Classic Aussie acts to headline Swan Valley festival return

Aussie rock royalty Crowded House is set to lead an impressive list of national talent in the return of popular music series Red Hot Summer Tour later this year.
Kicking off in Queensland in October, the touring music festival will sweep through the East Coast before arriving at the Swan Valley's Sandalford Wines on December 6.
Supporting the Better Be Home Soon hitmakers will be talented siblings Angus & Julia Stone, along with The Church, Mark Seymour with Vika & Linda, and The Waifs. Crowded House will headline Red Hot Summer Tour in 2025. Credit: Crowded House
Originally founded by Neil Finn, Nick Seymour and the late Paul Hester, Crowded House achieved worldwide acclaim for their hits Something So Strong and Don't Dream It's Over.
Sharing the announcement with fans on Sunday, the band said they were 'very excited to hit the road across Australia' and implored followers to 'set your alarms' to ensure they didn't miss out on tickets.
Releasing Gravity Stairs in 2024, the group's eighth studio album showcases the current version of the five-piece band which features Finn, Seymour, Mitchell Froom, and Finn's sons Elroy and Liam.
Duo Angus & Julia Stone — best known for their mega hit Big Jet Plane — are set to remind local fans exactly why their indie folk sound has connected with fans across the world. Angus & Julia Stone will support Crowded House in Perth. Credit: Angus & Julia Stone
Pit-stopping primarily at regional venues, the announcement has prompted hundreds of fans to plead for their hometowns to be considered.
'Why no Tasmania dates,' one person said, with another suggesting, 'Regional Western Australia (Busselton) would've been a better venue' than WA's Swan Valley region.
Others cried out in support of the line-up, labelling it 'amazing' and 'sensational' — while one person suggested Angus & Julia Stone 'should be headlining' the event. About 16,000 rock lovers booked tickets the March 2025 event, Credit: Sandalford Wines
The most recent festival series — which wrapped in March this year — celebrated a host of nostalgic acts including ICEHOUSE, Wolfmother, Eskimo Joe, and Noiseworks.
As thousands of local fans flocked to the Sandalford Wines event in the scorching heat, emerging Perth musician Lizzie Bliss stood out from the crowd and was invited on stage to perform with her idols Wolfmother.
The teen's guitar performance of classic track Joker and the Thief was so well-received, she caught up with the band for breakfast the following day. Lizzie Bliss and Wolfmother at DoubleTree by Hilton in Perth. Credit: Lizzie Bliss
'I really thought that I would have been nervous, but there was not a single amount of nervousness in me,' she told PerthNow of her performance.
Ticket pre-sale for the upcoming Red Hot Summer Tour series begins from June 3.

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Lake Mac Choir lend their voices to honour the memory of Zoe Wright

