The Badlands, Port Royal, & Chilli Gomez
Hotel Great Northern | Byron | Friday May 3 | 9pm | Free entry
The Badlands have returned in 2019 with a highly anticipated new single Ultraviolent due for release later in the year and produced by Lacueva Studio’s Nick Didia. The song is nothing short of massive. With a drum introduction that punches through the solar plexus like a cannonball at short range, there’s no way you won’t know about it.
In the leadup to the release the band are rearing up to play their major comeback show at Byron Bay’s best loved rock’n’roll venue The Northern.
The main Byron event is being held in association with the Byron Deus store and looks to be celebrated in true local style, with a pre-party at Deus in Lawson Street held between 6 and 8pm. Local DJ Mohndoo will be spinning some tracks in anticipation of the show at the Northern at 9pm.
The Badlands play The Hotel Great Northern on Friday 3 May – free entry
Taikoz 4Tet
Byron Theatre, Community Centre | Saturday 4 May | 7.30pm | $43.80/38.80 & family of four $107.60
4Tet is a show that displays Taikoz’s trademark high-energy performance in a more scalable and flexible format ideal for smaller venues and touring, featuring all the unique drama, vibrancy, and musicality that Taikoz is famous for Taikoz Quartet! The show delves deeply into the roots of the taiko drum, but with a contemporary twist.
Premiered in Sydney at the Darling Quarter Theatre to a full house and recently performed at the Bellingen Fine Music Festival, this 70-minute work comprising four performers and a multitude of drums as well as the Shinobue (Japanese flute) takes the audience on a thrilling musical journey in a more intimate setting.
Byron Bay Saturday 4 May at 7.30pm. Tickets $43.80/38.80 & family of four $107.60. Tix byroncentre.com.au
Miss Amber & Stukulele’s Uke Night
Mullumbimby Ex-Services | Friday | 7pm | $15
Owing to Anzac Day’s falling on the last Thursday on the month, Miss Amber and Stukulele’s Uke Night will take place on Friday from 7pm. Guest vocalists are local Byron talent Tim Stokes joining Clelia Adams, Erina Leech and Rosie Eadie. The Songbook is called Keep It Simple and is perfect for beginners with one small step up as a few new chords have been introduced to keep advancing your Uke-playing skills. It’s a great night’s entertainment whether you are strumming along or not. Best of all, this month is not a school night so if you’ve never been this your chance to experience a unique community experience.
Soul Sangeet Indian Classic Fusion
Friday | Shantidwara | Middle Pocket via Mullumbimby | 6pm | $20-$30
Saturday | Mullum Civic Hall for Harmony Day | 7pm
With a brand-new 22-string guitar/sitar and a crystal ball is Shivam Rath, one of Australia’s young emerging slide guitarists, and he is joined on the tabla by Shen Flindell, his guru Bhai Massimo Bidin and Japanese vocalist Mico Sundari. The evening promises to be deeply devotional and touches on Vedic philosophy and the mystical world of Raga – the mastery of Tala.
The doors are opening at the newly built Shantidwara, on Friday, after the family lost everything in a fire a couple of years ago. 128 Middle Pocket Rd, Middle Pocket. Tickets www.stickytickets.com.au
Mata 0404 351 252. Veg dinner 6pm – pre-order 0412 968 841. Chai and cakes also sold for fundraiser for Refugees from Bali Detention. Also on Saturday at Mullum Civic Hall for Harmony Day at 7pm. Adults $15, kids under 16 $2.50. 7pm.
Rolling Stones Experience
Byron Theatre, Community Centre | Saturday | 8pm | $28.80
Get ready for The Rolling Stones Experience as it pays homage to the band that, along with the Beatles, was at the forefront of the British invasion in the mid-1960s. A band that are true legends of the rock genre. A band that Australia can’t get enough of!
The Rolling Stones are the epitome of rock’n’ roll and their 50-plus-year career consisting of over 120 singles (eight of which topped the charts globally with a further 23 peaking in the top 10), 30 studio albums, 23 live albums and 25 compilation albums, plus countless awards including two Grammys, cements them as one of rock’s greatest!
The Rolling Stones Experience is a rock’n’roll band that really rocks out and recreates that Stones sound and the songs you know and love with absolute authenticity, professionalism, and a band that has over 150 years of combined experience between them. Not just another tribute band thrown together, this is a band that’s been crafting their art of The Rolling Stones for over ten years and are as close as you can get to the real thing. Fronting the band is John van Zyl – a man who has been making people stop in their tracks for the past ten years, often being mistaken for the British rock legend himself.
John van Zyl is a seasoned entertainer and was born to be Mick Jagger. His uncanny look and eerily similar vocal style makes him an instantly recognisable Jagger performer. John enthuses with the same confidence in his musical and vocal ability and his performance as Jagger is flawless – right down to the moves.
The Rolling Stones Experience at the Byron Theatre on Saturday at 8pm. Tix are $28.80 ages 16 plus. Tix at byroncentre.com.au.
Van Morrison’s Masterpieces
Performed by Vince Jones and the Astral Orchestra
Lismore City Hall | Friday 10 May | 7:30pm | $69–74
Australian jazz legend Vince Jones and the Astral Orchestra perform songs from Van Morrison’s classic albums Astral Weeks and Moondance.
When The Beatles stopped touring and progressed to psychedelic rock and Dylan left folk and went electric, Van Morrison hired some of New York’s finest jazz musicians and recorded two of the classic albums of that golden era –Astral Weeks and Moondance. Both albums had enormous impact on aspiring musicians and singers around the world. Australian jazz legend Vince Jones was one of them. Now Jones, a remarkable jazz interpreter, has invited a selection of Australia’s finest jazz/rock musicians to form The Astral Orchestra. His music director Matt McMahon joins him in this homage to Van’s extraordinary repertoire – his most acclaimed album, the magical Astral Weeks – a poetic, mercurial blend of jazz, folk and blues – and most commercially successful, the wonderful soul/jazz-influenced Moondance.
Vince Jones has set the benchmark for Australian jazz vocalist/musicians across his 20 albums; his international career and his Celtic/jazz/blues influences provide the perfect blend for his reading of two of contemporary rock music’s greatest works. In April this year Vince Jones released his 18th album, A Personal Selection, a collection of his favourite songs recorded over his 40-year career.
The Van Morrison Masterpieces concert brings together Vince Jones (vocal, trumpet) with the eight-piece Astral Orchestra comprising acclaimed Australian instrumentalists Matt McMahon (piano & musical director), Ben Hauptman (guitar), Ben Robertson (double & electric bass), James Hauptman (drums), Paul Cutlan (saxophone & flute), Phil Slater (trumpet), Eugenie Costello (violin), and Stephanie Zarka (violin).
Friday 10 May at Lismore City Hall, 7.30pm. Tix $69–74 at lismorecityhall.com.au.
OUT OF RANGE BLOW THEIR OWN TRUMPET
Tree House Belongil | Saturday | 7pm | Free
Out of Range are coming to the Treehouse at Belongil on Saturday, 7pm, with a slightly sophisticated slant on their usual upbeat shenanigans. Featuring the magnificent trumpeting talent of Cameron Smith (The Maginificence, Timbuktu), they will be featuring some more jazz-influenced tunes alongside their usual happy, irreverent, upbeat, genre-fluid feast.