What do we love? Summer, obviously. Pashing the pool boy. Palm trees. Pina Coladas. But how will the ice cream-licking public know that we love these things? We need some fresh accessory, some new sartorial canvas with which to advertise our priorities in life. "Aha," muse Soludos and We Are Handsome simultaneously. "We shall bring summer to the feet of the people." Hence, the We Are Handsome x Soludos collection, comprising the first-ever digitally printed photographic espadrilles. The evocative collection is the latest collab by Soludos; past partners in creative crime have included Opening Ceremony, Mara Hoffman and Bassike. Not to be alarmist, but this is a limited edition exclusive to Australia and the US, so it might sell out stat. It's got four classic WAH prints adorning the breezy 100 percent cotton uppers of espadrilles ($67) as well as hot sexy derby-style lace-ups ($81). The numero uno design is arguably the vintage Miami Hideaway lace-ups, which, let's face it, you should probably just wear on your hands because they're too good for feet. WAH director Jeremy Somers honours the Paradise and Tropical prints with this most noble creed: "Living a never-ending summer is what both Soludos and We Are Handsome are all about, and nothing personifies this better than the iconic image of the humble, but fantastic palm tree." Indeed. And who's that, prowling through the foliage? Why, it's the Vagabond, an escapee from Siegfried and Roy's. "Whether it’s a panda, eagle or lion face bikini bottom, I’ve always loved the unexpected, bold tongue-in-cheek attitude and vivid '80s-inspired photo print design of We Are Handsome," says Soludos founder Nick Brown. "It's been a really fun process working with We Are Handsome and we have ended up with some wild designs that capture both brands' love for all things summer." Amen, and can we please have a music video with Solange dancing in these? It just feels right.
Festivals with international headliners are well and truly back, and that doesn't just apply to music. When Antidote — the Sydney Opera House's fest of ideas, art and change — returns on Sunday, September 11, it's bringing an impressive lineup of international names with it. Here's three: Brian Cox, Jenny Slate and Jarvis Cocker. Fresh from spending three seasons yelling about a business empire on one of television's biggest shows, Succession star Cox headlines the Antidote bill. The iconic actor will make the trip Down Under to chat about his career, including his ability to play characters known for their anger, malicious ways and sinister mood — which, yes, spans more than just the hit HBO series. His discussion is called The Evil in Us All, after all. [caption id="attachment_859192" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Katie McCurdy[/caption] As for Slate, don't be suspicious. The Parks and Recreation, Obvious Child, I Want You Back and Everything Everywhere All At Once star, and Marcel the Shell with Shoes On author, will hit Sydney to focus on finding joy and laughter in our weird lives. She also has essay collection Little Weirds to her name, so she'll be on topic. Pulp frontman Cocker isn't playing tunes — no 'Common People' or 'Disco 2000' for you, sorry — but he will be showing folks his attic. His livestreamed conversation is called Good Pop, Bad Pop, just like his recently released memoir, and it'll feature him talking through some of the things he's collected, the tales behind them, and what the objects we hide away say about us. [caption id="attachment_859191" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tom Jamieson[/caption] Also on the Antidote lineup: bestselling author Mohsin Hamid (Moth Smoke, The Reluctant Fundamentalist, Exit West), chatting about white anxiety, privilege and prejudice — and Olivia Laing (The Trip to Echo Springs, The Lonely City, Everybody: A Book About Freedom), with the award-winner talking about oppression, resistance and bodies via livestream. Or, there's an event called Ukraine Has Changed Us, which'll include Ukrainian poet and recent Nobel Prize in Literature nominee Serhiy Zhadan live from Kharkiv. Responding to our times in a different way, The Atlantic's science writer Ed Yong, a Pulitzer prize-winning journalist, will discuss global biosecurity and potential pandemics beyond COVID-19. He's the last of the fest's four guests that are appearing via video link — and he'll speak with epidemiologist and UNSW Chair of Biosecurity Professor Raina MacIntyre. [caption id="attachment_859193" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Jillian Edelstein.[/caption] Looking local, former Aussie Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull will chat about disinformation online, while Australian Greens leader Adam Bandt, newly elected independent MP Allegra Spender and former politician Cathy McGowan will discuss the recent Federal Election results — specifically, the record number of Independents and Greens voted in, and what that means for the country. Elsewhere, Gunai artist and writer Kirli Saunders will lead a panel with Gumbaynggirr/Bundjalung man and CEO of the Muurrbay Aboriginal Language and Culture Co-operative Gary Williams about preserving and sharing Australia's Indigenous languages. The full Antidote lineup spans 17 talks, conversations and panels, plus four workshops, and an art activation as well — all of which covers chats about storytelling, balancing living with tragedy with retaining hope, Australia's future from a First Nations standpoint, ditching careers in media to become doctors, campaign reporting and China's growing power, too. And in great news for everyone who can't make it along in-person — such as folks living outside of Sydney — almost all of the lineup will be livestreamed. Yes, that includes Cox, Slate, Cocker, Hamid, Laing and Yong's sessions. [caption id="attachment_859190" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Prudence Upton[/caption] Antidote will take place at the Sydney Opera House, and online, on Sunday, September 11. Ticket pre-sales start at 9am on Tuesday, June 28 — and general sales start at the same time for livestreams, and at 9am on Monday, July 1 for in-person tickets. Top image: Succession, David M. Russell/HBO ©2020 HBO. All Rights Reserved.
Usually when a Brisbanite heads to Westfield Chermside, they're going shopping. Or, they could be seeing a movie or having a bite to eat. Normally, though, a trip to the sprawling northside centre doesn't involve swinging in a rainbow room or hopping in a ball pit — or cuddling teddy bears either. From Thursday, June 24, all of the above activities are on the agenda at the busy shopping complex. So is being surrounded by colour and neon lights aplenty, too. The reason: the folks behind the sweet-themed Sugar Republic pop-up museum are returning to the town, bringing their latest multi-room installation with them. So, get ready to make your way through The Selfie Lab (and to see it take over your Instagram feeds, obviously). Whether they're doing Christmas pop-ups in Melbourne or hosting a Museum of Love in Sydney, all of this group's activities are designed to be snapped — so this time they're just calling that out in the event's name. Drop by and you'll find a greatest hits-style set up across The Selfie Lab's 16 rooms. In other words, it's rolling out some of the past spaces that everyone loved, just in a different location. New rooms featuring photogenic decor that audiences haven't seen before will also be part of the installation; think: Palm Springs motels, 50s diners and 80s bedrooms, as well as a space that promises to take visitors to the moon. There'll also be a candy bar — because the Sugar Republic crew were never going to forgo sweetness — and work onsite by Brisbane illustrator Alex Darrafa. Making its home opposite Uniqlo on Westfield Chermside's second level, The Selfie Lab is popping up for a good time, not a long time — but it does seem that this vibrant space might stick around for a bit. The website promises new installations each season; however, given how popular the group's other events have proven, getting in quickly is still recommended. Tickets cost $25 plus booking fee for a one-hour run through the space — phone in-hand, of course, so you can keep snapping pics. Find The Selfie Lab on Level 2 of Westfield Chermside, Corner of Gympie and Hamilton roads, Chermside, from Thursday, June 24 — open daily from 10am. For further details and to book tickets, head to the pop-up's website.
The Case Against Adnan Syed did it. Across both its first and second seasons, Dirty John did too. We're talking about TV shows that leapt to the screen from podcasts, because this genre isn't going anywhere soon. The latest example: Dr Death. Obviously, that moniker doesn't bode well from the outset — for the patients treated by Christopher Duntsch, that is. If you've heard the Wondery podcast that shares the series' name, you'll know how this true tale turns out. And if you haven't, prepared to watch a horrific real-life situation unfold in this new eight-episode drama. Working in Dallas during the past decade, Duntsch was originally a rising neurosurgery star. Then, as the series charts, his patients started leaving the operating theatre either permanently maimed or dead. If you've ever faced going under the knife, this is pure, unfettered and deeply disturbing nightmare fuel — and it all really happened. Joshua Jackson plays Duntsch, and is bound to shed any lingering Dawson's Creek-era affection audiences might have for him in the process (and fondness from The Mighty Ducks and Fringe, too). He's joined by Alec Baldwin (Pixie) and Christian Slater (Dirty John) as fellow surgeons who raise the alarm, and also by AnnaSophia Robb (Words on Bathroom Walls) as the Dallas prosecutor who takes the case. As both the initial trailer and just-dropped new clip for the series show, this is quite the bleak story. Whether you already know how it all turns out or you'll be discovering the details fresh, you'll be able to watch Dr Death on Stan from Friday, July 16. It's dropping all of its episodes at once, too, if you're in need of some grim mid-winter binge-viewing material. Check out the trailer below: Dr Death will be available to stream via Stan on Friday, July 16. Top image: Barbara Nitke/Peacock.
The event that floods Instagram feeds with thousands of vibrant flowers has returned to the Southern Highlands. Now in its 59th year, the annual Tulip Time festival features over 75,000 tulips planted throughout Bowral's Corbett Gardens and the surrounding Shire. If the stunning sight of a tens of thousands of the bulbous flowers isn't quite enough for you, you'll be happy to know there's heaps of stuff happening at the garden throughout the two weeks, which is located a 90-minute drive southwest of Sydney. Expect live music, as well as a food-filled festival marketplace, with this year's event taking place between Tuesday, September 24 and Monday, October 7 If you're fond of Mary Poppins — and given that Australia now has a museum dedicated to the character, it seems plenty of folks are — you'll also be in luck. Author PL Travers spent some of her childhood in Bowral, so, with 2019 marking 85 years since the magical nanny made her first appearance on the page, Tulip Time is celebrating the occasion as well. Image: Destination NSW
The second relatively prominent Aussie horror film of the year, Damien Power's Killing Ground sits alongside Hounds of Love in terms of brutality, bone-chills and its capacity to inspire feelings of nausea in its viewers. Where it doesn't match up, however, is in doing something new with the disturbing violence that it pedals. The film tells the story of a camping ground from three different perspectives. First up is a young couple, Ian and Sam (played by Ian Meadows and Harriet Dyer), who embark on a New Year's Eve jaunt away from the city, only to find there's already a tent set-up in the remote place they thought they'd have to themselves. Number two are the owners of said tent: a family of four complete with teenager and a toddler named Ollie. Three is a pair of reprehensible men, German and Chook (Aaron Pederson and Aaron Glenane). By the time the penny drops and Ian and Sam figure out that the tent is empty, the audience has already cottoned on: the three storylines aren't happening consecutively, and bad things have already occurred. It's a clever plot device, but the cleverness runs out there. The film succeeds, in part, in setting up an environment that for all its sun and lake views will make you feel bitterly cold inside. Aaron Pederson's German is a terrifying, unpredictable vision of unhinged male violence, and the sight of a distressed Ollie wandering around alone is both sickening and chilling. Once Sam and Ian have gauged that all is not well with Ollie's parents, the film quickly descends into a tale of violence, rape, and a whole lot of frustration on the part of the audience. The couple take a truly infuriating amount of time to realise they should just leave and call the police – Ian even willingly accompanying Chook on a search mission to the nearby falls which will "only take 15 minutes", even though there's a sign that says the falls are 4km away. I mean come on Ian, you're a doctor, you're supposed to be smart. But even more frustrating is that ultimately, it all feels as though it's for naught. For all its atmosphere, the film ends up being an unrelenting exercise in gratuitous violence with no apparent novelty or meaning. By the time the gruesome two hours are up, viewers will be left with not much more than a funny tummy and a reluctance to go camping for a while. Although if you do head out into the woods after this film, you'll be sure to check any neighbouring tents. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3ePiwb0NxQ
In association with Brisbane Writers Festival, The Walkleys are in Brisbane hosting The Photographers Slide Show at GoMA this Saturday. Photographer Slide Shows are an annual event run by The Walkley Foundation in honor of Australian photojournalists. The event gives photographers of all ages the opportunity to show off their latest projects with the art loving community. Any student, journalist, photographer, general art appreciator or wannabe hipster should jump at the opportunity to observe and get to know Australia’s fresh faces of press photography and chat to some of the industries most prestigious. To put it plainly, it's a big deal and you don't want to miss it. Brisbane definitely has one up on our rivals Sydney and Melbourne, pfft they may have Eminem, but we have mountains of artistic talent and the Walkleys come back every year...yeah, what! The event is free with registration. To attend you must send an RSVP email to events@walkleys.com. If you just rock up you won't be let in, so make sure you RSVP soon to secure your place. Spend your Saturday morning basking in the best of our nation's talent, whilst enjoying free food and wine. Seriously, we have it good here.
