FALLS FESTIVAL LOCAL TICKETS
The fifth annual Falls Festival spectacular in Byron Bay sold-out within hours of going on sale earlier this year. For those who missed out on tickets, get excited – the festival has just received capacity increase approvals for another 2,500 tickets and local residents get first dibs on tickets!
Tickets will go on sale to locals today at 9am through fallsfestival.com, a day ahead of general sales on Thursday, November 2.
To celebrate, they’ve just announced six artists joining the line-up! Including WAFIA · WAAX · WEST THEBARTON · MANU CROOKS · ALICE IVY · PARTY DOZEN
Hugs & Tears of Anthony Lycenko
Hugs & Tears, a celebration of the boundless creativity and 20 years of music from local performers in memorial of Anthony Lycenko, is planned for the Bangalow Hotel on Tuesday 14 Nov at 6.30pm. Lycenko died unexpectedly in August this year with peers in the industry still in shock at his sudden demise.
Musician Pete Murray reflected on his and Lycenko’s relationship: ‘I met him when he was producing my first album called The Game – It was a great experience.
We became good friends. He also engineered another album called Summer at Eureka.’
Murray remembers Lycenko for his craft.
‘He was really slick. He was great. One of the fastest guys on ProTools. He had some great ideas, and he was responsible for my song So Beautiful, which became a big hit. A lot of the production ideas on the album were re-recorded on the Feeler album; that was a lot of his ideas; he didn’t get the credit because it was re-recorded on Feeler, but he was renowned for great guitar licks and great guitar sounds; he was amazing for that.’
‘He was an interesting character,’ said Murray.
‘He had these super highs and lows, and that is the thing you realise working with him – he could be super excited, and sometimes he would be really inside his own head.
With creative people who struggle with reality, it’s one of those things; whatever was getting to him got the better of him. It is tough,’ says Murray. ‘We all have our ups and downs, and the music industry is the toughest industry.’
Musicians will be gathering at the regular Brackets open mic to honour Anthony Lycenko at the Bangalow Hotel on Tuesday 14 November at 6pm.
Oh Boy! George!
Do you remember the excitement of the Culture Club? When we were experimenting with gender way before we even knew it was a thing. Boy George was ahead of the pack, and now he’s back, still cutting it three decades on. In what has been a stellar season for Boy George on The Voice, it is with much excitement that his most popular team member, Hoseah Partsch, has announced he will join international superstars Culture Club on their Australian tour later this year. Culture Club are led by front man Boy George, who endeared himself to new Australian audiences as their favourite coach on TV’s top-rating show The Voice.
Hoseah, who proved to be one of the most sought-after contestants, captivated audiences around Australia, not only from his humble beginnings, but with his effortless and soulful voice – a voice that could not be denied. Hoseah became a show favourite after he joined Team George and through his coach’s guidance and flawless choice of songs, captured the attention of viewers across the country. The Grand Final show on Sunday saw a very special TV moment when George and Hoseah performed an inspiring and perfectly fitting version of the Louis Armstrong classic. In 2016, Culture Club’s triumphant return sold out some of the world’s most iconic venues including the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles (two nights) and London’s famous Wembley Arena. Culture Club proceeded to sell out shows across the rest of the world including the UK, Europe and USA, making their resurgence one of the most noteworthy success stories of today.
Musically, they are sounding better than ever as Boy George and the rest of the original lineup including Roy Hay, Jon Moss, and Mikey Craig are now joined by an incredible group of great musicians including extra percussionists, keyboard players, backing singers and a horn section. This bigger lineup now stands as an incredible musical revue that adds a whole new element of warmth and sound to their live shows, all of which are consistently receiving glowing reviews.
Special guests will be Thompson Twins’ Tom Bailey, who will play hits live for the first time in 27 years. Also appearing are the Eurogliders who took the charts by storm in the 1980s. On 2 Dec at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre. Tickets available from ticketek.com.au.
Lang at guitar festival
If you are into guitar then you are into Jeff Lang. A leading performer in the Australian roots music scene, singer/songwriter Lang is an impressive slide guitarist and purveyor of his self-described disturbed folk style, which incorporates primarily folk, blues and rock. His music is heavily influenced by the folk music of the southern United States and the British Isles, but he has a distinctly Australian lyrical content with his guitar mixing folk, blues and rock styles with Indian and African modalities.
He is one of the stars of guitar at the Byron Guitar Festival at the Byron Bay Brewery, headlining on Saturday 11 November. Tickets and program lineup available for this 11 and 12 Nov event (all at Byron Bay Brewery) on byronbayguitarfestival.com.
Cheap Fakes at Beach
Emerging triumphant from 2016 as Brisbane’s best blend of massive soul-soaked, brass-fuelled pop, funk, and ska, Cheap Fakes are ready to keep bringing their unique and energetic music to masses of listeners and live audiences worldwide. The free-wheeling, six-headed hydra of Cheap Fakes is a ready-made party absolutely primed to provide the best of times.
Born in 2009 from a dream to bring a new and unique sound to the Brisbane masses, Cheap Fakes have since sculpted an ever-growing fan base from their extensive touring and ever-evolving discography. Never keen to languish in the still waters of comfort, Cheap Fakes have pushed out and taken chances on all three of their major releases: 2010’s Stone’s & Sticks, 2013’s Hand Me Downs and 2015’s Modern Vintage.
Taking notes from their work with Grammy-nominated producer John Merchant (Lenny Kravitz, Michael Jackson, Mika) on 2015’s Modern Vintage, Cheap Fakes are currently busy cooking up their finest work for the release of their fourth album, due in November 2017.
They play the Beach Hotel on 10 November.
Your dose of fiesta
This weekend sees the Byron Latin Fiesta hit Byron, with the wild latin spirit infecting all who come close. Along with dancing presentations and classes there are some pretty amazing bands on the program, such as C Major & Son Veneno, a world-renowned Sydney band Veneno teaming up with frontman C Major and ending with a world-class combination. El Timbon from Brisbane are the number-one latin salsa band in Brisbane. The bring the newest rhythms of Cuban music Timba and Songo to the audience. The music genres are characterised by their innovative energetic and upbeat latin funk style, always with the cadence of the traditional Cuban music.
This 11-piece band will make you want to dance and party! The weekend also features some pretty impressive DJs with DJ Alberto, DJ Khosro, DJ Davide, DJ Master P, DJ Sohel, DJ Ali Baba, DJ Tony L, DJ Super Juan, DJ Robert and DJ David V. For ticket and program info for Byron Latin Fiesta on Friday–Sunday, go to byronlatinfiesta.com.au.