Coined by Wall of Sound as “the five-piece you didn’t know you needed in your life,” Brisbane outfit ZUKO have spent the last few years proving exactly why.

Fresh off the back of a sold-out East Coast tour earlier this year, ZUKO return with the BUILT FOR PAIN Tour, taking their explosive live show to rooms that won’t stay this size for much longer. Joined by New Zealand heavyweights Xile, these shows are set to be some of the most talked-about of the year.

ZUKO | BUILT FOR PAIN TOUR

Ahead of their anticipated fourth album HEAD NOISE out August 28, Brisbane’s Bugs are today proud to announce two album launch shows in September.

On Thursday 10th and Saturday 12th September, Bugs will return to the stage to celebrate the record at Brisbane’s Crowbar - a venue that has been a core part of the band’s history over the years. With a stacked list of special guests, as well as some surprises, these shows are not to be missed.

Joining Bugs for the Saturday show is Brisbane's Talk Heavy and VOIID, alongside Melbourne sing-songwriter Suzi, plus a special DJ set from Dune Rats

The shows mark Bugs’ first live performances since October’s Saving A Bug’s Life fundraiser show for bassist Jordan Brunoli, who was diagnosed with stage 4 colorectal cancer last year. With a strong show of support from Brisbane’s tight-knit community of music lovers, fans, family, and friends alike, Bugs headlined a sold out Tivoli joined by mates Dear Seattle, Beddy Rays, Sly Withers, Hope D, The Buoys, TOWNS, RAAVE TAPES, and many more.

Reflecting on the past year, and the album process, Jordan says “After a year’s worth of treatment, there are no more viable medical options for me and I have begun to enter the final chapters of my life. That’s why the release of ‘HEAD NOISE’ means so much to me. The two year writing and recording journey somehow encapsulates so many moods, wins, losses and melancholic discussions…throughout all of which I could count on the fact that I was doing what I love, with those who have my back.”

Over the past ten years, Bugs have moved into the hearts of music lovers across the country with their bright and tender pop rock songs and joyful, community-driven live shows. Australia rallied behind their debut album Self Help (2019), voting bouncy hit single ‘Seriously’ into triple j’s Hottest 200 list. Their ever-iconic Like A Version cover of Mallrat’s ‘Charlie’ broke into the Hottest 100 the following year at #91, and came in at #25 in 2023’s Hottest 100 Like A Versions of all time. From sold out hometown shows and national tours, to playing Falls Festival and supporting Australian legends Grinspoon on their mammoth Chemical Hearts run in 2019, Bugs have become firmly woven into the fabric of Australia’s beloved music scene.

Bugs - 'Head Noise' Album Launch | Night 2 [SOLD OUT]

Fast rising New York 4-piece Infinity Song are set to make their second trip to Australia and first trip to New Zealand in January 2026, with dates set for Auckland, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth.

Composed of siblings Abraham, Angel, Israel and Momo Boyd - the soft rock group have had a whirlwind few years since being handpicked by Jay Z for Roc Nation in 2016. Initially busking and working on their craft across iconic New York spots such as Central Park & Grand Central Station, the band have since made their way across the globe hitting some of the biggest stages in the world; including Madison Square Garden and Carnegie Hall in New York, The Palladium, Union Chapel and Koko in London, and iconic festivals such as Glastonbury, Lollapalooza, Boston Calling, Bonnaroo and Railbird.

Often likened to legendary artists such as Fifth Dimension, The Mamas and The Papas, and ABBA, the band have had some incredible viral success throughout the career - including their 2024 hit ‘Haters Anthem’ which has seen over 300 million streams since release and even landing them an endorsement from Doja Cat.

The band are currently in the midst of a hefty world tour across Europe, Asia the US in support of their latest single ‘London Foxes’, a bold, playful track that blends their signature harmonies with a fresh sonic edge. Amongst the extensive tour list, the band have recently played at festivals such as All Together Now Festival (IRE), Kampnagel Summerfestival (Germany), Haldern Pop Festival (Germany), Flow Festival OY (Finland) and Summer Sonic Festival (Japan).

