Live music roundup

Music with Pepper

Peppers Coorabell are starting up a regular Sunday Live Music Day showcasing local musicians. They will have a different musician every Sunday and are keen to get the local community enjoying and supporting the amazing talent we have in this area.

Their musician for 15 July is Jake Bistrow, and he is currently studying at the Brisbane Conservatory; he plays piano and keyboard with a mixture of modern and jazz music.

He will be playing from 2pm to 6pm. It will be his birthday on that day and is hoping for a good turn-out to celebrate!

Tex gets the Cash

There are not many people who could step into the shoes of Johnny Cash. For a start he’s got to look good in black. He’s got to have a history. He’s got to have a dark side. He’s got to have a distinctive voice. And he’s got to be so cool he scares the living crappers out of nerds… like Andrew Denton. Only Tex Perkins could fill those shoes; he doesn’t even need socks. Perkins has been presenting The Man in Black around the country to acclaim, and now it’s finally our turn to experience two hours of Cash’s magnificent music interwoven with the story of his rise to stardom, his fight for survival and his eventual redemption. The show explores his relationships – with hardened prisoners to the beautiful June Carter and lots in between. Johnny Cash was dealt a very tough hand early in life, but through his music and dedication he became a legend throughout the world.

Enjoy Ring of Fire, I Walk the Line, Folsom Prison Blues, Sunday Mornin’ Coming Down, Get Rhythm, A Boy Named Sue, Hey Porter and a dozen more hits. Tuesday 17, Wednesday 18, Thursday 19 July at the Star Court Theatre in Lismore.

Trade Your Blues for a Black Light White Night

Trade your winter blues for Broadfoot’s psychedelic rock-blues this Friday at the Middle Pub in Mullumbimby from 8pm. Because it will be Friday the 13th, those wearing white will be looking bright, brought out by the black-light lighting being provided especially for the night. A rare break from gigging last week was put to good use as the band headed to the studio to lay down two original tracks. This sees them raring to go with renewed vigour – if you can’t make it to Mullum on Friday, head to the Lennox Hotel to catch the following night’s show, Saturday from 9:30pm.

Laura’s on Targett

Laura Targett is embarking on a new project – planning her debut solo album featuring her unique voice as songwriter and singer as well as the acclaimed violin playing she is known for.

With diverse influences ranging from the ‘gypsy’ and middle-eastern music she loves, to her celtic background, a contemporary sensibility and her personal experiences of life, the album will be an intimate, quirky and heartfelt offering.

This project is getting underway thanks to Pozible – an online ‘crowdfunding’ platform, a fantastic way for independent artists to source grassroots funding, literally from the crowd. In return, the crowd receives generous ‘rewards’ – the way Laura sees it is a way to pre-sell copies of the album to fund its production.

Go to www.pozible.com/lauratargett, have a look, a listen to work in progress, pledge a contribution or pass the link on to your contacts.

She has seven days left to reach her goal!

Big Hearted Music

Take a passionate songwriter with a heart as big as a house, add five unlikely friends, an assortment of skins, strings and keys, shake it all up in a fast car on a dirt road and you may end up with a sound you just can’t get out of your head.

Bossy Big Heart love to play; they reckon they are ready to give up their day jobs and live the life that many dream of but only the severely unrealistic aspire to. Come visit the loud, untidy, colourful and slightly dysfunctional share house that is Bossy Big Heart. At the Rails on Saturday.

The Little Mac

Kid Mac delivered his first track off his new album back in April with the super-punchy She goes Off featuring US artist Mickey Avalon. The tune has already clocked over 100,000 views on YouTube and features cameos from Snoop Dogg, Steve Aoki and Sarah McLeod. It’s the kind of attention the Kid should have been getting all along with Rolling Stone declaring ‘Sydney MC impresses on long-awaited debut… The Sydneysider’s gritty, edgy, punk-esque hip-hop is not only fraught with pep, but it’s also accessible.’

Saturday at the Hotel Great Northern. Tix $10

Local musicians invited to Splendour

Three north coast musical acts have been chosen, via a competition, to play at Splendour in The Grass. The acts were selected from a list of hundreds via the Triple J Unearthed website. JJJ announced that Ballina hip-hop artist MC Splinta, Byron Bay rock funk four-piece band Lifeline, and Byron rock duo Wilde Childe will all be given the opportunity to play on the big Splendour stages in a few weeks’ time at Belongil Fields.

The boys from Lifeline were thrilled at the news and are amazed that they were chosen from such a long list of talented locals, especially as they are all only 15 years old.