Brisbane's solid live music scene has filled the city's venues for decades — and it has inspired more than a few tributes in other places around town, too. Back in 2019, the Museum of Brisbane filled its walls with blasts from our musical past. Now, it's the State Library of Queensland's turn. On display until Sunday, May 9, Cut Copy: Brisbane Music Posters 1977–87 showcases all the artwork that helped advertise often independent and underground Brissie gigs for a ten-year period — and its links to Brisbane music history don't end there. Curators Robyn Hamilton and Rueben Hillier took inspiration from material collected by Dr John Willsteed during a research project. Willstead was part of The Go-Betweens in the 80s, so he obviously knows a thing or two about the subject. The Go-Betweens are one of the bands featured, unsurprisingly, alongside everyone from The Saints, The Riptides and The Leftovers to The Upsets, Razar and The Black Assassins. As well as letting you peer back at the designs of the era, the exhibition is likely to leave you with a heap of legendary local acts to add to your playlist. Entry is free, but bookings are required — with Cut Copy: Brisbane Music Posters 1977–87 open from 10am–5pm daily. Top image: QUT Media.
UPDATE, Thursday, March 13, 2025: This event has been postponed from Sunday, March 16 to Sunday, March 23 . Fish Lane restaurant Southside is going all in on margaritas to kick off autumn in a big way, including with a fest inside a broader fest. The bigger event: March Into Margarita, the surrounding precinct's month-long celebration of 'ritas. And the shindig within the broader shindig: Margs-a-Million. Southside is pouring creative marg flavours from Saturday, March 1–Monday, March 31, including classic paloma, pina and butterfly lovers' margs — which is great news if you're all about just popping in whenever suits your diary. But you'll need to head by on Sunday, March 23 if you want to hit up the venue's marg party. Taking place on across two ticketed sessions — at 12pm and 2pm — Margs-a-Million will see Southside serve up margaritas — ten types this year — and host a mezcal and tequila tasting station. Also, the folks from Baja are joining in to take care of the snacks, and mariachi music will set the mood. Tickets cost $49, which gets you entry, plus two drinks. Images: Pixel Punk.
The #BanTheBag campaign has scored a major win, with New South Wales grocer Harris Farm Markets making good on its promise to ditch single-use plastic bags entirely. As of today, shoppers at all of the retailer's stores will now choose between the more planet-friendly options of bringing or purchasing a reusable bag, or taking advantage of Harris Farm's free paper bags and cardboard boxes. The family-owned store is now the first major retailer to do away with plastic bags at the registers, with competitors Woolworths and Coles expected to phase out their own by the end of the year. Harris Farm has long been a vocal supporter of minimising plastic bag use and and it's continuing the push, calling for the NSW Government to enforce a statewide ban on the single-use bags. South Australia, the ACT, the Northern Territory and Tasmania already have a full ban in place, with Western Australia and Queensland enforcing their own from July 1 this year. Victoria is expected to announce a start date for its statewide ban in the coming months. Here's hoping we won't be waiting too long for other big-name retailers to follow stop stocking plastic bags altogether.
If you're looking to break up the workday with a lunch so good it'll make you forget all the spreadsheets waiting for you back in the office, Saké Restaurant and Bar has your back. The contemporary Japanese spot recently released a new lunchtime special to feast upon and, while it might set you back a bit more than a sandwich from the deli, it'll also make that to-do list seem a little less daunting. Available Monday to Thursday, the Saké Favourites Lunch offers up a selection of the most popular dishes for $60 per person. You'll feast on the likes of hiramasa kingfish paired with lime and jalapeno koshu, steamed prawn dumplings, spicy tuna hand rolls and miso glazed Glacier 51 toothfish, with green tea ice cream to finish. The team haven't forgotten your liquids either — you'll also get a glass of riesling, grenache or draught beer. Whether you want to start off strong on a Monday, break up the work week or you're looking to impress some colleagues, book ahead and get ready to indulge your taste buds. The Saké Favourites Lunch is available Monday to Thursday. To make a booking, head this way.
Sun, surf and sand are all great Australian day-trip staples — but if you're looking to add some ice, snow and a bucket-list destination to your next adventure, that's achievable, too. Fancy ticking the South Pole off of your must-see list? Have a bit of spare cash to burn? Eager to head overseas just for one day? Then you'll be excited to know that Antarctica Flights is now taking bookings for its 2022–23 season. The name does indeed say it all, with these plane trips flying to Antarctica from Australia courtesy of the sightseeing group. Antarctica Flights has been hosting the rare, sky-high, one-day charter tours for a few years now, and will be taking to the skies again from November 2022 through till February 2023. And, because these trips are classified as domestic flights, you don't even need to take your passport with you. Departing Sydney (November 6 and December 31, 2022), Hobart (November 13, 2022), Brisbane (November 20, 2022 and February 12, 2023), Perth (November 27, 2022), Canberra (December 4, 2022), Melbourne (December 31, 2022 and February 19, 2023) and Adelaide (February 5, 2023), these flights will cruise above the dazzling Antarctica Treaty area for around four hours. Each flight path is carefully chosen to maximise viewing from both sides of the plane and to ensure the best views should the weather turn nasty, while some passengers will rotate seats to allow everyone an equal shot at the spectacular scenery below. Travelling on a Qantas 787 Dreamliner, the whole trip clocks in at around 12.5 hours — depending on your departure city — during which you'll hear from expert Antarctic explorers, talking about the polar environment and its fascinating history. Your trip includes all of that, while enjoying some better-than-average Qantas plane food, full bar service and, in the lead-up to the views, a spot of in-flight entertainment — classic flick Happy Feet, or some Antarctic docos, of course. As expected, this kind of plane trip doesn't come cheap. You're looking at $1199 to be seated without direct access to a window, for instance. Other options, including Standard Economy Class ($2199), Superior Economy Class ($3199) and Premium Economy Class ($3999), involve seat rotations throughout the flight, so passengers can spend time both close to the window and further away. Of course, you and your favourite travel buddy could drop $7999 each on Business Class Deluxe tickets to have a window seat and the one next to it all to yourselves for the entire flight. ANTARCTICA FLIGHTS 2022-23: From Sydney: November 6 and December 31, 2022 From Hobart: November 13, 2022 From Brisbane: November 20, 2022 and February 12, 2023 From Perth: November 27, 2022 From Canberra: December 4, 2022 From Melbourne: December 31, 2022 and February 19, 2023 From Adelaide: February 5, 2023 Antarctica Flights' 2022-23 season is open for bookings now, with flights out of Sydney, Hobart, Brisbane, Perth, Canberra, Melbourne and Adelaide between November 6, 2022–February 19, 2023.
How do you make a great show even better? A show that's announces its greatness in its title, for that matter? For its second season, you ramp up everything that worked so well in its initial batch of episodes — and you also add Gillian Anderson. That's what's on the cards when The Great returns in November for another satirical dalliance with Russian history. One of the gems of 2020 — a year that wasn't great in general, but delivered plenty of top-notch new TV shows that we all streamed all year — the series takes a savage yet delightful jump back to the 18th century, to the time of its namesake Catherine the Great. As its first season showed, The Great is filled with the expected lavish costumes, wigs, sets and decor as it explores an immensely famous time that had a significant impact upon the world. Normally, that'd all smack of a certain kind of drama — you know the type — however this is firmly a comedy as well. Starring Elle Fanning (Maleficent: Mistress of Evil) as the eponymous ruler and Nicholas Hoult (Those Who Wish Me Dead) as her husband Peter III, The Great is full of witty, laugh-out-loud lines, sports an irreverent and often cheeky mood, and has ample fun with real-life details — much in the way that Oscar-winner The Favourite did with British royalty on the big screen. That comparison couldn't actually be more fitting, with that film's BAFTA-winning screenwriter, Australian Tony McNamara, using his skills to pen The Great as well. Across its ten-episode, very easy-to-binge, immensely hilarious first season, the series immersed viewers in Catherine and Peter's hardly happy marriage, all the day-to-day dramas in the Russian court, and her plans to push him aside and become the country's ruler in her own right. In its second season — which'll start streaming via Stan in Australia on Saturday, November 20, and just dropped its latest trailer after a teaser a few months back — it'll now chart the aftermath, as well as Catherine's pregnancy. Here are five things that should take your fancy: Catherine and Peter slinging sharp banter back and forth, her preference for eating chicken over sex, the word "huzzah", more chaotic antics and Gillian Anderson joining the cast. Because starring in everything from The X-Files and Hannibal to The Crown and Sex Education isn't enough for latter, she pops up here as Catherine's mother. If you weren't already hooked on all things The Great, that's obviously an excellent — and great, naturally — reason to start watching. Check out the first trailer for The Great's second season below: The Great's second season will be available to stream in Australia via Stan on November 20.
