sam Hunn's vocals manage to sound both sweet and sardonic at the same time: filled with a swagger as he sings…

Normal service in an increasingly bizarre world has been at least temporarily been resumed with the exciting release of a new single by one of Australia's finest exports, The Church. 'Sacred Echoes (Part Two)' indicates the extraordinary level of creative brilliance from Steve Kilbey and his cohorts continues unabated after an incredible period of creative abundance. Kilbey says of the track Bleak and yet beautiful, Sacred Echoes (Part Two) is unlike any previous Church song ever with its almost orchestral climaxes and its sombre mood. The lyrics and voice are the weariness at the point where hope and hopelessness merge.

The legendary Split Enz – featuring Tim Finn, Eddie Rayner, Neil Finn, and Noel Crombie – will reunite for their first tour in nearly 20 years on the Forever Enz Tour through Live Nation, confirmed for May 2026. Antipodean pioneers in make-up and self-designed clothing with a zany form of art rock, and later transitioning to more accessible indie pop maestros, the Enz always were the archetypal quirky rock band, while their mastery of melody and bittersweet melancholy saw some of their biggest global hits such as 'I See Red' (possibly one of the first singles I ever bought) and from the album True Colours (still so listenable today) with the hit 'I Got You'.

Japanese trailblazers BABYMETAL and Indian heavyweights BLOODYWOOD will join forces for a national Australian arena tour in March 2026 — a cross-continental showcase of two bands redefining modern metal.

After what has seemed an eternity, Bluesfest Byron Bay has finally quelled fans anxieties by publicizing their first artist announcement for next years event. Leading the announcement are the pioneering rock visionaries SPLIT ENZ, performing their first Australian show in more than 20 years. The reunion features original members Tim Finn, Neil Finn, Noel Crombie and Eddie Rayner with Matt Eccles on drums and James Milne on bass - the first show in nearly two decades, marking their 50th anniversary. EARTH, WIND & FIRE - One of the most celebrated and influential bands of all time returns to Bluesfest for the first time since 2012.

Sergio Sayeg (aka Sessa) is an artist who travels through distances and circumstances with his music. Coming from São Paulo his first pull was towards the psychedelic pop-toned Tropicalia mash-up of Garotas Suecas, a band he guitared and sang with until his family moved to New York. Sessa then made the most of the Big Apple, jobbing at the crate diggers’ paradise, Tropicália in Furs record store, playing in rock and funk bands, plus working with NY guitar legend Yonotan Gat. The sounds of Brazil have always been his beacon though and his albums to date have mapped a journey informed by his Nascimento/Erasmo Carlos roots and his drift back to São Paulo.

We are ever so honoured to review the new single 'Overnight Sensation' from Sydney band Kate Moth, whose inherent worth can be gleaned form the fact that they have signed to the illustrious Scenic Drive Records label run by the legendary Australian music producer, audio engineer and musician, Wayne Connolly. You may have heard of Australian indie giants Josh Pyke, The Vines, Boy & Bear, Paul Dempsey, Youth Group, Underground Lovers, Died Pretty, Hoodoo Gurus and You Am I. They all received Connolly's magic touch behind the production desk and his label include some Backseat Mafia regulars including The Nagging Doubts, Ellen Soffe, Victoria, Bec Sykes and Grids and Dots.

Crowded House and Thelma Plum will headline the inaugural Golden Hour at Bondi Beach in February 2026, marking the city’s first major beach concert in more than a decade — a sunset celebration of music, community, and place.

Au/Ra returns with new single, SWAMP

It seems to have been a while waiting for this debut LP from Nova Scotian power-punk trio The Boojums. Last seen around here on their breakneck showcase gigs with We are Busy Bodies/Having Fun label mates No Frills and Absolute Losers, they caused a mighty stir with their driving dynamism and hook filled momentum. To anyone watching, the message was clear – here is a band who have the magical ‘it’, a pounding “Rock n’ Roll Heart” (as Lou would say). The Clash’s Mick Jones became an immediate fan.

Incineration Festival adds even more names to the already brutal 2026 line up From the scorched earth of Texas, Tribal Gaze brings primal death metal to London, England in May 2026, opening the Roundhouse at Incineration Festival as part of their first ever appearance on British soil. From the murkiest and most despicable of depths, Dragged Into Sunlight will make an Incineration debut in 2026, bringing the heaviest levels of extreme metal to London, England. London’s own black metal punks Final Dose make an Incineration debut in 2026, wielding razor sharp riffs and feral fury at the Black Heart.