Adelaide’s July wrapped itself up in typical Splendour fashion with mesmerising and marathon performances by James Blake and The Cure on consecutive nights. August sees a plethora of musical talent hitting stages around Adelaide, starting with the culmination of the inaugural ‘Umbrella: Winter City Sounds’ festival this week. From there on it’s a jam-packed month with the likes of Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Jimmy Barnes, Alpine and Luca Brasi rolling through town.
We kick off, however, with back-to-back performances of a different kind this Friday the 5th from Emanuel Satie and L-Fresh The Lion. Berlin-based, European mega-producer Emanuel Satie has popped up seemingly overnight, experiencing huge amounts of success throughout Europe and the UK in 2016; he’ll be packing out the dancefloor at Sugar. Hip-hop starlet L-Fresh The Lion has similarly emerged a rising star of the past twelve months. With his anti-discrimination inspired lyricism and determination to bring people together, the Western Sydney rapper is certain to have his Adelaide Uni crowd arm-in-arm come Friday night.
In one of the final shows of the Umbrella festival, Adam Page, Matthew Sheens and Ross McHenry hit the stage at ASO Grainger Studio for a very special four-part performance on Saturday the 6th of August. The three-piece composing machine will be joined on stage by a host of special guests throughout an evening which will explore the very best in jazz and classical talent Adelaide has to offer.
Grammy Award-winning rapper Macklemore and his beat-making counterpart Ryan Lewis are set to twist the tongues of a few thousand die-hard fans at the Entertainment Centre on Tuesday the 9th. Celebrating the release of their sophomore album ‘This Unruly Mess I’ve Made’, the Seattle duo has embarked on its biggest headline tour yet. Writing his ever-clever rhymes about everything from consumerism and substance abuse to mopeds, from marriage equality to his great passion for baseball, Macklemore AKA Ben Haggerty has become hip-hop’s unlikely hero since his emergence in 2011.
Thursday the 11th of August will prove a tough choice for punters as they decide whether to thrash it out with Skegss at Rocket Bar or keep it cool with Japanese Wallpaper and E^st at Fat Controller. Byron born and bred garage-rockers Skegss hit the road fresh off the release of their latest single ‘My Face’ with support for fellow sand rats (no, not Dune Rats, not this time) Dumb Punts. Meanwhile, Japanese Wallpaper will be joined by the ever-ethereal and emphatic E^st in the Fat Man’s basement for a night of sultry synths and stunning vocals.
The Entertainment Centre plays host to our ol’ mate Jimmy Barnes on Friday the 12th on his ‘Soul Searchin’’ tour. Inspired by Jimmy’s favourite musicians and their works, this set-list overflows with long-forgotten or reinvigorated soul classics from here to Nashville, Tennessee.
San Diego rock powerhouse Pierce The Veil return to the country with good tidings as they foreshadow the release of their fourth studio LP ‘Misadventures’. In the nine years since the release of their debut album, ‘A Flair For The Dramatic’, Pierce The Veil have gained a following beyond that of cult status, having sold out massive US and UK headline tours as recently as 2014. They’ll be lighting up Thebby Theatre on Thursday the 18th.
Australia’s almost-adopted hero Ben Folds makes his glorious return the following week, on Thursday the 25th, bringing with him the celebrated New York backing band yMusic. Ben Folds’ love affair with this country has spanned two decades and is set to continue at the Entertainment Centre where he’ll be dishing up tunes from his new album ‘So There’ as well as an extensive back catalogue including a few Ben Folds Five classics.
New kids on the block Luca Brasi hit Fat Controller the following night, Friday the 26th of August, the Tassie punks bringing with them both UK power-poppers Moose Blood and local boys The Hard Aches. Luca Brasi’s Smith Street-esque sound lends itself to a fist-pumping, mad-moshing crowd and that’s just what they’ll get in the basement.
Saturday the 27th sees August rounded out by the sweet sounds of Dustin Tebbutt in an intimate show at Jive. He brings with him songs from his debut studio record, ‘First Light’, set for release on Friday 5th August. Emotive lyrics and infectious acoustic riffs light the way for this future indie-folk superstar.
Image: Groovevolt