Martin Scorsese has made not one but two documentaries about him. I'm Not There had six actors, including Cate Blanchett (The New Boy), play him. The Coen brothers' Inside Llewyn Davis couldn't take a fictional tour of the 60s folk scene without getting its protagonist watching him onstage. Ever since 1967 docos Don't Look Back and Festival, Bob Dylan has been no stranger to the screen — and now he's getting the music biopic treatment again, this time with Timothée Chalamet (Dune: Part Two) picking up a guitar. With the curls and the gaze — and the early 60s-era wardrobe, too — Chalamet looks the part in the just-released first trailer A Complete Unknown. He also sings the part, busting out 'A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall'. The Wonka and Bones and All star transforms into the music icon at the start of his career, hence the movie's title. The feature's focus: how Dylan became a sensation. In a film directed by Walk the Line helmer James Mangold — swapping Johnny Cash for another legend, clearly — A Complete Unknown charts Dylan's rise to stardom. The folk singer's early gigs, filling concert halls, going electric at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival: they're all set to be covered, with his famous performance at the latter, due to be the narrative's culmination. Take note of the date that this trailer dropped, both in the US and Down Under: the 1965 Newport Folk Festival took place in July, with Dylan performing acoustic songs on July 24 and playing electric on July 25 — so, on the same dates 59 years ago. As well as Chalamet, Mangold (Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny) has enlisted Edward Norton (Asteroid City), Elle Fanning (The Great), Monica Barbaro (Fubar), Boyd Holbrook (The Bikeriders), Dan Fogler (Eric), Norbert Leo Butz (The Exorcist: Believer) and Scoot McNairy (Invincible) among the cast. A Complete Unknown releases in US picture palaces in December 2024, with cinema dates Down Under yet to be confirmed as yet. Check out the trailer for A Complete Unknown below: A Complete Unknown releases in US cinemas in December, but doesn't yet have a release date Down Under — we'll update you with more details when they're announced. Images: courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2024 Searchlight Pictures All Rights Reserved.
There are plenty of ways to pick which music festivals to dance your way through, but one method reigns supreme: the all-powerful lineup. When a fest puts together an A-plus roster of onstage talent — like Charli XCX, Duke Dumont and Sonny Fodera headlining For the Love 2023, for instance — your decision is often made for you. That's one reason to get excited about the event's return next February and March. Here's another: its waterfront locations at its four stops. For the Love pairs its packed bill of dance and pop hitmakers with stunning backdrops, and will hit up the Gold Coast's Doug Jennings Park, Wollongong's Thomas Dalton Park, Melbourne's Catani Gardens and Perth's Taylor Reserve for its 2023 run. Also doing the honours: Cosmo's Midnight, Snakehips, Budjerah and KYE, as well as Sumner and Jade Zoe. And yes, Charli XCX's spot on the lineup means that if you live outside of Sydney and you can't make it to WorldPride next year, you can still catch her onstage. As in previous years, punters will also have the opportunity to kick back in style in one of For The Love's VIP lounges, presented by Aussie streetwear label Nana Judy. Plus, For the Love's Music For Oceans eco-friendly initiative is back, to do once again do the environment a solid. Behind the scenes, the folks at Untitled Group — the same minds behind Beyond the Valley, Pitch Music & Arts, Grapevine Gathering and Wildlands — are running the show, and splashing around their hefty festival experience. If an evening spent cutting shapes by the water sounds like a much-needed addition to your 2023 calendar, you can now register for presale tickets. Those advance tix go on sale from 9am AEDT on Thursday, December 1, with general sales from 4pm AEDT the same day. FOR THE LOVE 2023 AUSTRALIAN DATES: Saturday, February 25 — Doug Jennings Park, Gold Coast Sunday, February 26 — Thomas Dalton Park, Wollongong Saturday, March 4 — Catani Gardens, Melbourne Sunday, March 5 — Taylor Reserve, Perth FOR THE LOVE 2023 LINEUP: Charli XCX Duke Dumont Sonny Fodera Cosmo's Midnight Snakehips Budjerah KYE Sumner Jade Zoe For The Love 2023 tours the country in February and March 2023. Head to the festival's website to register for presale, with ticket presales from 9am AEDT on Thursday, December 1 — and general sales from 4pm AEDT the same day.
In the hearts and minds of Marvel Cinematic Universe viewers, Chadwick Boseman will be Black Panther forever. In the upcoming sequel to 2018's excellent Black Panther, however, a new version of the hero is on its way. Thanks to the initial trailer for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever from back in July, Marvel already established that King T'Challa has passed away, his nation is in mourning and his absence is heavily felt — and in the just-dropped new sneak peek, that results in someone else donning the titular figure's suit. As for who that is, Wakanda Forever is keeping coy about the answer even in the new footage, although it's easy to take a few guesses. The latest trailer also keeps reckoning with another question that was always going to linger over this second effort, and will be solved in November when the film hits cinemas: how do you jump back into a superhero saga — a caped-crusader franchise within a sprawling, seemingly never-ending franchise, too — without your star? Given Boseman's death in 2020, this sequel obviously isn't the film that returning writer/director Ryan Coogler (Creed) initially intended, and an unsurprisingly emotional time awaits. That said, while the first sneak peek played up the sorrow across Wakanda — complete with a tribute to King T'Challa among its frames — the new Wakanda Forever glimpse sets an action-packed tone. Plot-wise, the story picks up with Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett, Gunpowder Milkshake), Shuri (Letitia Wright, Death on the Nile), M'Baku (Winston Duke, Nine Days), Okoye (Danai Gurira, The Walking Dead) and the Dora Milaje (including Florence Kasumba, Deutschland89) charged with protecting their nation from world powers after T'Challa's death — with help from War Dog Nakia (Lupita Nyong'o, The 355) and Everett Ross (Martin Freeman, Breeders). But life on land isn't their only threat. Thanks to a hidden undersea nation called Talokan — and Namor (Tenoch Huerta, Narcos: Mexico), its king — Wakanda seems to have a pressing for a hero like Black Panther. Also among Wakanda Forever's cast: Michaela Coel (I May Destroy You) and Dominique Thorne (Judas and the Black Messiah), with the latter playing Riri Williams ahead of the character's solo Disney+ series Ironheart When the initial trailer dropped, Marvel revealed that Wakanda Forever will wrap up the MCU's phase four — because this ever-growing on-screen superhero world is broken up into different chapters. Obviously, more caped-crusader stories are still in the works, though, with the Disney-owned entertainment behemoth also plotting out its plans across phase five and phase six, taking it up to 2025. Check out the latest Black Panther: Wakanda Forever trailer below: Black Panther: Wakanda Forever releases in cinemas Down Under on November 10. Images: courtesy of Marvel Studios. © 2022 MARVEL.
I won’t lie to you, dear readers, I was considering trying to define the surrealist art movement as a beginning to this article. But after several hours of perusing the GoMA website’s background and history on the period, I decided the adjectives were best left to the experts; avant-garde, experimentation, liberation of desire, reproduction of dreams. Instead I will say this: the artists from this period were crazy in the best possible way. They include people like André Breton, Giorgio de Chirico, May Ray, Joan Miró and Salvador Dali who were all known for being a little out there. The latter in particular who was known to regularly take his anteater for walks. As I’ve already realised, the best people to give you the 101 on these fabulous folk are the art world experts. Amazingly, GoMA are offering up their most experienced curators to guide visitors around the exhibition for no extra fee! Do pay attention though, each curator focuses on a different element of surrealism from film to an artist’s psyche. Depending on your interests, make sure you peruse the website before wandering into town with your own unusual animal on a leash.
Not once but twice now, a new sneak peek at The Flight Attendant's second season has hit and dropped some deliciously pointed dialogue along with it. Back in March, when the initial teaser for the show's next batch of episodes arrived, it had Kaley Cuoco's Cassie Bowden exclaiming "I'm still a flight attendant, and I've been making better choices." Now, in season two's just-released full trailer, she's told "you seem very put together." Of course, everything that surrounds those lines of dialogue in both sneak peeks so far immediately contradicts what's uttered — because The Flight Attendant wouldn't be the show it is if chaos wasn't on the itinerary. And this time around, the country-hopping thriller has a new way to dial up the twists. When Cassie escapes into her mind to reflect upon everything that life is throwing her way, which is a lot, she's confronted with multiple versions of herself. Four Cassies — and four Cuocos, too — are better than one, clearly. If you're wondering exactly how that'll play out, you don't have to wait long — with The Flight Attendant's second season arriving in Australia via Binge on Thursday, April 21, and in New Zealand thanks to Neon on Friday, April 22. Obviously, as anyone who quickly found themselves addicted to the extremely watchable series the first time, expecting Cassie to settle into a normal, average, uneventful and calm life is highly unrealistic. In season two, she has indeed moved on from the dramas we all watched back in 2020, though — and moved to Los Angeles, and also started attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. That said, Cassie has picked up a part-time job as well, which happens to see her moonlighting for the CIA. And, as this second trailer shows, that new gig comes with consequences. While Cassie is doing great things at both of her jobs — booze-free things, helpfully — it seems that someone else is trying to pass themselves off as her while she's working her side hustle overseas. Cue more globe-trotting intrigue, taking the show to both Berlin and Reykjavik. Cue more of Cassie's inner monologues as well, which is where those four different versions come in. Also new: cast members Mo McRae (Big Little Lies), Callie Hernandez (Under the Silver Lake), JJ Soria (Gentefied), Alanna Ubach (Euphoria), Cheryl Hines (Curb Your Enthusiasm), Jessie Ennis (Mythic Quest), Mae Martin (Feel Good), Margaret Cho (Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens), Santiago Cabrera (Ema), Sharon Stone (Ratched) and Shohreh Aghdashloo (The Expanse). They'll join Golden Globe- and Emmy-nominee Cuoco, obviously, plus returning co-stars Zosia Mamet (Girls), Griffin Matthews (Dear White People), Deniz Akdeniz (The High Note) and Rosie Perez (The Last Thing He Wanted). And if you're coming to this small-screen adaptation of Chris Bohjalian's 2018 novel of the same name with fresh eyes, the first season unravelled quite the tale — starting high in the sky, bouncing around the globe and delivering a hectic murder-mystery. Filled with sudden revelations and reversals, featuring multiple points of interest playing out across a split-screen setup, and also sporting cliffhangers to end every episode, the slick, swift-moving series knew exactly the kind of story it was telling and went for broke. Check out the full trailer for The Flight Attendant's second season below: The Flight Attendant's second season will be available to stream via Binge in Australia from Thursday, April 21 — and is headed to Neon in New Zealand on Friday, April 22. Read our full review of season one. Images: Jennifer Rose Clasen/HBO Max.
Morning brown, morning brown, this bit of news is better than a cup of morning brown — because Aunty Donna is returning to your TV. After gifting your streaming queue one of the best new shows of 2020, aka Netflix's Aunty Donna's Big Ol' House of Fun, the Australian comedy group is teaming up with one of the country's national broadcasters on a new sitcom. Yes, Mark Samual Bonanno, Broden Kelly and Zachary Ruane are heading to the ABC. The fact that the network is also known as Aunty is obviously incredibly apt — and it isn't the first time that the two have joined forces, with Aunty Donna's Fresh Blood hitting iView back in 2014. This time, Bonanno, Kelly and Ruane are headed to the ABC for a show called Aunty Donna's Untitled Project, a half-hour series that'll see the trio star in a Melbourne-set comedy. The premise: three best mates run a cafe in one of Melbourne's laneways. Their coffee-slinging establishment is trendy, but the stretch of pavement it's in on isn't. You can expect cups of morning brown to be served. Hopefully, the song about them will get a whirl. Will the cafe be open on Christmas and serve up a little bit of pud, too? You'll have to watch to find out. As soon as Neighbours ended it opened a lot of doors for us. — Aunty Donna (@AuntyDonnaBoys) August 24, 2022 This new show will be replacing the highly rated ABC @BreakfastNews show — Aunty Donna (@AuntyDonnaBoys) August 24, 2022 Announcing the news, Aunty Donna said: "we make show, you will love." Hey, it worked with Aunty Donna's Big Ol' House of Fun. Fingers crossed that Aunty Donna's Untitled Project proves just as absurd — although Aunty Donna seem incapable of creating anything else, hilariously so. [caption id="attachment_791048" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Aunty Donna's Big Ol' House of Fun, Netflix[/caption] "ABC audiences first got a taste of Aunty Donna in 2014 in Fresh Blood, so we couldn't be more excited to have them back where they belong and to be the home of their first narrative comedy series. Strap yourselves in... this is going to be a wild ride," said ABC Head of Comedy Todd Abbott. Aunty Donna's Untitled Project is set to air on ABC TV and ABC iview sometime in 2023, with exact dates yet to be announced. In the interim, you can check out the announcement video for the series below: Aunty Donna's Untitled Project is set to hit ABC and ABC iView sometime in 2023 — we'll update you when an exact release date is announced.
