Music Roundup: 21 March, 2018

Year 12 Students Host Youth Party at YAC

Byron High School Year 12 V.E.T. Entertainment Industry Students are planning, promoting and producing a major event this Sunday at the Byron YAC, featuring surf rock headliners The Vanns, supported by The Nah and recently local band Wharves. Students will work with mentors and industry professionals from Music NSW to produce the gig, setting up and operating the audio and lighting equipment as well as working on stage and backstage with the artists.

The Vanns have been touring constantly, supporting the likes of Sticky Fingers, Kingswood, Delta Riggs, and festivals such as Party In The Paddock and Yours and Owls.

Their rambunctious energy, catchy hooks, and roaring guitar lines have made their dynamic blues-tinged rock’n’roll a favourite on the live scene, and built a legion of fans.

The Nah are four soft-punk gems from Wollongong. Their sound is influenced by everything from melancholic indie to semi-ironic surf rock. Their influences include Blondie, LCD Soundsystem, SCABZ (are shit), The Roches, Talking Heads, women, trans and gender-diverse songwriters, nature, science, feelings and justice.

This is a unique opportunity for young people in our region to put on a live show.

Indent is a fun, affordable gig specifically for young people who love music. Tickets are available from Musicnsw.com for $10 or $15 on the door if not sold out. Snacks and soft drinks will be available. This is a drug- and alcohol-free event and under-18s are welcome.

Sunday at the YAC in Byron from 5pm till 9pm

Blues Uke

This month’s UKE NIGHT at Club Mullum is on this Thursday, a week earlier than usual. Miss Amber and Stukulele are presenting a tasty selection of Ol’ Time BLUES tunes with all its forms and subgenres for you to strum and or sing along with. Special guest vocalist Shelly Brown is back as is hubby Dan Brown on keys and Kate Gittens is back on the wind-type instruments. 6.30pm. Join the mailing list for the monthly songbooks.

www.ukemullum.com

Vulnerable Femmes of Folk

The Vulnerable Femmes of Folk are Merryn Jeann, Emily Lubitz and Angie Hudson.

Although these three musicians may be known to you via various collaborations and bands (Tinpan Orange, Tora, Potato Potato, Banksia), they thought it a nice idea to strip bare and play their songs as they were made – a voice and instrument, a lot of feeling and maybe a sneaky glass of red wine or two.

This Saturday at the Brunswick Picture House will be an intimate eve full of fragility and grace, in hopes of tucking you in as though you were at home, cuddled on the couch, listening to your favourite vinyl (or MP3… let’s be real).

Come by and listen to three women exploring the powerful simplicity behind and a voice and her song.

Sun Records Allstars

The Sun Records Allstars is an all-singing, all-playing insight into the origins of rock’n’roll where it all began in the 50s at the famous Sun Record studios in Memphis, Tennessee.

This was the day that Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis, also known as the Million Dollar Quartet, got together in a tiny studio and along with Sam Philips, changed music forever.

The show is presented in two parts, featuring all the hits that capture the imagination, the passion and the phenomenon of this incredible era of music with authenticity and dedication.

This show, starring Bill Culp as Carl Perkins, Joe Passion as Jerry Lee Lewis, Gino Monopoli as Elvis Presley and Roy LeBlanc as The Man in Black, Johnny Cash, is into its fourth tour of Australia.

Direct from the United States, The Sun Records Allstars

Friday April 6th at the Ballina RSL at 8.30pm. Tix are $45

Vamping it up

The Vampires’ music is a unique blend of soulful jazz, old-school reggae, romantic Afro-Peruvian, danceable Afro-Cuban, exotic Balkan and all-out funk-laden Afrobeat. Combined with risk-taking improvisation, sophisticated compositions and an uncanny sense of dialogue and emotion between the sax/trumpet frontline, the band have wrought a style of their own. The Vampires’ most recent album The Vampires Meet Lionel Loueke was produced by The Necks’ Lloyd Swanton and has received critical acclaim internationally including four-star reviews in Downbeat magazine (US), The Guardian (UK) and All About Jazz, which called it ‘the perfect summer record’.

Byron Theatre on Sunday at 5pm. Tickets: $10/$18/$23 | Bookings: www.byroncentre.com.au or call 6685 6807

Young Songwriters Comp

This year’s Lismore Young Songwriters Competition is BIGGER than ever with a host of incredible prizes up for grabs for young songsmiths from across the northern rivers. But you’d better be quick – entries close on Sunday.

