MISSY HIGGINS
Australian singer/songwriter Missy Higgins has enjoyed phenomenal success with her irresistible melodies and ‘arrow through the heart’ lyrics, delivered by a striking voice that clearly means it. After touring the globe with her undeniable songs and unforgettable live performances, Missy’s highly acclaimed ‘The Sound Of White’ (ARIA Album Of The Year featuring the hits ‘Scar’, ’Ten Days’ and ’The Special Two’), ‘On A Clear Night’ (featuring North American top 20 airplay hit ‘Where I Stood’ plus Australian #1 single ‘Steer’) and ‘The Ol’ Razzle Dazzle’ (featuring ‘Everyone’s Waiting’ and ‘Hello Hello’) have sold over two millions copies globally. Missy appeared twice on the cover of Australia’s Rolling Stone magazine. She is a five-time chart topper and nine-time ARIA Award winner (Australia’s Grammys).
JOHN BUTLER
John Butler remains one of the most successful independent artists in Australia’s history. His band, the John Butler Trio, have sold out a myriad of performances over the years in Australia and have gone on to take their music worldwide. John Butler has an impressive one million album sales to his name, has been the No. 1 most played artist on Australian radio and has numerous ARIA awards to write home about.
Having played on countless festivals across the globe, John Butler Trio are in constant demand, after developing an earnest reputation as one of the best live blues and roots acts to this day. Their recent ARIA award winning album, Flesh & Blood, was released globally in February 2014. This then took them to sold out shows in Australia, Europe & North America, then remarkably saw them play their largest ever headline ticketed show at the famous Red Rocks Amphitheatre (Colorado) in front of nearly 10,000 people. John Butler Trio continues to capture their fans and take them on an organic journey.
XAVIER RUDD
Xavier Rudd’s relentless upward arc is among the most astounding success stories of our time. Over 20 years of touring has seen his global fan base swell to perform sell-out concerts in Japan, throughout Europe, Canada, the USA, including his infamous sold-out Red Rocks Amphitheatre in 2018.
Countless more celebrated acts have come and gone like fireworks as his campfire steadily grows: a beacon to the kind of music fan that seeks sustenance in a fast-food world. "I value the simple things in life," he shrugs.
"I value community, culture, our connection to the earth as human beings. I don't care too much for the other stuff. I think the roots of who we are, and what our ancestral lines are and how those stories have shaped us are the most important things. And I guess I always celebrate those things in my music."
BIRDS OF TOKYO
Formed in Perth in 2004, Birds of Tokyo have grown from independent roots to become one of Australia’s most popular contemporary rock bands. Songs like “Plans”, “Lanterns”, “This Fire”, “Anchor” and “I’d Go With You Anywhere” have all been top 10 airplay hits and have led to appearances at every major festival in this country including Falls, Splendour In The Grass and Groovin’ The Moo, as well as headlining slots at the AFL Grand Final and NRL’s flagship State of Origin game.
Over the years the band has had 11 separate songs make Triple J’s “Hottest 100” including breakthrough hit “Plans” which ranked #4 on the 2010 countdown. “Plans” was taken from Birds of Tokyo's self-titled third studio album, which went double platinum and spent over eight months in the ARIA top 20. The eponymous release received the ARIA Award for Best Rock Album.
Subsequent records have helped the band carve a singular career for more than a decade, including 2012’s March Fires, which debuted at #1 on the ARIA Album Chart and produced triple-platinum radio hit “Lanterns”, gold-certified EP Anchor (2015) and 2016’s top #3-peaking album BRACE.
More than 70 Birds of Tokyo songs have featured on Triple J, making them one of the station’s three most played artists of this millennium. The band are also the only artist in history to win “Rock Work of the Year” on five separate occasions at the prestigious APRA Awards.
Most recently, after enjoying a run of four hit singles, Birds of Tokyo have now bundled all these songs plus seven more onto a new album called Human Design. The lyrics on record share a strong thread because they were largely inspired by a tumultuous period in the personal life of frontman Ian Kenny. He dealt with his marriage breakup directly in the radio smash “The Greatest Mistakes” plus the ARIA Song of the Year Award-nominated “Good Lord”, while the anthemic “Unbreakable” provided a different perspective on the same dire situation. Early 2020’s celebratory top three iTunes success “Two of Us” ushered in the next chapter of his story.
THE WAIFS
A trip that began in a van in 1992, playing gigs anywhere in Australia that would have them has led the Waifs to multiple ARIA Awards, platinum albums and successful tours across the world. With a career spanning more than 25 years off the back of relentless touring and ground-breaking records such as Up All Night and A Brief History, the hard yards in those early days paid off in terms of their career, but also bound them together as friends.
The original road warriors, The Waifs have built a career out of continually circling Australia and the globe. From bustling cities to the farthest regional and coastal towns, they have spent the past 25 years, reuniting with old friends, and gathering new fans, thanks to their enchanting live shows and affable natures. Four years on from celebrating their 25th anniversary and their #1 ARIA chart topping album Ironbark, Donna Simpson, Vikki Thorn and Josh Cunningham (with ever faithful and long-standing rhythm section of David Ross Macdonald and Ben Franz on board as usual) continue to share their folk-infused, feel good sounds with adoring, now multi generation audiences.
TULLIAH
At 19 years old, Tulliah, from Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula, simply writes from a place of heart felt experiences with melodies that seamlessly wash over you. One of those songs – ‘Company’, a piano-backed pop song written about toxic crushes and unreciprocated feelings – gave Tulliah the tag of an ‘act of Australia’s future’, placed upon her after becoming a finalist in 2019’s triple j Unearthed High competition. Off the back of that one single (and after finishing her exams), Tulliah blossomed. She signed to touring agency Select Music and supported acts like Amy Shark and GRAACE on tours, played Melbourne festival shows with Ball Park Music and Thelma Plum, and saw the world desperately ask for what’s next – something she was quietly working on, while still honing in on her skills and solidifying her craft.
Now, with a debut EP titled ‘Fre$h Hugs’ released March 2021, we’re able to go a little deeper into the musical mind of Tulliah and the potent bursts of indie-pop that come from one of Australia’s most exciting new names. The EP is a dizzying six tracks that simultaneously capture Tulliah’s brilliance in pop music as well as the heartfelt stories and emotions that give them their soothing edge; balancing intimacy and richness through swirling and incredibly powerful pop music. Dean Tuza (Stella Donnelly, The Rubens) sat in the production hot seat across the entirety of the EP, working closely with Tulliah to finesse each track. In addition, Grammy-winning producer David Kahne (Lana Del Ray, Paul McCartney, Stevie Nicks) produced string arrangements that feature on the EP.