It’s been a long trek down the sidewalks to stardom for Sparkadia’s Alex Burnett. Seven years on since the band's Sydney formation, through the ups and downs and the loss of many band members, Sparkadia has arisen alive and well. With their latest track Mary charging up the charts and China breaking the hearts of girls across the globe, Alex has definitely learnt a thing or two over the years. After Sparkadia's spot in the Splendour lineup and release of their latest album, The Great Impression earlier this year, the project has grown to be the apple in the eye of indie music fans. With Sydney Morning Herald dubbing him one of Australia’s best singer/songwriters, the man’s got something to prove and what better way to do so than embarking on a national tour? Catch Sparkadia on the road with their Mary tour this Saturday before they scoot off again around the rest of the nation.
Whether you're a happy-go-lucky type or you've just experienced a day that you'd rather forget, everyone needs a break from their own reality sometimes. The easiest way? A big dose of on-screen escapism. Maybe you'd like to creep your way through a haunted house? Perhaps you're keen to see what it's like in a witches' coven? If you'd prefer to explore a variety of different futuristic scenarios, head to space or navigate a zombie-riddled wasteland (all from the comfort of your couch, of course), there's a TV show that'll take you there. If all of the above scenarios sound familiar, there's a few reasons for that. Firstly, a number of TV programs have tried their hand at these ideas, both recently and over the years. Secondly, some of the best are currently available to watch via streaming platform Binge, including shows still releasing new seasons and cult favourites that have already wrapped up. We've teamed up with the service to recommend five must-sees — which you can stream right now, including via a 14-day free trial for new customers.
There's treating yo'self to a night out of the house — staycationing in your own city or heading out of town, whichever suits — and then there's the kind of evening where truly going all out is the only thing on the agenda. Staying at a swanky Brisbane hotel that's been temporarily taken over by a vodka brand would fall into the second category anyway, but here's something that levels up that already-indulgent experience: hiring out the whole place with your mates for a cool $49,999. Firstly, you'll clearly need a fat stack of spare cash. Secondly, you'll want at least 39 pals who are just as eager for quite the luxe experience, because this package covers 40 separate hotel rooms. That means that you'll all be paying $1249.98 each, just for one night at the Grey Goose Hotel by Ovolo — but you'll definitely be making the most of it. That hefty sum gets your whole group exclusive access to The Inchcolm by Ovolo hotel, which is already a mighty decadent place to stay. Inspired by the 1920s, and by Gertrude Stein's Paris salon, it's designed to be the type of spot where Ernest Hemingway, Banksy and David Bowie might all rub shoulders if they were all alive at the same time. And, that's the baseline at Grey Goose Hotel by Ovolo, with the vodka company then levelling up the joint from there — starting with plenty to drink and eat. On the menu: a Grey Goose martini tower at The Inchcolm Bar, followed by a five-hour premium beverage package. There's also a three-course dinner personally created for your group by either chef Ian Curley or Masterchef winner Diana Chan — and your choice of either a DJ spinning sounds or a live jazz band setting the mood. Plus, you'll take part in a martini masterclass with Grey Goose's Australian brand ambassador, as well as an oyster-shucking class. There'll be canapes to snack on as well, a whole caviar indulgence package, too, and a Grey Goose ice sculpture among the decor. Also included is the night's stay, in-room styling, valet parking and a complimentary breakfast the next morning — which, from the sounds of it, you'll be hankering for after a big night. And if you've got 40 more mates who'd love to come along, you can stretch out the package to cover 80 — but that's the absolute maximum. If that sounds like your idea of one helluva OTT evening away from home, you'll need to contact the hotel to check availability and book. You know those holidays where you don't leave the hotel, whether it's a staycation or a trip elsewhere? This is clearly one of them. And yes, liking vodka is a pretty good prerequisite. For more information about Grey Goose Hotel by Ovolo, head to The Inchcolm by Ovolo's website.
Talk about a perfect name: if you're going to start a new music festival that revolves around The Smashing Pumpkins, then calling it The World Is a Vampire is a no-brainer. This exciting addition to Australia's festival scene is being sent to happily drain all your attention this autumn, when it heads around the country with one helluva bill. Billy Corgan and his band members will be there, of course, and so will fellow alt-rock legends Jane's Addiction. Today is the greatest day for news about 90s favourites hitting our shores, clearly. And yes, you can expect the rollicking classic that is 'Bullet with Butterfly Wings' to get a spin — the whole fest is named after it, after all. As well as hearing fellow Pumpkins greats such as 'Disarm', '1979', 'Tonight, Tonight', 'Today' and 'Zero', the Perry Farrell-led Jane's Addiction will be on hand to bust out 'Been Caught Stealing', 'Jane Says' and the likes. How many 'Zero' shirts will you see at the fest? Oh so many, as at every Pumpkins gig. Also on the bill: Australia's own Amyl and The Sniffers, RedHook and Battlesnake, plus yet-to-be-announced local acts opening each stop. And this fest has stops. It'll be singing about rage and rats in cages at ten venues, pinballing around New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria and South Australia — heading to Sydney's Hordern Pavilion, plus Penrith, Newcastle and Wollongong; Port Melbourne, the Mornington Peninsula and Ballarat; Bribie Island and the Gold Coast; and the Adelaide Entertainment Centre. If you're a fan of The Smashing Pumpkins and Aussie music, and you know a bit about Billy Corgan's romantic history, you might be crossing your fingers for a wild addition to the bill: The Veronicas. The Australian duo joined the Pumpkins on-stage for 'Eye' back in November 2022, albeit at the Hollywood Bowl. Whoever else joins the lineup, they'll feature alongside professional wrestling, with each show including matches between Billy Corgan's NWA (National Wrestling Alliance) and the WAOA (Wrestling Alliance of Australia). Wrestlers will take to the ring in-between the bands — and yes, Corgan does own the alliance that bears his name. It's currently a stellar time for music icons who first made it big a few decades back touring Australia, with The World Is a Vampire and its killer lineup joining the Modest Mouse- and Slowdive-led Daydream, Fatboy Slim doing his own tour and headlining Groovin the Moo, Ice Cube and Cypress Hill teaming up, Snoop Dogg also heading our way, and Blink-182 stopping by in 2024 — and Red Hot Chili Peppers currently making their way around the nation. Yes, the list goes on, and also includes Vengaboys. THE WORLD IS A VAMPIRE FESTIVAL 2023 LINEUP: The Smashing Pumpkins Jane's Addiction Amyl and The Sniffers RedHook Battlesnake THE WORLD IS A VAMPIRE FESTIVAL 2023 DATES: Saturday, April 15 — Stuart Park, Wollongong, NSW Sunday, April 16 — Sandstone Point, Bribie Island, QLD Tuesday, April 18 — Hordern Pavilion, Sydney, NSW Wednesday, April 19 — Newcastle Entertainment Centre, NSW Saturday, April 22 — Hastings Foreshore, Mornington Peninsula, VIC Sunday, April 23 — Kryal Castle, Ballarat, VIC Wednesday, April 26 — Adelaide Entertainment Centre, SA Thursday; April 27 — PICA, Port Melbourne, VIC Saturday, April 29 — Nepean Aerospace Park - Penrith, NSW Sunday, April 30 — Broadwater Parklands, Gold Coast, QLD The World Is a Vampire Festival tours Australia in April 2023. Ticket pre-sales run from 9am on Thursday, February 2–11am on Friday, February 3, with general sales from 12pm local time on Friday, February 3. Head to the tour website for further details.
When bands have been around for a while they sometimes end up being pigeonholed into one genre, target audience and general career path. Which for some is horrible, but for others it suits them just fine – knowing who they are leads to amazing music time after time. Death Cab for Cutie and certainly fall into labels such as emotional, melodramatic and full of angst. Which is fair enough, all things considered they do have some fantastically titled emotive songs – Your Heart Is An Empty Room, The Ice is Getting Thinner and Someday You Will be Loved for example. But before you put genre stereotypes so far into play that you disregard the band, a little brainstorm about their discography and longevity in the music industry should be in order. Those two reasons alone are more than enough reason to respect Death Cab for Cutie. Finally returning to Australia after three years, the band is back to promote their seventh album (lucky seven!) entitled ‘Codes and Keys’. Already receiving a great response from fans and critics alike, their trademark sensitive indie pop rock is out in full force. They’ve also brought out an EP remix, set to introduce new audiences to their music. Alas, per usual their tour is sold out. If you are currently without tickets it’s probably best for you to create a sad playlist and enjoy Death Cab from the comfort of your own bedroom. Breaking into the Tivoli is not recommended.
Being a music fan frequently involves envy. That singer or band that you're obsessed with is touring elsewhere? Cue the green-eyed monster. So, you're a Swiftie and you didn't get tickets to Taylor Swift's February 2024 Eras tour in Melbourne and Sydney, aka her only gigs Down Under? You know all about jealousy and FOMO, then. Enter Taylor Swift: The 'Eras' Tour Concert Film. Look what the world made Swift do: turn her current smash-hit tour into a movie that's releasing in cinemas. That's the wonderful news, complete with a just-dropped trailer for the film; however, the announcement might still get you envious for now. At the moment, only North American screenings have been announced so far. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Taylor Swift (@taylorswift) Accordingly, yes, Taylor Swift: The 'Eras' Tour Concert Film exists, giving Swifties a cinematic view of the pop superstar's massive show. No, there's no news yet on when it will arrive in Australia or New Zealand. It wouldn't be surprising if the concert movie shakes off Down Under cinema stints until after February, when Swift has made it to our shores, played her shows, then headed elsewhere to do the same. Australia and NZ aren't the only places without big-screen dates locked in — nowhere other than North America has them, which coincides with the fact that that's the only place that the Eras tour had been to so far. In the US, the film will arrive on Friday, October 13. Whenever it does drop locally, fans will be in for a money-can't-buy view of the 'We Are Never Getting Back Together' and 'Bad Blood' musician's gig — working through her entire career so far, playing tracks from each of her studio albums in a three-hour, 44-song, ten-act spectacular. The Eras Tour kicked off in March in the US, ending that run in August. Swift also headed to Mexico last month. Brazil is her last stop in 2023, before playing Japan, Singapore, France, Sweden, Portugal, Spain, the UK, Ireland, The Netherlands, Poland, Austria and Australia until August 2024. She'll then return to the US, and then visit Canada next November. Check out the trailer for Taylor Swift: The 'Eras' Tour Concert Film below: Taylor Swift: The 'Eras' Tour Concert Film will hit cinemas in the US on Friday, October 13, but doesn't yet have a release date Down Under — we'll update you if and when one is announced.