Event organiser Amanda Shoebridge says: ‘For Best Male, Best Female and People’s Choice Winners, we have fully mastered track recordings so young artists can create a professionally mastered EP of their winning song to take out to the world, thanks to SAE Creative Media Institute Byron Bay, Rockinghorse Studios, and Southern Cross University.’

RØDE Microphones have donated a range of superior performance microphones for the winners of each genre, as well as RØDELink Performer Kits for Best Male and Female Songwriters of the Year and their new RØDE AI-1 Complete Studio Kit for the People’s Choice winner.’

There are also paid gigs up for grabs with Crankfest and The Lismore Lantern Parade, and a professional photography shoot with Photography by Natsky to produce some winning shots for posters and promotion. There are also lots of professional development opportunities for finalists with guest judges Diana Anaid and Marcus Schintler of Weddings, Parties Anything.

The Lismore Young Songwriters Competition is proudly supported by Social Futures. To keep up to date with all the news on the competition on Facebook at Lismore.

Young Songwriters or go to socialfutures.org.au/young-songwriters

Good Friday for Bustamento

The Bustamento journey began in 2012 when Nicky Bomba and members of his previous band, with steel pan player Lennox Jordan, decided to explore a style of Jamaican folk music, mento, which predated ska and reggae. That resulted in an ARIA-nominated debut album Intrepid Adventures. Bombay delivers a party-filled island adventure with Bustamento, a tropical-making six-piece that pays homage to the upbeat rhythms of the Caribbean.

30 March | The Taphouse, Kingscliff

Popcrimes in Billi

In a few weeks the Billindugel Hotel will play host to Popcrimes Festival, an intimate daytime (into the night) outdoor event for the Northern Rivers.

Featuring Gothic + Desert Blues, Outlaw Country, Folk, Swampy Swagger + Rock n Roll with a Punk ethic this event is all about keeping the underground alive and supporting diverse artists in the region.

Featuring Dicklord, The Flamingo Jones, Captain Squidlicker, The Sinking Shiops, Belligerent Goat, Thyece O’neil and the Nardoniks, Black Sun, Donny Love, The Delicates, Lux and Rick Studentt. Saturday 7 April at the Billinudgel Hotel with 10% of proceeds go to the Buttery.

Wild Marmalade spread the love

Wild Marmalade strike in the heart of the Bay with their original brand of totally infectious dance music.

The Innovative, contemporary and uniquely Australian high-energy dance band, are one of the most popular groups in the northern rivers. The distinctive sounding didgeridoo/drum trio raise the energy at all their shows until nobody can help but hit the dance floor.

The Byron Shire-born group are performing a FREE show under the stars, in the Beergarden of the Byron Bay Brewery on Friday. Support on the night will be from their good friends Rhythm Sunbird. It all kicks off at 8pm.

Getting Hammered for a Harley

Northern rivers hell-raisers, Hammers, have been busy of late, having toured the countryside with some of Australian rock’s biggest names. The four-piece are returning home for a free show at the Ocean Shores Tavern this Friday as part of the Harley giveaway! Taking influences from a diverse range of styles; stoner rock, metal, blues, and blended with the anecdotal lyrical style of country then spit in your face with the attitude of punk, Hammers aren’t reinventing the wheel; they’re just keeping it rockin’ and rollin’. 2017 saw the band share the stage with The Screaming Jets, King of the North, USA’s Nashville Pussy and, most recently, the reformed COG for two sold-out shows on the Gold Coast and Byron Bay. They then again joined Cog for a huge show at Brisbane’s iconic Tivoli Theatre in February, marking the band’s biggest show to date. The band is now set to return home for a one-off free show at The Ocean Shores Tavern, which will also see the Tavern give away a Harley Davidson Forty Eight. Yes, you heard correctly: a free motorbike will be given away to one lucky punter on the night. See the Ocean Shores Tavern website for details. Be there this Friday.

www.oceanshorestavern.com.au

Bangalow Brackets Hands the Baton

Byron Shire’s longest-running open mic night, Bangalow Brackets, has been operating under the watchful eyes (and ears) of Peter Woolnough for the last 21 years. Peter is about to have an inland change and move a little farther to the west, and so after looking after thousands of musicians every Tuesday night for all those years he is going into Open Mic retirement at the end of March. Peter is also well known as the inventor and producer of Bigfoot Stompies, which are used by musicians all around the world. Peter once had a call from Michael Franti in America wanting to order two. One for himself and one for a birthday present for Prince!

Well-known local musician and producer Slim Pickens will be taking over the helm from Peter from the first Tuesday in April.