The Advertiser

4 hours ago

The Advertiser

Lake Mac Choir lend their voices to honour the memory of Zoe Wright

Singing was Zoe Wright's happy place. Over the past year, the Lake Mac Choir was somewhere Zoe could meet with friends and momentarily put her mental health struggles aside and enjoy the beauty of sharing music with like-minded people. Sadly, on May 14, the Lake Macquarie Marine Rescue volunteer lost her battle with depression. She was 50. Her friends at the Lake Mac Choir are using their voices on Wednesday to ensure that Zoe is not forgotten. Lake Mac Choir is dedicating their performances at 10am and 6pm at the Caves Beach Bar and Bungalows to Zoe's memory and are raising money for Lifeline. The performance will include a special arrangement of Somewhere Over The Rainbow, a song requested by Zoe for her funeral on May 26. Zoe's husband and Marine Rescue Lake Macquarie unit commander, Jim Wright, said his wife would be touched by the dedication. "She loved going to the choir," Mr Wright said. "It made her happy and she enjoyed the people that were there. "She'd look forward to it every week when it was on. She was a little annoyed when they had to stop for holidays." Shay Perry, the director of Lake Macquarie tuition school Sunny Music Studios, launched Lake Mac Choir in February 2024 and Zoe was among the inaugural members. Ms Perry said the goal of the choir was to make "music super accessible" to people who otherwise thought their "time had passed with music." The choir has performed everything from rock classics like Dreams by Fleetwood Mac and Crowded House's Don't Dream It's Over to modern pop songs by Billie Eilish. "Zoe stopped coming for a few weeks and I knew she had struggled a bit and it was pretty normal for her to have a few weeks off and then come back and be as happy as ever," Ms Perry said. Members of the Lake Mac Choir missed Zoe's funeral, so Ms Perry said it was an opportunity for the group to pay their respects. "I've always said that music is not prejudiced and has the ability to connect people who otherwise might not have connected," she said. "When you add in singing, we're all doing something that we love and have in common. "Take away singing, and this is a group of my favourite people now. It's extraordinary the way the community comes together." Earlier this week, the CEO of Lake Macquarie and Newcastle Suicide Prevention Network, Bradley Dunn, described the mental health statistics in the Hunter as "alarming." More than 480 people died by suicide in the Hunter between 2019 and 2023, according to Australian Institute of Health and Welfare data. There were also more than 21,000 presentations to Hunter New England emergency departments for mental health issues in 2023-24, the third-highest per capita among NSW's 14 health districts. Singing was Zoe Wright's happy place. Over the past year, the Lake Mac Choir was somewhere Zoe could meet with friends and momentarily put her mental health struggles aside and enjoy the beauty of sharing music with like-minded people. Sadly, on May 14, the Lake Macquarie Marine Rescue volunteer lost her battle with depression. She was 50. Her friends at the Lake Mac Choir are using their voices on Wednesday to ensure that Zoe is not forgotten. Lake Mac Choir is dedicating their performances at 10am and 6pm at the Caves Beach Bar and Bungalows to Zoe's memory and are raising money for Lifeline. The performance will include a special arrangement of Somewhere Over The Rainbow, a song requested by Zoe for her funeral on May 26. Zoe's husband and Marine Rescue Lake Macquarie unit commander, Jim Wright, said his wife would be touched by the dedication. "She loved going to the choir," Mr Wright said. "It made her happy and she enjoyed the people that were there. "She'd look forward to it every week when it was on. She was a little annoyed when they had to stop for holidays." Shay Perry, the director of Lake Macquarie tuition school Sunny Music Studios, launched Lake Mac Choir in February 2024 and Zoe was among the inaugural members. Ms Perry said the goal of the choir was to make "music super accessible" to people who otherwise thought their "time had passed with music." The choir has performed everything from rock classics like Dreams by Fleetwood Mac and Crowded House's Don't Dream It's Over to modern pop songs by Billie Eilish. "Zoe stopped coming for a few weeks and I knew she had struggled a bit and it was pretty normal for her to have a few weeks off and then come back and be as happy as ever," Ms Perry said. Members of the Lake Mac Choir missed Zoe's funeral, so Ms Perry said it was an opportunity for the group to pay their respects. "I've always said that music is not prejudiced and has the ability to connect people who otherwise might not have connected," she said. "When you add in singing, we're all doing something that we love and have in common. "Take away singing, and this is a group of my favourite people now. It's extraordinary the way the community comes together." Earlier this week, the CEO of Lake Macquarie and Newcastle Suicide Prevention Network, Bradley Dunn, described the mental health statistics in the Hunter as "alarming." More than 480 people died by suicide in the Hunter between 2019 and 2023, according to Australian Institute of Health and Welfare data. There were also more than 21,000 presentations to Hunter New England emergency departments for mental health issues in 2023-24, the