Frizzy Perms Unite

It was the decade when frizzy perms and shoulder pads were hip, long lunches were tax deductible, the compact disc appeared in record stores, Cabbage Patch Dolls were born, we lost John Lennon, played Pac-Man and the wall came down in Berlin. And amongst all this, the Australia music scene was at its most exciting and prolific and the music from this era shaped a generation. Born from the success of the Countdown spectacular, The Absolutely 80s Show features some of the best Aussie pop icons from the 80s. The Absolutely 80s Show – a musical extravaganza of epic 80s fun and flashbacks – stars Brian Mannix (Uncanny X-Men), Scott Carne (Kids In The Kitchen) and Dale Ryder (Boom Crash Opera) performing all their hits in one massive show (see show details for lineup). For those who are true lovers of 80s music and keen for a high-powered dose of nostalgia, this show is not to be missed! Sunday at the Beach Hotel.

Champagne at the Drill Hall

This last year has seen Daniel Champagne performing hundreds of shows internationally in North America, the United Kingdom, Europe, New Zealand and here in Australia. Daniel is now on the road again, touring nationally sharing his show-stopping live performance, honed over more than four years on the road. Drill Hall in Mullumbimby on Saturday 21 July. Tix at www.kupromotions.com.au for $18, or $23 at the door. Show at 7.30pm.

Weaving the Divine

A decade ago Dana Lee was jamming at the Lismore Conservatorium; since then she’s been promoting grassroots-spirited musical evenings. But now she’s decided to flex the vocal muscles again in a collaborative evening titled Weaving the Divine. The soiree will feature Peter Walkingourworld offering a mesmerising spoken word homage to the season cycle, atmospheres guitarist Rich Bell, the light-language channellings of Ioa Gaia and Dana’s eastern-tinged vocal explorations of love. It’s going to be a theatrical in-the-round evening of surprises and serendipity, grounded in the sacred heart space that is Red Tent Yoga in Byron’s Art and Industry Estate. Tasty treats will be served outside by the Salty Sisters in the interval. Bring pillows and blankets and cuddle up as the divine weaves through you. Thursday, 7pm, $12/10. For more info: 0428 539 232.

Blaze at the Brewery

The newest, fastest-growing, biggest dancehall/reggae crowd-puller party in Byron is back at The Brewery for the third time since it’s been conceived!

Three rotating DJs and many guests on the mic including Mista Savona, Raz Bin Sam, Dollamix, Comrade Dubs and others make Blaze Fire Sound more than just a DJ show – it’s a live, interactive, roots-skanking, booty-shaking reggae dancehall extravaganza!

This is a launch party for the act label’s new website: blazefiremusic.com, and warm-up celebration for the crew’s massive Splendour In The Grass set on Saturday 28 on the Tipi Forrest stage!

So if you really want to dance, don’t miss out on this one. Saturday at the Byron Brewery Buddha Bar. 6pm start, free entry!

Not the Kingswood!

Kingswood have just been released as the Unearthed act to play Friday at Splendour in the Grass!

Combining forces to create a three-headed assault machine that would compel Godzilla to retreat to the depths of Tokyo Bay with his head hung in shame, Melbourne rock maestros Kingswood, Money For Rope and Damn Terran emerge from the primordial ooze to take their rock largesse to the good people.

Yeah Go Die, Kingswood’s debut single of inimitable sludgy goodness, is currently riding high at national radio, andd with their recently unleashed EP Change Of Heart promising to continue the momentum, the band have an appetite whet for destruction. Friday at the Beach Hotel from 9pm.

Van She Van Shine

Van She’s current sunshine-in-a-glass single Jamaica is all over your airwaves and follows the album’s title track Idea of Happiness which re-launched Van She back into the musical spotlight. So uplifting it’s practically levitational, Van She’s new album is their most focused, joyous musical excursion to date. An album stirred by sun-baked travels and fleeting truths, and shaken with the sands of time, Idea Of Happiness was recorded, engineered and produced by the band themselves in Kings Cross, Sydney, and mixed by Tony Hoffer (Air, Beck, Phoenix, M83) in Los Angeles. Byron Brewery Buddha Bar on Wednesday.

By the River with Dee

Personifying soul, passion and charisma, Dee Lavell is one of the latest names on the Australian soul and blues scene, but she’s definitely not the new kid on the block. A seasoned performer with more than 25 years of experience on stage and in the studio in Australia and the US, Dee has just released her gorgeous new album Mama Told Me. Catch her at By the River Lounge Bar in Ballina on Sunday.

Busy as a Busby

Rockhampton’s favourite sons, Busby Marou, have just returned from their first tour of the US and Canada with big smiles on their dials. The old saying ‘no rest for the wicked’ certainly applies here. After a rip-snorter performance at Bluesfest this year and a brand-new single recorded with Anthony Lycenko (Elvis Costello/Xavier Rudd) in Byron Bay between shows on their most recent tour, which is available now for fans to devour. They play Hotel Great Northern on Sunday.