What do you do when your band is invited to open for Oasis? Grab a pint, of course
That's precisely what Sam Cromack, frontman of Brisbane-based indie-rock band Ball Park Music, says they did when they received the call inviting them to join Noel and Liam Gallagher on tour in Australia later this year.
'We've come to not expect these kinds of massive, mind-blowing opportunities,' says Cromack. 'At first, they just say you're in the mix with a bunch of other bands, and in the past, we've known that's not good. We never come out on top. So it was truly a euphoric moment when we got the call to say the contract is signed, it's real, it's going ahead.'
Opening for Oasis is undeniably the biggest opportunity they've received since forming in 2008, says guitarist Dean Hanson. 'We've played live so much over so many years in so many different places, so getting up in front of tens of thousands of people will be great. It feels like we've been practising for over a decade.'
It's hardly overnight success. They have released eight studio albums, six of which have featured in the ARIA top five. Earlier this month their new album, Like Love, became their first ARIA Albums Chart No.1 when it debuted in the top spot, also becoming the first Australian No.1 this year. They've done more than 500 live shows, including at SXSW in Texas, and will set out on a Like Love national tour in May.
But supporting Oasis is next-level – Ball Park Music will be playing huge stadiums (Marvel in Melbourne and Accor in Sydney). If these spaces are even a third or half full by the time the band begins playing, Cromack says it will still be their largest audience by far.
As nerve-racking as this may sound, he says the stage, regardless of its size, will always be a safe space.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Perth Now
an hour ago
- Perth Now
Aussie star dies one month after final US soapie cameo
Australian actor Tristan Rogers, who played legacy character Robert Scorpio on General Hospital, has died less than a month after he made a special appearance on the soap opera. He was 79. "The entire General Hospital family is heartbroken to hear of Tristan Rogers' passing," said Frank Valentini, the show's executive producer, in a statement. "Tristan has captivated our fans for 45 years and Port Charles will not be the same without him (or Robert Scorpio)." Born in Melbourne, Australia, Rogers' first foray into performing was in his early twenties and playing drums in a rock band with a group of friends. They weren't successful so Rogers turned to commercial work and modelling to earn some money. When the band dissolved, Rogers decided to give acting a try. After various roles in Australia, he also worked as a DJ and eventually moved to Los Angeles to try to break into Hollywood. He said casting directors were initially turned off by his accent but he eventually landed a two-day role on General Hospital in 1980. "I had no idea at the point how big the show was," Rogers told fellow General Hospital actor Maurice Benard on the YouTube show, State of Mind with Maurice Benard in 2022. "I had no name. I was brought in expressly to beat up the hero, Luke, (played by Anthony Geary), and then disappear," Rogers said. His first day was half-over when then-executive producer Gloria Monty asked if he would like to stay on. They had no character written for him so for three weeks Monty asked him to just appear in scenes "looking furtive, looking suspicious" until they came up with a storyline. It was decided he would play a spy known as "CK8" and eventually he was given the name Robert Scorpio. The character would remain a fixture in Port Charles for the rest of Rogers' life, even when he wasn't a current cast member. Scorpio's on again/off again romance with Emma Samms' character, Holly Sutton, remained a favourite among fans. Scorpio also had a romance, and many storylines with another spy, Anna Devane, played by Finola Hughes. Scorpio and Devane shared a daughter, Robin, played by Kimberly McCullough. Samms returned to the show for a stint last year where it was revealed that Scorpio was the father of her adult daughter, Sasha Gilmore, played by Sofia Mattson. Rogers and Samms left the show together in November 2024 in scenes taped with a nod to Casablanca. He returned to the show in July for one episode when Sasha arrived to his home in France with her new baby. It was then revealed that Rogers had lung cancer Rogers' other acting credits include The Bold and the Beautiful, The Young & the Restless and Studio City, which won him outstanding supporting actor in a digital drama series at the Daytime Emmy Awards. He is survived by his wife, Teresa Parkerson, and a daughter and a son.
Perth Now
4 hours ago
- Perth Now
Controversial vegan activist's strange plea
A controversial vegan activist who filed for bankruptcy after a court found she had defamed a Perth vet is attempting to raise money to leave Australia for 'the world's biggest vegan camp out' in the United Kingdom. Tash Peterson and boyfriend Jack Higgs had their passports confiscated when they filed for bankruptcy in May, after WA Supreme Court Chief Justice Peter Quinlan ordered they pay $280,000 in damages. Justice Quinlan found the pair had published defamatory claims that a Bicton vet was 'eating her own patients', with Ms Peterson claiming the court battled meant her 'personal accounts have been wiped'. The pair returned to social media on Friday to urge their supporters to donate to a GoFundMe campaign to help them acquire $30,000 demanded by their bankruptcy trustees 'because they're concerned we are going to flee Australia for good'. 'Because of this, we are trying to raise funds so that I can give my speech at the Vegan Camp Out,' Peterson said in a video. 'The only purpose of our trip is to speak up for non-human animals. Not to run away. 'We only have one week to raise the $30,000'. The pair said the funds, which will contribute to a bond, will be returned to them when they return to Australia and forfeit their passports once again, and will then go to the animal NGO, Farm Transparency Project. Ms Peterson is listed as a speaker for the vegan Camp Out, a four-day festival at Bygrave Woods in Hertfordshire which includes talks from vegan activists such as Paul McCartney's ex-wife, Heather Mills. Ms Peterson is most well-known for protests staged outside restaurants and agricultural shows. Facebook Credit: News Corp Australia The GoFundMe campaign is being run by Ms Peterson's mother, Sally, and as of Saturday morning had raised more than $2000 to a target of $5500, with donations ranging from $20 to as large as $300. The festival website describes Ms Peterson as a WA-based animal activist 'known for her bold and attention-grabbing approach' with a 'controversial style which often includes civil disobedience'. Ms Peterson is most well-known for protests staged outside restaurants and agricultural shows, and according to her own social media have resulted in 30 police move-on orders, three restraining orders, and 17 convictions.