third-highest per capita among NSW's 14 health districts. Singing was Zoe Wright's happy place. Over the past year, the Lake Mac Choir was somewhere Zoe could meet with friends and momentarily put her mental health struggles aside and enjoy the beauty of sharing music with like-minded people. Sadly, on May 14, the Lake Macquarie Marine Rescue volunteer lost her battle with depression. She was 50. Her friends at the Lake Mac Choir are using their voices on Wednesday to ensure that Zoe is not forgotten. Lake Mac Choir is dedicating their performances at 10am and 6pm at the Caves Beach Bar and Bungalows to Zoe's memory and are raising money for Lifeline. The performance will include a special arrangement of Somewhere Over The Rainbow, a song requested by Zoe for her funeral on May 26. Zoe's husband and Marine Rescue Lake Macquarie unit commander, Jim Wright, said his wife would be touched by the dedication. "She loved going to the choir," Mr Wright said. "It made her happy and she enjoyed the people that were there. "She'd look forward to it every week when it was on. She was a little annoyed when they had to stop for holidays." Shay Perry, the director of Lake Macquarie tuition school Sunny Music Studios, launched Lake Mac Choir in February 2024 and Zoe was among the inaugural members. Ms Perry said the goal of the choir was to make "music super accessible" to people who otherwise thought their "time had passed with music." The choir has performed everything from rock classics like Dreams by Fleetwood Mac and Crowded House's Don't Dream It's Over to modern pop songs by Billie Eilish. "Zoe stopped coming for a few weeks and I knew she had struggled a bit and it was pretty normal for her to have a few weeks off and then come back and be as happy as ever," Ms Perry said. Members of the Lake Mac Choir missed Zoe's funeral, so Ms Perry said it was an opportunity for the group to pay their respects. "I've always said that music is not prejudiced and has the ability to connect people who otherwise might not have connected," she said. "When you add in singing, we're all doing something that we love and have in common. "Take away singing, and this is a group of my favourite people now. It's extraordinary the way the community comes together." Earlier this week, the CEO of Lake Macquarie and Newcastle Suicide Prevention Network, Bradley Dunn, described the mental health statistics in the Hunter as "alarming." More than 480 people died by suicide in the Hunter between 2019 and 2023, according to Australian Institute of Health and Welfare data. There were also more than 21,000 presentations to Hunter New England emergency departments for mental health issues in 2023-24, the third-highest per capita among NSW's 14 health districts. Singing was Zoe Wright's happy place. Over the past year, the Lake Mac Choir was somewhere Zoe could meet with friends and momentarily put her mental health struggles aside and enjoy the beauty of sharing music with like-minded people. Sadly, on May 14, the Lake Macquarie Marine Rescue volunteer lost her battle with depression. She was 50. Her friends at the Lake Mac Choir are using their voices on Wednesday to ensure that Zoe is not forgotten. Lake Mac Choir is dedicating their performances at 10am and 6pm at the Caves Beach Bar and Bungalows to Zoe's memory and are raising money for Lifeline. The performance will include a special arrangement of Somewhere Over The Rainbow, a song requested by Zoe for her funeral on May 26. Zoe's husband and Marine Rescue Lake Macquarie unit commander, Jim Wright, said his wife would be touched by the dedication. "She loved going to the choir," Mr Wright said. "It made her happy and she enjoyed the people that were there. "She'd look forward to it every week when it was on. She was a little annoyed when they had to stop for holidays." Shay Perry, the director of Lake Macquarie tuition school Sunny Music Studios, launched Lake Mac Choir in February 2024 and Zoe was among the inaugural members. Ms Perry said the goal of the choir was to make "music super accessible" to people who otherwise thought their "time had passed with music." The choir has performed everything from rock classics like Dreams by Fleetwood Mac and Crowded House's Don't Dream It's Over to modern pop songs by Billie Eilish. "Zoe stopped coming for a few weeks and I knew she had struggled a bit and it was pretty normal for her to have a few weeks off and then come back and be as happy as ever," Ms Perry said. Members of the Lake Mac Choir missed Zoe's funeral, so Ms Perry said it was an opportunity for the group to pay their respects. "I've always said that music is not prejudiced and has the ability to connect people who otherwise might not have connected," she said. "When you add in singing, we're all doing something that we love and have in common. "Take away singing, and this is a group of my favourite people now. It's extraordinary the way the community comes together." Earlier this week, the CEO of Lake Macquarie and Newcastle Suicide Prevention Network, Bradley Dunn, described the mental health statistics in the Hunter as "alarming." More than 480 people died by suicide in the Hunter between 2019 and 2023, according to Australian Institute of Health and Welfare data. There were also more than 21,000 presentations to Hunter New England emergency departments for mental health issues in 2023-24, the third-highest per capita among NSW's 14 health districts.