The crew behind Marrickville's Grifter Brewing Co just unveiled new environmentally 'friendlier' four-pack holders so you can enjoy a more liberated conscience with your tins of Serpent's Kiss. Grifter has the lofty ambition of developing a packaging solution across the business that is 100% renewable. And while they're not quite there yet, according to Grifter co-founder Matt King, the switch to these first-to-market four-pack holders — made with 93.5% renewable resources — will save five tonnes of plastic waste per year. "These new holders will start to roll out across our whole range from this week," said King. "So keep an eye out, pick one up, take it home, rip into it and let us know what you think!" Since 2018, the team has been trying to improve their packaging and now that they've invested in getting to a more sustainable option (made locally in Sydney), they're hoping other local brewers jump on board. Lately, I've been fantasising about knocking back a few middies of pink lemonade sour at the bar of Grifter's Marrickville digs. In the meantime, a slab of takeaways tinnies will be that drop more satisfying. To check out Grifter Brewing Co's full range of beer and merch, head to the website.
Let the games begin: Squid Game: The Challenge, that is, and IRL rather than in a fictionalised thriller. When Squid Game became one of Netflix's biggest successes, a reality show that riffed on the concept was always going to happen. There's no death here, but there's still 456 players competing for a huge cash prize while wearing green tracksuits, being overseen by red-clad figures, and playing hopscotch, marbles, sugar honeycombs and tug of war. The reality competition TV show received the green light back in 2022, after the streaming platform had also confirmed that a second season of Squid Game itself was on its way. In June 2023, Netflix also announced that Squid Game: The Challenge would arrive in November. Then, it locked in Wednesday, November 22 as the spinoff's launch date, and dropped a teaser trailer. Now, a full sneak peek is here — and, sans murder, it looks exactly like its inspiration. If you're one of the hordes of viewers who watched Squid Game when it instantly became one of the best new TV programs of 2021, as we all are, then you'll understand the concept at the heart of Squid Game: The Challenge. As seen in the two glimpses at the show ahead of its arrival, the whole pesky compete-to-the-death angle is missing, obviously, but everything about the series is as everyone expects. The outfits, the games, the decor, the music and, yes, the notorious Red Light, Green Light doll: they're all accounted for. And the prize? $4.56 million, aka the biggest cash prize in reality-show history. How does it work? Again, you already know the details. Those 456 folks — all ordinary people, and not actors — will try to score the $4.56 million by playing a series of games inspired by the extremely fictional South Korean thriller, as well as a few new additions. Also, competitors will be eliminated as the games go on, and forming strategies and alliances will play a huge part. So, Squid Game: The Challenge is clearly designed to get as close to the OG Squid Game as possible, just without the body count. It's all being overseen by a Front Man, too, because of course it is. The results will unfurl over ten episodes, in what Netflix has dubbed "the biggest reality competition series ever". Well, it certainly has the biggest cast. Making a gripping and brutal TV show that satirises capitalism, then bringing its games into real life does sound like something that might happen in Squid Game itself if the show was getting meta. "This is a savage game," one of the contestants in the new trailer offers — but, again, viewers already know that. Check out the trailer for Squid Game: The Challenge: Squid Game: The Challenge will stream via Netflix in on Wednesday, November 22, 2023. Squid Game's first season is available to stream via Netflix . Images: Netflix.
Whether you're checking into a nearby spa for the day or heading further afield for a lengthier stint of bliss, visiting a wellness retreat is supposed to be relaxing. But that doesn't seem to be the case in upcoming miniseries Nine Perfect Strangers. The star-studded show was shot in Byron Bay, so it looks the scenic part — but the nine guests who turn up in search of a new lease on life all appear set to get much more than they've bargained for. That's how the series' new trailer unfolds, at least, with the latest sneak peek offering a bigger glimpse at the show following a very brief clip back in April. Given the cast involved — including Nicole Kidman (The Undoing), Melissa McCarthy (Thunder Force), Michael Shannon (Knives Out), Luke Evans (Crisis) and Asher Keddie (Rams) — Nine Perfect Strangers is easily one of the big series of the year, and that long list of famous faces will be navigating quite the eerie and creepy situation. Also part of the show: Bobby Cannavale (Superintelligence), Regina Hall (Little), Samara Weaving (Bill & Ted Face the Music), Melvin Gregg (The United States vs Billie Holiday), Asher Keddie (Rams), Grace Van Patten (Under the Silver Lake), Tiffany Boone (The Midnight Sky) and Manny Jacinto (The Good Place), who'll all navigate a ten-day retreat overseen by Kidman's Masha throughout the drama's eight episodes. The latter oversees a resort that promises to transform nine stressed city-dwellers — but, clearly, things aren't going to turn out as planned for the show's titular figures. As with Kidman's last two miniseries — Big Little Lies, which like Nine Perfect Strangers, was also based on a book by Liane Moriarty; and The Undoing — David E Kelley (LA Law, Ally McBeal, Mr Mercedes) is leading the charge behind the scenes. He's the show's co-writer and co-showrunner, with Long Shot's Jonathan Levine directing every episode. And if you're wondering where and when you'll be able to see the results, Nine Perfect Strangers will stream Down Under via Amazon Prime Video, with the series set to debut on Friday, August 20. Check out the full trailer below: Nine Perfect Strangers will start streaming in Australia and New Zealand on Friday, August 20 via Amazon Prime Video — starting with its first three episodes, with new episodes then dropping weekly afterwards. Images: Vince Valitutti/Hulu.
For plenty of Aussies, this long weekend will be all about collecting sleep-ins, hot cross buns and chocolate bunnies. But one Sydney artist is offering a different kind of Easter egg hunt, swapping the foil-wrapped choccy for some interactive street art and a solid dose of political satire. In the wake of the recent stoush between Senator Fraser Anning and our now famous Will 'Egg Boy' Connolly, prolific street artist and muralist Scott Marsh has devised a multi-city easter egg art hunt. Hidden at various locations across Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne this weekend will be 12 'bunny' artworks — that is, Marsh's own design of Anning, wearing a set of rabbit ears with the word 'egg' splashed across his forehead. View this post on Instagram #Eggstravaganza - Easter Egg Hunt 🥚🐰😄 Over the course of the Easter long weekend (Friday April 19th to Sunday April 21st) I will be putting on an 'Easter Egg Hunt', hiding a dozen bunnies and eggs across 3 cities; Brisbane, Melbourne & Sydney. If you are the first person to locate a bunny and 'feed' him some eggs, you will win one of a dozen limited edition Easter Bunny fine art prints. Follow my Instagram for the location of each Bunny throughout Friday, Saturday and Sunday. How to win: - Find an Easter Bunny - Be the first to DM me a video of you feeding him one of his Easter eggs 🎁 There is a Golden Egg bonus prize. 2 eggs contain gold paint - if you 'feed' the bunny a Golden Egg, you'll be able to choose any original artwork from my web store ( www.scottmarsh.com.au ), valued up to $4000. The Easter Bunny loves his eggs! Feel free to get into the spirit of Easter and BYO eggs to feed the bunnies. 🥚🥚 1 bonus print will go to the most creative egg video. Use hashtags #eggstravaganza #scottmarsh Happy hunting! ✌🏼😁 #feedhim #easteregghunt #easterbunny #freeshit #auspol *VISIT LINK IN BIO FOR MORE DETAILS* A post shared by Scott Marsh (@scottie.marsh) on Apr 15, 2019 at 11:01pm PDT The first punter to locate each Senator Anning 'bunny' and video themselves 'feeding' it an egg from the accompanying basket will score one of Marsh's limited edition Easter Bunny fine art prints, created especially for the hunt. The artist will be dropping location clues via his Instagram on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and keeping an eye on his DMs to catch the prize-winning videos as they come through. Get ready for a smashing weekend and a few egg-covered walls around town. Whoever finds the two special gold paint-filled eggs among the bunch will take out a Golden Egg bonus prize, winning their choice of any of Marsh's original prints, up to the value of $4000. The street artist is also encouraging BYO egg action and extra creative videos. View this post on Instagram Im giving away thousands of dollars worth of art this weekend 👌🏼🥚 #eggstravaganza Easter egg hunt. Visit link in my bio for all the details #easter #easteregg #auspol A post shared by Scott Marsh (@scottie.marsh) on Apr 16, 2019 at 2:52pm PDT Marsh's Sydney-based street art includes well-known portraits of George Michael, Mike Baird, George Pell, Bob Hawke and stacks more. He's also the mind behind the city's Egg Boy mural, painted outside the Lord Gladstone Hotel to celebrate the 17-year-old who filmed himself smashing an egg onto Anning's head at a press conference on March 16. Scott Marsh will drop hints for the 'egg hunt' this Friday, April 19, Saturday, April 20 and Sunday, April 21. Keep a close eye on his Instagram for details.
The award-winning Stomping Ground Brewing Co. is set to become the first brewpub in Collingwood to go solar, joining a growing number of Australian craft breweries on the vital sustainability bandwagon. With installation underway and completion expected by the end of the month, owners Guy Greenstone and Steve Jeffares (The Local Taphouse and GABS) are proud to increase their eco-friendly factor. "We're extremely passionate about the products we produce and know that many of our customers share our commitment to environmental sustainability," says Greenstone. "Installing a solar system is another big step towards becoming as sustainable and environmentally-friendly as possible. It also helps that this will reduce our energy costs as running a brewery is a very energy intensive operation." The brewery has been well on its way towards solar panelling for some time, having previously implemented numerous sustainability measures including a rainwater irrigation system, spent grain recycling, use of biodegradable eco-straws and serving wine from the barrel. To get technical about their new efforts, Beon Energy Solutions is installing a 96.39 kW system, which features 357 solar panels and will generate about 130,000kWh a year. Or, in other words, that's enough energy to power 20 homes. Stomping Ground have also teamed up with Yarra Energy Foundation (YEF), an independent organisation that helps guide individuals and businesses through the transition to solar energy. The number of solar-powered Australian breweries continues to expand, and includes Victoria's Bright Brewery, Sydney's Young Henrys and Brisbane's Helios Brewing, among others. Independent breweries aren't the only ones looking at sustainability, either — AB In-Bev has also announced its commitment to make the company's purchased electricity 100 percent green by 2025. The largest brewing company in the world, AB In-Bev has also been busy snapping up independent breweries lately, adding both 4 Pines and Pirate Life to its arsenal in 2017.