Their debut Australian tour last year was an overwhelming success, selling out their Melbourne show at the Night Cat and leaving punters spellbound with their captivating performances.

This time around they’re taking things up a notch, with their biggest Australian venues yet and their debut performance in Perth.

Tickets on sale now!

Infinity Song

The Lazy Eyes return this September and October for a national Australian tour celebrating their highly anticipated second album Cheesy Love Songs, out 21 August. Alongside major capital city shows, the band will take this new era on the road with a run of regional dates, bringing their ever-evolving live show to audiences across the country.

Cheesy Love Songs feels like a love letter to the classic pop form; breezy and effortless on the surface, but the result of a deliberate and hard-won creative process. Arriving four years after their debut, the album sees the Sydney four-piece refine their sound into something both ornate and carefree, showcasing some of Australia’s most compelling young songwriters and performers. Inspired by the minimalist approach of producers like Rick Rubin, the band allowed the songs to shine without excess, drawing from a lineage that includes Sparklehorse, Amy Winehouse and The Beach Boys.

Renowned for their immersive and dynamic live shows, The Lazy Eyes will bring Cheesy Love Songs to life alongside fan favourites such as Fuzz Jam and Where's My Brain??? that have already amassed millions of streams worldwide. After selling out headline shows across Australia, the UK and US, the band is now moving into larger rooms, delivering their most ambitious tour yet.

This tour marks a defining moment: a chance to experience a band returning to basics, rediscovering their identity, and emerging stronger than ever.

The Lazy Eyes - Cheesy Love Songs Tour

Hot off the heels of a wild year touring Canada and Australia in 2025, Melbourne Ska Orchestra just can't keep still. The spaghetti western wagon trail rolls on with the super deluxe edition of their acclaimed album The Ballad of Monte Loco with all the faves, plus a swag of brand-new tracks, blistering live recordings, and honky tonk renditions of MSO staples. It's braver, meaner and wilder than anything they've done before. So saddle up, partner: this here posse is riding into a town near you, and you do not want to miss the showdown.

Monte Loco Rides Again... Melbourne Ska Orchestra

US punk-metal mainstays Strung Out return to Australia this September to celebrate 30 years of their landmark album Suburban Teenage Wasteland Blues with a national run of headline shows. Originally released in 1996, Suburban Teenage Wasteland Blues crammed 13 songs into 32 breakneck minutes and became a defining record for a generation of punk fans. From the opening blast of “Firecracker” through to “Wrong Side of the Tracks”, the album’s mix of hook-heavy melodies and high-speed riffs still hits just as hard today. Across ten albums and countless tours, Strung Out have built a reputation as one of the most explosive live bands in punk rock – loud, tight and direct, with no throwbacks for the sake of it and no wasted moments. This September, Australian fans will hear Suburban Teenage Wasteland Blues celebrated throughout the set, alongside favourites from across the band’s catalogue.

Strung Out

CHEAP-SKATE PRESENTS:

SOHO Returns 🧟‍♂️

An unofficial Violent Soho Afterparty to celebrate the return of Violent Soho

Friday September 25th

Crowbar Bris

After Soho Set

2x 45 min sets mix of cheapskate and soho covers

FREE ENTRY to anyone who attended the soho show with proof of ticket

$10 for anyone who missed out

+ special guest appearances

Soho Returns

MONSTERS OF THRASH: FLOTSAM AND JETSAM (USA) + MORTAL SIN w/ Hidden Intent & Livewire

AUSTRALIAN TOUR 2026 ANNOUNCED

For the first time ever down under, US thrash metal legends Flotsam and Jetsam will join forces with Australian thrash pioneers Mortal Sin for a devastating co-headline tour across Australia this September and October.

