With a 189-apartment development looming over Melbourne’s legendary late-night dive Cherry Bar, Music Victoria CEO Patrick Donovan has called on the government to give the “agent of change” principle legislative weight. In an editorial published in The Age ahead of the Cherry Rock Festival yesterday (April 29), Donovan said the principle, which puts the onus for noise mitigation on developers, will be top of the agenda when a meeting between the state government and music industry representatives takes place. While on the cards since the 2010 SLAM Rally , the Live Music Roundtable is expected to take place “within weeks ...

There are a couple of ways to judge a compilation album: firstly, by consistency and overall flavour or secondly, by the sheer breadth and quality of the song selection that the album covers. The Best of Blues and Roots 2012 album is indeed a ‘Best of’ album. The compilation has brought together some of the best of the genre for the year with a star studded crop of artists over two discs. There’s the token foot-stomping filth (the good kind) from Ash Grunwald , the infections and timeless hit “I need a dollar” by Aloe Blacc , the fun and funky ...

Wanna know why venues in Victoria suddenly seem to be dropping like flies ? What the new airline baggage allowances mean for touring musicians? Where things are at with “first amenity” ? And why the government are taking their sweet time with a live music roundtable? In a similar vein to our live chat with Aunty Meredith last year, Music Victoria CEO Patrick Donovan will be dropping into the forum next Wednesday (April 18), 2pm, for a 30-minute chat. To join the discussion, simply sign up/sign in to M+N , and head here . Remember to play nice – and if you’ve ...

Triple J’s celebration of ‘Oz Music Month’ sees the station highlighting and showcasing the cream of Australia’s music crop, as well as fresh artists just breaking out, proving that local talent is still going strong, even against the commercially popular American material holding top chart positions here. The Straight To You tour was just one of the ways Triple J gave Australian music and musicians a pat on the back, hosting a national tribute tour to one of the country’s most prolific songwriters, Nick Cave . Gathering together a cast of talented musicians, Cave’s songbook got a ...

The Meanies, Front End Loader and The Celibate Rifles are among the band’s performing at the inaugural Reclink Community Cup in Sydney next month. The event – a charity Aussie Rules match between local musicians (The Western Walers) and media personalities (The Sydney Sailors) – will take place for the first time in Sydney at Henson Park in Marrickville on March 18. The theme for the match is “Smells Like Team Spirit”. Captained by Adam Spencer (ABC Sydney Radio), The Sydney Sailors will feature Alex Dyson and Tom Ballard (triple j Breakfast), M+N roaster Scott Dooley (Channel 10), Merrick Watts ...

More acts have been announced for the upcoming Boogie Festival at Bruzzy's Farm in Tallarook, Victoria, over the Easter Long Weekend (April 6-8). They include: “The Superholics” comprising Beau Campbell (Front End Loader), Jamie Cibej (bluejuice), Kram (spiderbait) and Sultan">Dan Sultan; My Morning Jacket singer Jim James/Yim Yames in his only solo show in Australia; LA psych-jam outfit Dead Meadow; US singer Eilen Jewell; Americana outfit Dawes; Pink Mountaintops, the alter ego of Black Mountains’ Stephen McBean; and local acts The Rubens, The Gooch Palms and Sures. New Modular signings Pond have had to pull out to ...

The hospitalised Molly Meldrum received The Immortal award for his contribution to the music biz at the third Rolling Stone Awards. (Meanwhile, Meldrum turned 66 on the weekend while in the first week of rehabilitation – one which could last for most of this year). Held at Upstairs Beresford in Sydney, non-winner guests included the Hoods">Hilltop Hoods, Bluejuice, Sultan">Dan Sultan, UK act Kitty Daisy & Lewis, Lanie Lane – and a surprise visit by Lupe Fiasco who arrived in the country a few days before t ...

Holland (pictured) are launching their EP, No Control, with a few support shows this month, plying their quiet restraint supporting Sultan">Dan Sultan at The Hi-Fi on Friday Dec 9, before joining Set Sail to play the Loft on Friday Dec 16, SolBar on Saturday Dec 17 and The Old Museum on Sunday Dec 18.

As The Tote’s 30th anniversary celebrations move into their final week, we ask former and current staff, bookers and owners what makes the place so special. Photos by ROBERT CARBONE and KRISTY MILLIKEN . The 20,000-strong SLAM Rally was the culmination of a raft of issues – from draconian Liquor Licensing regulations to the coupling of live music and alcohol-related violence – but at the heart of it was always a shabby pub on the corner of Wellington and Johnston Streets in Collingwood. Since the McVeen family brought live music to the pub in 1981, The Tote has arguably been the ...

Photographer: Chris Dornan Photography Scroll down for image thumbnails. Photographer: Chris Dornan Photography Artists: May">Abbe May, Adalita, Alex Burnett (Sparkadia), Ben Corbett (SixFtHick), Bertie Blackman, Sultan">Dan Sultan, Jake Stone (Bluejuice), Johnny Mackay (Children Collide), Kram (Spiderbait), Lanie Lane, Lisa Mitchell, Muscles, Tim Rogers (You Am I) and Urthboy (The Herd). Event: Straight To You: Triple J’s Tribute to Nick [...]

Sydney Festival has unveiled its program for 2012 – and it’s looking very much like Sugar Mountain on a grand scale with big ticket international such as Mike Patton, PJ Harvey, Beth Orton and Nick Zinner from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. The program for the three-week festival (January 7-29) is rather lengthy and dense, so here are some quick highlights: – Backed by the iconic Mick Harvey, PJ Harvey (no relation) will play songs from her Mercury Prize-winning Let England Shake at the State Theatre on January 18 and 19. – Megan Washington (pictured above) will open up her “personal archives" for ...

An epic fail by an international has-been has prompted calls once again for the AFL to pick homegrown talent for pre-match entertainment on Grand Final day. Despite a reported $500,000 appearance fee, Meatloaf’s fumbled 12-minute medley of classic songs from a career that ended in 1993 was widely considered a flop by punters and the media alike, with The Age’s Karl Quinn describing it as “dreadful” and YouTube and Twitter going into hyper-drive. While conceding that international broadcasting commitments mean that acts should be known outside Australia, CEO of industry body Music Victoria Patrick Donovan said an ...

INXS are to unveil yet another lead singer very soon...but who will it be? We've already seen INXS featuring Jon Stevens, INXS featuring Terence Trent D’Arby, and INXS featuring JD Fortune; but in December, the band will perform at the ISAF Sailing World Championships in Perth with somebody new out front. The band's recent album Original Sin featured quite a few guest singers who may well end up on stage...the list includes Ben Harper, John Mayer, Rob Thomas and Australia’s own Sultan">Dan Sultan. Place your bets... Source Link:  Faster Louder Attached Image(s ...

– After two years at The Forum Theatre, the Jagermeister Independent Music Awards will take place at new performing arts space Revolt in the Melbourne suburb of Kensington on October 12. Sponsored once again by NOVA FM – arguably the greatest supporter of independent music in Australia today – it’ll feature performances by Magic Dirt frontwoman Adalita, Sydney three-piece Seekae, hip-hop emcee Illy, multiple Queensland Music Award winner emma louise and Calling All Cars, as well as an exhibition curated by photographer Kane Hibberd . In the meantime, you can rigorously debate what constitutes an "independent artist here . Last year’s winners included ...