If you've ever been to a gig featuring an Australian band, streamed their tracks, read a book by a local author, hit your nearest theatre for a play or musical, wandered through an exhibition, or enjoyed an Aussie movie or TV show — and, of course, you've done some and probably all of the above — then you've interacted with Australia's arts industry. These aren't the only ways that the nation's creatives have an impact, and this country of ours wouldn't be the place it is without them. So, the Federal Government has unveiled a hefty package of support: a new $286-million National Cultural Policy. Announced on Monday, January 30 by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Minister for the Arts Tony Burke, the fresh policy has been badged "a new chapter in Australia's cultural story". The aim: to help boost the $17-billion industry that's generally been underfunded in the past, and has suffered through a particularly tough period during the pandemic — an industry that employs around 400,000 Aussies. Today we've got big news for the Australian arts and entertainment industry – and for fans of the incredible work we produce here. We're supporting the industry and the hundreds of thousands of jobs it creates, after a decade of neglect and missed opportunities. pic.twitter.com/MVV5wjFLFK — Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) January 30, 2023 The National Cultural Policy outlines the government's plan for Australia's arts, entertainment and cultural sector over the next five years — and it's full of big inclusions, from upping support, creating new institutions and helping ensure that Aussie stories reach our screens in today's streaming-heavy times. "Our new cultural policy Revive will provide the support Australian artists need to thrive and grow," said the Prime Minister. "I am excited by the potential it will unleash, and to see our extraordinary and diverse Australian stories continue to be told with originality, wit, creativity and flair. It builds on the proud legacies of earlier Labor governments that recognised the importance of art and culture to Australia's identity, social unity and economic prosperity." [caption id="attachment_836832" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Alice Springs gallery, Tourism NT[/caption] Among the big-ticket items, a new National Aboriginal Art Gallery in Alice Springs and an Aboriginal Cultural Centre in Perth are worth getting excited about — with the former receiving $80 million in funding and the latter $50 million. The policy puts a significant and needed focus on First Nations art, including legislation to stop fakes and their impact. A creative workforce strategy specifically for Indigenous Australians will be developed as well, and $11 million will go towards establishing a First Nations Languages Policy Partnership between First Nations representatives and Aussie governments. Also on the list: creating four new bodies in the arts space, including a First Nations-led body to give Indigenous Australians autonomy over decisions and investments. It'll be part of a new organisation called Creative Australia — aka the Australia Council for the Arts, but renamed and upgraded, and given an extra $199-million in funding over four years. Creative Australia will also span Music Australia, which'l be dedicated to contemporary music industry and receive $69.4 million; Writers Australia, for writers and illustrators creating new works, nabbing $19.3 million in funding; and a new $8.1-million Centre for Arts and Entertainment Workplaces, which'll be devoted to making sure creative workers get fair wages, work in safe spaces and are protected from harassment and discrimination. [caption id="attachment_885816" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Genesis Owusu and members of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra by Alex Turley.[/caption] And, in important news for Australia's screen industry, a long-sought-after Aussie content quota for streaming platforms is also part of the National Cultural Policy, starting no later than July 1, 2024. "During that time online streaming platforms have taken off, but our Australian content obligations haven't. I know we can do better," said Burke on social media, noting that there's currently no requirements for the array of streaming services available Down Under to invest in Aussie movies and shows. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Tony Burke (@tony_burke_au) Among a hefty list of inclusions, the National Cultural Policy also covers an extra $11.8 million in funds for the National Gallery of Australia to tour its collection around the country; a $12.9-million digital lending rights scheme, which'll earn money for authors, illustrators and editors when their works are borrowed from libraries; splashing $8.5 million in more cash into the Regional Arts Fund; and continuing Festivals Australia. For more information about Australia's new National Cultural Policy, head to the Australian Government's website. Top image: Splendour in the Grass, Savannah van der Niet.
It's currently spring in the Northern Hemisphere, including in The Netherlands. And, as every tulip fan knows, that means one thing. At this time of year, bulbous flowers are blossoming across the European country — but, due to COVID-19, the usual throngs of tourists can't head along to see these gorgeous blooms in person. At Keukenhof Flower Exhibition, the country's biggest tulip garden, the powers-that-be are doing what so many other museums, landmarks and famous real-life sites have been: bringing Keukenhof's scenic sights to the masses via online means. Flower lovers can now take a 360-degree virtual tour of the huge venue and check out plenty of other videos of its colourful blooms, all via its YouTube channel. Given that the iconic garden spans 32 hectares in the town of Lisse, there's plenty to see. Around seven million tulip bulbs are planted annually, resulting in a sprawling floral sea — all at a site that dates back to 1857, and has been open to the public since 1950. The tulip garden is usually open to visitors for eight weeks between March and May, attracting more than 1.5 million visitors each year — with blooms at their peak now, in April. Check out Keukenhof's 360-degree tour below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNgj9agkbB0 To check out Keukenhof Flower Exhibition's videos, head to the garden's YouTube channel. Images: Keukenhof.
I guess after touring around the country in 2010 with Big Day Out, winning Triple J’s Parklife Unearthed competition, playing the Good Vibrations festival, as well as repeatedly travelling up and down the east coast doing gigs, Teleprompter wanted to do something a bit more intimate, a bit more underground, a bit more secretive to launch their EP. Or maybe they just wanted to throw a raging Warehouse party and were sick of their house getting trashed? Who would know? I certainly don’t, these boys are fond of talking cryptically and confusing people. In fact when releasing the invite for this Warehouse party the only clue they gave was that the ‘details are in the lyrics’ and a download link of a new song. And quite frankly, I spent so long listening to that song I’m fairly certain I know all the lyrics myself. However! Without further ado, I can announce that my long term sleuthing paid off (once I started thinking outside the box) and that the TELEPROMPTER WAREHOUSE EP LAUNCH will be held at 1/13 Lucinda St, Woolloongabba. Oh and their support lineup is pretty bitching too; live sets from The Medics, Buick 6 and Tape/Off, and DJ sets from Young Men Dead, Arab Israeli Crisis and Teen Girl. Finally, it’s BYO so in the immortal words of Teleprompter “get yo crunk on ma’fukas”.
Ditch the generic candle and comfy socks this year and give your loved ones a gift they'll remember next Christmas. Show your partner that you've been paying attention to their love language with a surprise picnic, road-trip adventure or cosy date night. Take the little ones on a rural family escapade, or liven up your next group hang with a murder mystery game. For all the do-ers out there, AmazingCo has you covered with a broad range of unforgettable experiences that you can enjoy at home or across your city. We've pulled together five one-of-a-kind adventures for everyone on your nice list, so you can enjoy a hassle-free giving season. MYSTERY PICNIC Turn up the romance with a picture-perfect picnic for your partner. Or, you can choose to treat your friends and family with a group picnic instead. Explore a new pocket of your city with a morning of activities that ends with a picnic in a surprise location. Choose an area — either close by or even a day-trip drive away — and you'll receive a full itinerary of places to explore at your own pace. Follow a series of clues to pick up gourmet snacks from local producers and eateries, all pre-paid for as part of the package, while bonding with your partner over conversation starters and games. Then, you can enjoy your nibbles and drinks with a picnic at a chosen location. The Mystery Picnic starts at $150, but you can upgrade to a premium package or add extra goodies, such as dessert or a bottle of wine. It can also be adapted to suit most dietary requirements. MYSTERY REGION ADVENTURE Discover even more local gems in a half-day voyage with the Mystery Region Adventure. Enjoy an easy cruise to destinations such as the Hunter Valley, Yarra Valley or Sunshine Coast Hinterland. Once you've arrived, solve puzzles to uncover each stop along the way, where you'll be treated to wine, produce and chocolate tastings, as well as exclusive discounts and offers. This charming experience will only set you back $80–100, depending on which regional location you choose. AT-HOME DATE NIGHT If your partner prefers quality time at home, spice up your next night in with an At-Home Date Night experience. For only $30, you'll get two hours of puzzles, challenges and games designed to bring you closer together. The activity pack is delivered digitally, so you can enjoy it wherever you are. Take your pick of themes, from the tasty Foodie Date Night or action-packed Activity Date Night to the indulgent Chocolate and Games Hamper and limited-edition New Year's Eve Date Night. Who knows? After this, your relationship might even be strong enough to tackle building that IKEA dresser together. FARM TO TABLE Suited to couples, families and friends, the Farm to Table experience will take you on a food-fuelled day through regions such as the Hawkesbury, Mornington Peninsula or Scenic Rim. Work through clues and riddles to source produce from regional farms and businesses, where you'll learn about sustainable farming techniques, meet some of the animals and connect with the community over snacks and sips. Your efforts will be rewarded with a barbecue back at home, using the ingredients collected throughout the day and the digital recipe book included in the package. Level up your experience with a tasting paddle (or non-alcoholic cider for kids). Most dietary modifications can be accomodated. MURDER MYSTERY PARTY Live out your Knives Out dream and trade the usual dinner and drinks catch-up for a themed Murder Mystery Party. Take your pick from the spooky mayor's mansion, 80s high school reunion or doomed wedding. The experience includes everything you need to host the event, from character bios and invitations to decor tips and printable evidence, so all your friends have to do is show up with outrageous hairstyles in unflattering fluro. Pricing ranges from $40–55 based on the event format (virtual or in-person). It's designed for groups of 8-12, so the more the merrier! If you want more memorable gift ideas, check out the full guide or purchase a gift card on the AmazingCo website.
Your winter streaming plans just got better — and brighter, bolder, fiercer and sassier, too — because RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under has locked in its return date for season two. Last year, after the debut Australian and New Zealand version of the show, Stan in Australia and TVNZ OnDemand in New Zealand confirmed that the series would sashay our way again. Now, that's set to happen from Saturday, July 30. Exactly who'll be donning eye-catching outfits, navigating dramas and vying for glory next hasn't been revealed, but a new lineup of drag queens will endeavour to follow in Kita Mean's footsteps — after Mean took RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under's first season. Whoever gets the gig, they'll be joined by RuPaul, of course — who takes on hosting duties again — as well as fellow returnees Michelle Visage and Rhys Nicholson. Also yet to be revealed: 2022's lineup of celebrity guests, after 2021 saw Kylie Minogue, Dannii Minogue and Taika Waititi all pop up. Still, fans already know the format, which features fashion challenges, workroom dramas and lip sync battles aplenty. If you're a newcomer to all things Drag Race, you'll watch the next batch of Australian and NZ competitors work through a series of contests to emerge victorious, and join the likes of Mean and US contenders Jinkx Monsoon, Sasha Velour and Sharon Needles in being crowned the series' winner. Before it made the leap Down Under last year, the US version of RuPaul's Drag Race had already been on the air for more than a decade, first premiering in 2009 — and wholeheartedly embracing its mission to unearth the next drag superstars ever since. The original US series just aired its 14th season this year, so this is a program with proven longevity. It has also spun off international iterations before, including in the UK — where it's also hosted by RuPaul — plus in Thailand, Holland, Chile and Canada. While details might still be thin regarding who's competing and guesting on RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under's second season, RuPaul has still done the honours on the show's date announcement video. It wouldn't be a big piece of Drag Race Down Under news without a RuPaul clip, of course — check it out below: RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under will return for a second season in 2022 on Stan and TVNZ from Saturday, July 30.