Like a two-headed beast of pure thrash fury, these genre-defining acts will deliver a relentless assault for Australian fans, bringing together decades of history, influence and raw power in one unmissable run.

Over a career spanning more than 40 years, Flotsam and Jetsam have stood shoulder to shoulder with the likes of Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer and Venom, earning their place as one of thrash metal’s most respected and enduring names. From their landmark debut Doomsday for the Deceiver - famously awarded the only ever 6K rating in Kerrang! history - through to modern thrash masterpieces like The End of Chaos, Blood in the Water and I Am The Weapon, the Arizona legends continue to prove why they remain one of the genre’s most ferocious live acts.

The band now return armed with a brand-new album, Rats In The Temple, due out August 28 via Napalm Records. Described by vocalist Eric “A.K.” Knutson as “our best effort to date,” the record delivers 13 tracks of razor-sharp thrash packed with crushing riffs, ornate guitar harmonies, pummelling rhythms and dark lyrical themes centred around war, betrayal and human destruction. Early reports are already calling the album another major step forward in the band’s ongoing modern-era resurgence.

Fronted by the unmistakable voice of A.K. Knutson, Flotsam and Jetsam continue to thrive with arguably their strongest modern lineup yet, featuring founding guitarist Michael Gilbert alongside guitar shredder Steve Conley, powerhouse drummer Ken Mary - known for his work with Alice Cooper and Accept - and technically blistering bassist Bill Bodily.

Fresh from their long-awaited return to the stage, Mortal Sin continue to cement their place as Australia’s most influential thrash export. Following their comeback tour and exclusive appearances at major European festivals including Keep It True Festival, Alcatraz Metal Festival and Brutal Assault, alongside headline runs across Europe and Australia, the band show no signs of slowing down. This tour sees them bring their iconic catalogue and renewed firepower to Australian stages alongside an international thrash heavyweight, making for a truly special run of shows.

Joining them on all dates are South Australian thrash outfit Hidden Intent, known for their relentless live energy and global touring presence, alongside Sydney speed metal force Livewire, rounding out a stacked lineup of Australian heavy music.

Wednesday, Sept 30 – Brisbane – Crowbar

Thursday, Oct 1 – Adelaide – Lion Arts Factory

Friday, Oct 2 – Melbourne – Max Watt’s

Saturday, Oct 3 – Sydney – Crowbar

Tickets and info available at:

churchesofsteel.com

Limited VIP meet & greet packages for Flotsam and Jetsam available (includes entry to the show).

FLOTSAM AND JETSAM (USA) + MORTAL SIN

Following last year’s sold out 40th anniversary tour, Australian jangle pop legends Ups and Downs are back with more things to celebrate. This time around, they are commemorating the 40th birthday of their acclaimed mini-album Sleepless, alongside a brand new EPRadio Is Dead.

At these four special shows, Ups and Downs will play Sleepless in its entirety for the very first time, along with a second set of their other hits and crowd favourites. Critics widely consider the 1986 Sleepless mini-album (featuring the indie hit single The Living Kind and their classic cover of Neil Diamond’s Solitary Man) to be a masterpiece of the 1980s Australian "paisley" and jangle pop eras.

Sleepless is routinely listed by music historians and critics as one of the essential underground Australian rock records, highlighting its moody, atmospheric guitar textures combined with glittering, harmony-drenched melodies.

At the same time, Ups and Downs are releasing a new EPRadio Is Dead–their first newmusic for over 10 years! From the sing-a-long angst of the title track, to the shimmering groove of the single Out Of Thin Air, where the band conjure pure guitar pop with a summery melody and classic harmonies-this is Ups and Downs at their sparkling best. Ups and Downs will play two sets on the night, guaranteeing you’ll hear all of Sleepless plus your favourites, somerare surprises from their back catalogue, and a sprinkling of new songs.

Get your tickets to one of these rare performances and pick up an exclusive Sleeplesst-shirt, available only at shows.

