DOORS 1PM // KITCHEN OPENS 1PM // SHOW STARTS 2PM

Steve Lane’s songs aren’t ripped from the headlines, they’re torn out of your diaries and overhead from your friend’s stories” Bernard Zuel

Award-winning Songwriter Steve Lane is launching his new album with a special Matinee show at fabled Melbourne venue The Brunswick Ballroom - the first gig on Australian soil for Steve’s band The Autocrats since their successful foray to the UK in 2023.  

 ‘Where the Rivers Meet’ had its genesis in an Ayrshire studio in Scotland, features local legends John and Stephen Douglas from legendary Glaswegian band ‘The Trashcan Sinatras and will once again be released by Scottish label Last Night from Glasgow (LNFG) 

The album features the solid and steady input from long-term drummer and good friend, David Williams (Augie March, Fanning Dempsey National Park), and is a family affair with the involvement of Steve’s son Kai and daughter Neneh.

But the real trump card for ‘Where the Rivers Meet’ was the addition of producer Darren Seltmann. (Darren is a four-time ARIA award winning musician and producer who co-founded Australian band The Avalanches and co-produced their acclaimed 2001 debut album ‘Since I Left You’.)

Helping celebrate the launch is the superbly talented Melbourne singer songwriter, James Franklin.

And, as a bonus, we will be launching a ‘Where the Rivers Meet’ art exhibition including album artwork and sculpture by local artist Darcy Shilton (inspired by album opening track ‘A Song You Can’t Write No More) This will take place in the Artists Bar down stairs after the show in the Ballroom.

DOORS 6:30PM // KITCHEN OPENS 6:30PM // SHOW STARTS 8.15PM

BOOM CRASH OPERA

40 years in the making, Boom Crash Opera hit the road for Hands Up In The Air – The Singles Tour 2025

They say life begins at 40 – and that may just be true for Boom Crash Opera.

To celebrate their 40th anniversary, the beloved Australian band is embarking on a massive national tour: Hands Up In The Air – The Singles Tour 2025.

The tour will hit every state, kicking off in Queensland on October 3, and running until mid-December.

As the name suggests, this will be Great Wall-to-wall hits, starting with the band’s debut single, the Top 10 smash Great Wall, and running through a cavalcade of classics, including Dancing In The Storm, The Best Thing, City Flat, Get Out Of The House, Onion Skin, Bettadaze and Hands Up In The Air.

The show will also feature BCO’s new single, Latest Hustle, a stomping glam rock treat, which Pete Farnan says is like Onion Skin “but with a contemporary twist”.

Boom Crash Opera formed in Melbourne in 1985. As Pete Farnan notes, “We sounded like our name.” It’s an intoxicating mix of indie pop and stadium rock, fusing quirky song structures with exuberant choruses.

The result has been 13 Top 50 singles and five Top 50 albums. Boom Crash Opera’s songs are ingrained in Australian culture – go to any sporting event and chances are you’ll hear The Best Thing or Dancing In The Storm.

Four decades after the band began, the start of Onion Skin remains an irresistible rallying cry:

Keep it in! Cut it out! Kick it out!

Special guest Nick Barker.