Brisbane's busy market scene loves an occasion. Mother's Day markets, winter markets, Christmas in July markets, spring markets, festive markets — this city has seen them all, including in 2023, and will continue to do so. Accordingly, it should come as zero surprise that Halloween markets have also joined the list. Redcliffe Markets Festival of Frights is one of them. Only this spooky event will take you trick-or-treating by the Redcliffe jetty. Fancy an eerie theme and a killer waterside location? That's on offer from 4pm on Saturday, October 28. Also on the bill: fireworks, a scavenger hunts, Halloween-appropriate decorations all over the place, and music and live entertainment to fit the mood — including roving pirate entertainers. And, a heap of food stalls serving up bites to eat, and drinks, also likely with a theme. Entry is free, but you'll want your wallet for all that browsing and buying — there'll be more than 200 stalls to peruse. And yes, dressing up is welcome for this wander along Redcliffe Parade till 9pm.
An exploration of an exiled poet. The Australian premiere of legendary filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky's latest feature. An effort that's being called Peru's first bona fide horror movie. They're just three of the films in first-ever Cine Latino Film Festival lineup, as Australia's first national fest dedicated to showcasing the best in Latin American cinema tours the country in August. While the complete program features more than 30 movies from Mexico, Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina, Cuba, Uruguay, Colombia, Venezuela, Chile, Guatemala and Puerto Rico, there's a reason that the first of the flicks mentioned above, the Pablo Larraín-directed, Gael García Bernal-starring Neruda, has been plucked straight from Cannes to open the festival. The last time the filmmaker and actor worked together, the excellent No was the end result, so expect another insightful look at Chilean politics from their second collaboration. Jodorowsky's Endless Poetry should rank among the festival's just-as-eagerly-anticipated titles, especially by fans of the director's '70s cult classics El Topo and The Holy Mountain and his most recent effort The Dance of Reality — or anyone who marvelled at what could've been when they watched the entertaining documentary Jodorowsky's Dune. And while The Womb doesn't come with quite the same pedigree, it does boast a chilling storyline involving one of the horror genre's favourite topics: motherhood. Elsewhere, a chronicle of the pop star known as the 'Mexican Madonna', an insight into current state of a formerly luxurious Havana hotel, and more than a couple of soccer-themed efforts all feature among the feast of Spanish and Portuguese-language fare, as do Peruvian road movie Solos and Venezuelan beauty queen black comedy 3 Beauties. Just perusing the program is enough to make you want to jump on a plane for Latin America, however for those who can't enjoy an overseas holiday at the moment, immersing yourself in the films of the region really is the next best thing. [competition]583085[/competition]
When you're a former child actor turned Transformers star turned performance artist and activist, it's pretty easy to make a statement. With his various performance projects around the world, Shia LaBeouf has been doing just that. Alas, his efforts to mount a four-year protest against the current President of the United States haven't gone smoothly, with #HEWILLNOTDIVIDEUS shut down for the fourth time. Liverpool's media arts centre FACT has ended the project's current run based on police advice after "dangerous, illegal trespassing," according to a statement on their website. It lastest a mere three days in its latest iteration, which involved flying a white flag emblazoned with the project name and live-streaming the results. #HEWILLNOTDIVIDEUS moved to the UK after three attempts in the US, including hoisting the flag in an undisclosed location. https://twitter.com/FACT_Liverpool/status/844939997363015682 LeBeouf actually started the four-year-long anti-Trump-focused piece in New York in January, using a different concept: a camera was mounted on a wall outside the Museum of Moving Image, below a printed version of the titular phrase. Participants were asked to stand in the requisite spot and repeat those words as many times as they liked, and for as long as they desired. The project started at 9am on January 20, 2017, timed to coincide with the day of new US President Donald Trump's inauguration, with LeBeouf intending keep a live-stream going 24 hours a day, seven days a week for the four years that followed — or the duration of Trump's time in office. While designed to act "as a show of resistance or insistence, opposition or optimism, guided by the spirit of each individual participant and the community", and garnering plenty of interest — including from the project's first participant, Jaden Smith — #HEWILLNOTDIVIDEUS quickly started to attract not just attention but opposition, leading the Museum of Moving Image to abandon the work on February 10. Eight days later, the piece was relocated to a wall outside the El Rey Theater, Albuquerque, before moving to its latest version in March. https://twitter.com/thecampaignbook/status/822443598771785732
Practise your Cockney accent, rehearse your favourite drunken London tale and prepare for high tea: the British Film Festival has arrived in Australia for the first time ever. There'll be a dozen contemporary features, five 20th-century classics (The Third Man and Lawrence of Arabia among them) and a chance to quiz Eric Bana during a live Q&A session, and a simply smashing opening night party. One film not to miss is Jump, a massive hit at the Toronto International Film Festival that captures the stories of three troubled individuals, who find themselves entangled by doomed romance, theft and revenge. Another much-talked-about feature is eccentric rock movie Good Vibrations, which comes to the British Film Festival following sold-out sessions at the 2013 Melbourne International Film Festival. Set against Ireland's Troubles of the 1970s, it follows the story of rebellious, maverick music lover Terri Hooley, Belfast's 'godfather of punk', and his determination to show the world the power of the seven-inch single. The star power is in Dom Hemingway, a gangster film in the style of Sexy Beast. It stars Jude Law as the outrageous, volatile Dom and Richard E. Grant as his best friend, Dickie. Following Dom's release after 12 years of imprisonment, the two travel from London to the south of France, encountering all number of misadventures along the way, from a car accident to an inevitable femme fatale. There's also the latest offering from Uberto Pasolini (producer of The Full Monty), Still Life, a drama in the British humanist tradition. The British Film Festival is on in Melbourne (November 20 to December 1), Sydney (November 21 to December 1), Brisbane (November 27 to December 8) as well as other cities around Australia. Thanks to the festival, we have 15 double in-season passes to give away. To be in the running, subscribe to the Concrete Playground newsletter (if you haven't already), then email us with your name and address. Sydney: win.sydney@concreteplayground.com.au Melbourne: win.melbourne@concreteplayground.com.au Brisbane: win.brisbane@concreteplayground.com.au
Foggy skies are causing plenty of drama in Melbourne — and around the country — today, especially for those travelling to or from the airport. As The Age reports, the heavy haze has disrupted flights going in and out of Melbourne Airport and has caused delays of up to two hours. Virgin has already cancelled one flight from Sydney to Melbourne this morning, with more Tiger and Jetstar flights on the same route also set to experience delays. Two of Jetstar's return flights to the Gold Coast have also been cancelled, along with eight Qantas flights scheduled to fly out of Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. But a spokesman from the airport told Fairfax that skies were set to clear by later this morning, saying "we are also hearing predictions that the fog will lift earlier than expected". Even if you're not travelling to the airport, it goes without saying that you should take caution on and near the road this morning as visibility is low. The Bureau of Meteorology has tweeted about the 'pea soup', suggesting northerly winds will help push it away in the next few hours, giving Melbourne clear, sunny skies for the rest of the day. For the 4th day in a row #Melbourne has woken up to a thick blanket of fog, will clear later this morning - unlikely to see another pea souper around the city tomorrow, as northerly winds pick uphttps://t.co/POnouPMIRA pic.twitter.com/c0SECqDebB — Bureau of Meteorology, Victoria (@BOM_Vic) April 22, 2018 Via The Age. Image: Bureau of Meteorology via Twitter.
UPDATE, January 13, 2022: Yotam Ottolenghi's Australian tour has been postponed again due to the pandemic. New dates have not yet been announced — we'll update you when they are. If you're a vegetarian, worshipper of eggplant or just a keen home cook, chances are Yotam Ottolenghi has had some impact on your life. In fact, we bet you've got at least one of his bestselling cookbooks in your cupboard. Next year, you'll be able to learn a few more tips and tricks from the renowned Israeli chef as he heads to Australia for a speaking tour. The trailblazing chef, author, TV personality and restaurateur whose name has become its own cooking style is touring the country in 2022 off the back of his recent book Ottolenghi Flavour, which builds on his love for innovative vegetable-based recipes. And yes, this'll sound familiar, as he was planning to head Down Under in 2021 — but we all know how this year turned out. Yotam Ottolenghi — Flavour of Life will hit Sydney, Canberra, Adelaide, Brisbane, Hobart, Melbourne and the Gold Coast in January — and, as well as dishing up a few spicy secrets behind mouthwatering hits like miso butter onions and spicy mushroom lasagne, the show will provide an opportunity to hear directly from the man himself about his influences and experiences. It also promises to delve into Ottolenghi's experience as the owner of famed London restaurants Nopi and Rovi, how he approached home cooking during the COVID-19 pandemic and how you can dial up the flavour in your own kitchen. [caption id="attachment_768174" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Flickr/Stijn Nieuwendijk[/caption] YOTAM OTTOLENGHI 2022 AUSTRALIAN TOUR: Sunday, January 16 — Darling Harbour Theatre, ICC, Sydney Monday, January 17 + Wednesday, January 19 — Canberra Theatre Centre Tuesday, January 18 + Tuesday, January 25 — Adelaide Convention Centre Thursday, January 20 + Monday, January 24 — QPAC Concert Hall, Brisbane Friday, January 21 — Wrest Point Entertainment Centre, Hobart Saturday, January 22 — Hamer Hall, Arts Centre Melbourne Sunday, January 23 — The Star, The Gold Coast The Yotam Ottolenghi — Flavour of Life will tour Australia in January 2022. For further details or to buy tickets, head to the tour website.
If dropping by your local car wash makes you want to unleash your inner kidult, then you'd better get yourself to the National Gallery of Victoria's Grollo Equiset Garden from October 14. That's when M@ STUDIO Architects will be setting up a pretend car wash, which you'll be welcome to treat as one giant playground. Their brilliant idea is called Haven't you always wanted...?, it's the winner of the 2016 NGV Architecture Commission — and it's free to check out. You'll be able to find your fun easily — just look out for the old-school, glittering sign. Head inside to discover a true-to-size car wash replica, based on an actual existing one in Blackburn. But you can forget your run-of-the-mill cement and nasty fluoro lights. Instead, you'll be surrounded by walls of cricket netting, looking up at a pretty translucent ceiling, frolicking in bright pink AstroTurf and kicking back on rubber speed bumps. There'll be five 'bays' altogether, two hung with red plastic curtains and one equipped with a mist diffuser. So, though you probably won't be able to go for an all-out water fight, you won't escape totally dry (should that be your car wash wish). Plus, at night, the whole scene will light up, letting you have nocturnal adventures galore. To celebrate this epic creation, the NGV is organising a slew of events. In what seems similar to the Queen Victoria Gardens' MPavilion, this outdoor structure will host talks, live music and performances over both spring and summer. But, if you're not in the mood for shows, you can head along to hang out with friends anytime. "We are thrilled to be selected as the winner of the 2016 NGV Architecture Commission," said M@ STUDIO Architects. "Open competitions such as this provide a vital platform for architects to experiment and facilitate public discourse around the broader ideas that motivate the specific design explorations." The annual NGV Architecture Commission invites architects to come up with clever, clever installation ideas for the Grollo Equiset Garden. Entries are judged for their originality, their new ideas concerning architecture and design, and their innovation in material use, fabrication, sustainability and recyclability. Find Haven't you always wanted...? in the NGV Garden at NGV International from 14 October 2016 to April 2017. For more information, visit the NGV website.