Ups and Downs – Sleepless 40 Years On

For ten years Melbourne’s Spike Fuck has existed more as a messy myth than an artist – sporadic works forever poised on the precipice of triumph, rumours of death or insanity and so on. Spike’s foray into music in 2015 served a cultural fantasy, not by any overarching sense of ambition, but rather a would-be, cosplay pop star arrested by his own devices and whose melancholy wove through unlikely cultural circles. His sole body of work, The Smackwave EP (Partisan Records), addressed themes as literal as the title suggests: drug use, gender identity, religion and existentialism. Soon after its release, Spike was swept up in the whirlwind of unexpected success, moving from underground warehouse parties to being draped in high fashion and editorial photoshoots accompanied by interviews, in which he gave unrelenting and uncensored details of his life.

On the precipice of breakthrough, Spike disappeared. Bootleg uploads and comments on old YouTube videos discussed possibilities that seemed wild but believable, given Spike’s nature, fueling rumours of monastic solitude, relapse, or reinvention as a LinkedIn-worthy daytime professional. Only the most sincere have kept his myth alive.

Returning in 2024 after a four-year hiatus, Spike has returned sober, clear-eyed, and transformed. Spike is no longer alone with a backing track, but fronting a rotating full band. Together they channel ’70s glam, spiritual soul, and damaged rock’n’roll; always refracted through Spike’s unmistakable, bruised, and poetic voice.

Spike Fuck

Swedish masters of dark melody KATATONIA return to Australia and New Zealand in 2026, bringing songs from their haunting new album Nightmares as Extensions of the Waking State to life on stage, plus major milestones from the band’s extensive catalogue of astounding albums.

‘Stagnation’ is not a word in the Katatonia dictionary. Since breaking through as masters of

death/doom, Stockholm’s freethinkers have transcended genre, consolidating goth, shoegaze and prog into bleak, melodic songs.

After three decades of invention and reinvention, Nightmares as Extensions of the Waking State marks another bold leap – not to mention singer, founder and lead songwriter Jonas Renkse’s most personal effort to date.

Drawing from such albums such as the powerful The Great Cold Distance and Dead End Kings, Katatonia’s live concerts deliver a fan’s feast of dazzling experimentation which is astonishingly more metal than ever without holding back on the anthems. The dark hooks and tender vocals remain, yet the band also drive in unpredictable directions while delivering their hardest riffs in years.

Rejoice! It's time to bring KATATONIA’s haunting brilliance and signature vibrant darkness back to stages across Australia & NZ.

Katatonia shows regularly sell out – Do not miss your opportunity to catch Katatonia live in 2026!

“The Swedes played gems from their back catalogue, spanning over twenty years, and fans were losing their minds. It’s quite a picture to watch fans scream with excitement to the soft opening chord to a song that begins so minutely different to the last – some serious passion.” - Wall of Sound

“It’s hard to say what the highlights of Katatonia’s performance were because my notes on every song are something along the lines of “killer riff”, “solid crowd engagement”, “killer face melting solo” or something to that effect.” - Everyday Metal

“… with each cheer the atmosphere of anticipation became denser and more leaden… bursting the proleptic bubble and sending the crowd into a frenzy.” The Rockpit

“Katatonia is one of the best musical acts in the world… All we can do is continue to watch in awe and enjoy being witness to the masters at work.” Dead Rhetoric

KATATONIA

Melbourne rock band The Smith Street Band are back on tour this October, their first national tour since the ‘Once I Was Wild’ album tour. Their seventh album, recorded again at their own studio, charted at #2 on the Australian Artist chart & #14 on the ARIA Album chart.

Since the albums release, The Smith Street Band haven’t slowed down, playing 17 shows across Europe in June including selling out iconic London venue The Garage. They’ve filled in other weekends touring regional Victoria and a trip up to Jindabyne.

This October, The Smith Street Band will do a quick trip of the country, playing five cities in two weeks. They’ll bring punk rock troubadour Slim Krusty along for the ride.

Crowbar Brisbane

Events