Keen to see Oasis onstage Down Under when Liam and Noel Gallagher reunite for the reformed band's 2025 tour? Don't look back in anger at paying more than you should for a ticket to their Melbourne shows. As it did with Taylor Swift's Eras tour — and with the 2024 Meredith Music Festival, too — the Victorian Government has declared the British group's upcoming trip to the state a major event, meaning that the gigs now fall under anti-scalping laws. Under Victoria's major-event ticketing declarations, tickets to the two concerts must legally be available for a fair price, not the hefty costs that they can be flogged off for on the resale market. There's a specific figure specified under the law, in fact, with tickets to a declared major event unable to be resold for more than ten percent more than their original value. [caption id="attachment_975202" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Simon Emmett[/caption] Other requirements include ticket package sellers needing authorisation from the event organiser, plus individual ads for tickets including both ticket and seating details. If a ticket seller flouts the rules, the penalties are steep, ranging up to more than half-a-million dollars. [caption id="attachment_975640" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Batiste Safont via Wikimedia Commons[/caption] While the major-event declaration clearly benefits Melbourne Oasis devotees eager to get a ticket to see the band play at Marvel Stadium, it's also great news for fans elsewhere that are hoping to head to the Victorian capital for the Friday, October 31–Saturday, November 1 shows. Oasis are only making two stops on their visit Down Under, two doing gigs in Melbourne and two in Sydney. So, also like the Eras tour, there'll be plenty of concertgoers flying and driving in from interstate. 2025 marks 20 years since Oasis last toured Australia, but that's where the lengthy gap between the band's Down Under shows is ending. There's comeback tours and then there's Britain's most-famous feuding siblings reuniting to bring one of the country's iconic groups back together live — aka the biggest story in music touring of 2024 since Liam and Noel announced in August that they were reforming the band, and also burying the hatchet. Initially, Oasis locked in a run of shows in the UK and Ireland. Since then, they've been expanding their tour dates, also confirming visits to Canada and the US. From London, Manchester and Dublin to Toronto, Los Angeles and Mexico City, the entire tour so far is sold out. Oasis broke up in 2009, four years after their last Australian tour, and following seven albums from 1994's Definitely Maybe through to 2008's Dig Your Soul — and after drawing massive crowds to their live gigs along the way (see: documentary Oasis Knebworth 1996). If you're feeling supersonic about the group's reunion, you can likely expect to hear that track, plus everything from 'Live Forever', 'Cigarettes & Alcohol', 'Morning Glory' and 'Some Might Say' through to 'Wonderwall', 'Don't Look Back in Anger' and 'Champagne Supernova' when they hit Australia. Oasis Live '25 Australian Dates Friday, October 31–Saturday, November 1 — Marvel Stadium, Melbourne Friday, November 7–Saturday, November 8 — Accor Stadium, Sydney Oasis are touring Australia in October and November 2025, with Melbourne tickets on sale from 10am AEDT and Sydney tickets from 12pm AEDT on Tuesday, October 15. Head to the tour website for more details. Top image: Raph_PH via Flickr.
There’s something special about going out in the evening during summer - the longer hours of daylight, the steamy weather and the bountiful excess of people – all of these elements seem to nights you’ll remember fondly in the dreaded middle of winter. However, finding appropriately interesting activities to do during this time can be a chore. You need to be able to accentuate the positives of the humid weather without overdoing it and burning out early. Luckily, someone in the event department of GoMA got the memo and went to work. Matisse Up Late is the next in their series of night time entertainment, and it has been designed perfectly. The evenings begin at 6.30pm, when doors open and you are ushered in to have a drink and meal (or two drinks plus more and a meal), whilst listening to classic jazz tunes as the sun goes down. GoMA’s amazing air conditioning will then accompany you around the building as you are free to admire Matisse’s work at your leisure, listen to contemporary artists talk about their craft, with the night culminating with a performance by the likes of Sam Amidon, Eleanor Friedburger (of Fiery Furnaces fame), or Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy. Matisse Up Late runs every Friday between 20 January and 2 March, with varying speakers and artists per week. Don’t get lazy just because current temperatures are in the high 30s - this exhibition has everything you need; air con, food, drink, art, music and Matisse.
The popular 4ZZZ radio show, A Guilt, prides itself on bringing some of the best weird-punk and experimental music to our ears. By taking it upon themselves to raise some of their beloved tunes from obscurity, the team have made it their mission to touch on everything that might be considered abrasive, confronting and impactful. A Guilt also put on the odd showcase of music from around Australia; these shows are called the Guilt Retreat. Guilt Retreat is a haven for the weird, the odd and the sonically diverse; it’s a place where you can experience the visceral elements of the music that you hear on the Guilt slot on 4ZZZ, live. This month, Guilt Retreat is on at The Hideaway, and will feature Big Yawn, #459, Michael Donnelly and the Fun Police DJs. All it will cost is 5 big ones, that is a fair price for some of Australia’s best underground noise makers.
The tradition of O-Week is an annual phenomena involving the welcoming of new students to the tedious traditions of uni' life. Often celebrated with drinking, sporting and themed events, it is always a great excuse for a party and a great goodbye to the amazing four month holiday you just endured. QUT are doing things a bit classier in their Creative Precinct. Instead of drunken mixed volley ball, wet t-shirt comps' and the standard intoxicated campus parties they are hosting an exhibition to showcase the critical connections across diverse disciplines to uncover future trends for their new generation of practitioners. Translation - a showcase of art and creative works by students and designers. It's a chance to enjoy some amazing student work, welcome the fresh meat and catch up with the friends that have been M.I.A since last November. If your uni (like mine) doesn't have a flashy O-Week celebration to kick start the semester, there is definitely no harm in attending this event. Let's get all multi-institutional and bask in each others greatness. Image Credit: Emma Jane Gray
As live music venues in Brisbane seem to disappear left, right and centre it is heartening news to discover that a new hot spot for live music, fresh songs and song writing has appeared on the Brisbane scene. The Round is a new ‘venue’ which pops up each Wednesday night at the Dowse Bar in Paddington and brings together three to four songwriters to share the stage. Rather than doing their own set one at a time, the musicians take turns performing songs, allowing them to share the energy on stage and support each other. With musicians booked in until the start of August, there are new voices on the scene, as well as some old favourites with a new venue to play!
Every September and October, Germany erupts with brews, food and lederhosen-wearing revellers for its annual Oktoberfest celebrations. When that time rolls around Down Under, Australia follows suit. One such festivity is Oktoberfest in the Gardens, which has been throwing big Bavarian-themed celebrations around the country for 13 years — but will only bring the fun to Brisbane for the first time in 2023. The River City lost its own Oktoberfest Brisbane this year, with the long-running local event announcing that it was saying auf wiedersehen after 15 years of steins, schnitties and German shindigs. Enter Oktoberfest in the Gardens, which will hop into Brisbane Showgrounds for its Brissie debut on Saturday, October 14. The RNA site will serve up the same kind of beer- and bratwurst-fuelled shenanigans that Germany has become so famous for. So, if you're a Brisbanite with a hankering for doppelbock and dancing to polka, it's the next best thing to heading to Europe. Oktoberfest in the Gardens boasts a crucial attraction, too — as well as serving a variety of pilsners, ciders, wine and non-alcoholic beverages, it constructs huge beer halls to house the boozy merriment. When you're not raising a stein — or several — at the day-long event, you can tuck into pretzels and other traditional snacks at food stalls, or check out the hefty array of entertainment. Live music, roving performers, a silent disco, rides and a sideshow alley are all on the agenda. Oktoberfest in the Gardens will also hit the Gold Coast on Saturday, September 30. And, with another new stop in Newcastle and return visits to Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth similarly on its itinerary, it expects to welcome in over 70,000 people across its seven stops. "Australia loves Oktoberfest. COVID was a tough time in the events industry and saw the demise of other events such as Oktoberfest St Kilda and Oktoberfest Brisbane. Our team was very fortunate to be able to run successful events in some parts of the country when others were in lockdown and this allowed us to make it through," said Ross Drennan, co-founder of Nokturnl Events, which runs Oktoberfest in the Gardens. "We're now going all in to really ramp up Oktoberfest in the Gardens and take it to the next level with events all around the country." OKTOBERFEST IN THE GARDENS 2023 DATES — QUEENSLAND: Saturday, September 30 — Broadwater Parklands, Gold Coast Saturday, October 14 — Brisbane Showgrounds Oktoberfest in the Gardens hits the Gold Coast in September and Brisbane in October — head to the event's website for tickets and further details.
Who doesn't like a trip to Tassie? The riesling is crisp, the oysters are fresh and the landscapes are stunning. It's a popular destination, with eager travellers regularly making the trip across the Bass Strait in search of rolling vineyards, empty beaches and contemporary art. This weekend, an adventure down to the island state will be a lot more affordable thanks to Spirit of Tasmania's first ever Black Friday sale, with 30 percent off passenger fares. Over the Black Friday weekend sale, starting Friday, November 29, and ending at midnight on Monday, December 2, you can secure tickets for the ship from just $62 per adult, or $21 for kids, each way. All you have to do is select travel dates between February 3 and June 30, 2020 (with exceptions over the Easter period). Those of you planning on going to Dark Mofo 2020 will notice those dates cover the 12-day winter festival. So, round up the crew to bag a Mofo bargain — well, at least on the travel. Perks of travelling with Spirit of Tasmania include the ability to drive your car onto the ship, so you can embark on a dream Tassie road trip without the hassle of hire car fees and luggage restrictions on planes. Plus, your holiday starts as soon as your feet hit the deck. If you're looking to save on accommodation costs, book a night voyage and make the most of the three bars, restaurant, two cinemas and live music on board, too. If you don't want to let this offer sail you by, jump online between Friday, November 29 and Monday, December 2 to snap up tickets.
It doesn't snow in Brisbane. It doesn't really get all that cold in winter, either. And, it obviously doesn't even resemble cooler weather at Christmas, given that summer is always in full swing. But, as all things festive take over the city for this year, Brisbanites can still walk through snow, build a snowman and make snowballs. Your destination: a pop-up Snow Village at Toombul. No, the weather won't be unseasonably frosty just in the northside suburb. No, we're not living in a Hollywood disaster movie. Rather, Snow4Kids is back with a new setup. The idea is simple: this merry wonderland will bring a heap of real snow to the Toombul Shopping Centre, then let anyone with a $22 ticket frolic through it — with the space first welcoming in patrons on Saturday, November 27, but open daily from 10am–5pm between Saturday, December 4–Sunday, January 9. This is a family-friendly event. In fact, it's a family-focused activity, so if you have littlies to bring along, that'll be welcome news. If you're an adult without any kids in tow, you're still able to head along — but the organisers ask that you be mindful of the fact that you'll have plenty of pint-sized company. Also: no snowball fights, although this pop-up does boast its own snowball arcade, complete with at targets, for you to throw them (you just can't hurl them at other people). Kids — not adults — can also take indoor snowboarding lessons for $30 each.