Canberra Times
6 hours ago
- Canberra Times
The country economy of flowers, focaccia and friendship
Test your skills with interactive crosswords, sudoku & trivia. Fresh daily! Your digital replica of Today's Paper. Ready to read from 5am! Be the first to know when news breaks. As it happens Get news, reviews and expert insights every Thursday from CarExpert, ACM's exclusive motoring partner. Get real, Australia! Let the ACM network's editors and journalists bring you news and views from all over. Get the very best journalism from The Canberra Times by signing up to our special reports. As it happens Your essential national news digest: all the big issues on Wednesday and great reading every Saturday. Sharp. Close to the ground. Digging deep. Your weekday morning newsletter on national affairs, politics and more. Every Saturday and Tuesday, explore destinations deals, tips & travel writing to transport you around the globe. Get the latest property and development news here. We've selected the best reading for your weekend. Join our weekly poll for Canberra Times readers. Your exclusive preview of David Pope's latest cartoon. Going out or staying in? Find out what's on. Get the editor's insights: what's happening & why it matters. Catch up on the news of the day and unwind with great reading for your evening. Grab a quick bite of today's latest news from around the region and the nation. Don't miss updates on news about the Public Service. As it happens Today's top stories curated by our news team. Also includes evening update. More from National A national directory of stalls can be found via The Roadside Stalls website , while more information about the Adelaide Hills community can be found on their Facebook page . "I really enjoy that - making other people happy." "It's really heartwarming. If you can give a bouquet to the customer and their eyes get happy and sparkly, that's really what makes my day." "She didn't have a mum here, but she has a lovely neighbour who is like her Australian mum. She wanted to say thank you with a bouquet," Ms Boese says. One customer, whose family lives overseas, asked her to create a bouquet ahead of Mother's Day. Though Ms Boese rarely gets to meet those who stop by the stall, she has made memorable connections through the blooms. Katja Boese named her protea and leucadendron stall Blumenfeld for her German heritage. (PR IMAGE PHOTO) "If you just get the stems, it's not a big effort for me and it makes people happy." "It's a good alternative to bouquets because they are quite dear, if you consider how much time and effort goes into it," Ms Boese says. Her customers are encouraged to buy single stems to create their own bunches. Among the 19 hectares was an established crop of proteas and leucadendron Ms Boese sells by the stem at her Blumenfeld stall, named for her German heritage. After spending years looking to escape the pressures of city life, engineer Katja Boese and her partner found a property at Lenswood, in the Adelaide Hills, teeming with native wildlife. "Stalls are popping up a lot more in these sort of places because people are trying to support the smaller people, not the big companies." "There's a lot more people trying to become more self-sufficient out here," she says. Ms Frankish likes to think the stall, adorned with bright yellow bunting and sunflower motifs, helps keep the caravanning community connected through items made with homely care. The Evenindee Homestead farm stall, which sits next to a street library, sells plants, soap, wire art, craft, bath salts and dried flowers. Daneve Frankish's stall at Captain Creek was inspired by a two-year trip around Australia. (PR IMAGE PHOTO) "It was nice to be able to stop and support these little communities we were driving through," Ms Frankish, a part-time teacher's aide, says. The family's most memorable moments on the road included buying sourdough from a vintage fridge in Tasmania and swapping their kids' books at street libraries in countless country towns. Two years travelling around Australia with her young family prompted Daneve Frankish to establish her stall in Captain Creek, in Queensland's Gladstone region. "It's bringing people to our community that have also stopped around at the wineries and the brewery and all the other roadside stalls," she says. Social media posts that capture idyllic days in her kitchen and fertile vegetable patch have even helped lure visitors to town. Googies and Greens, which has more than 1000 followers on Instagram, allows Ms Rothe to work at her own pace while raising her children at home. Baked treats like focaccia, brownies, pinwheel biscuits and banana bread are stocked in pastel hand-painted eskies alongside jars of homemade pesto, dried herbs and pickles. "It was supposed to be just a little hobby selling veggies on the side of the road and it quickly expanded." "I needed something else to focus on, so it gave me a project and something to distract myself with," she tells AAP as fresh loaves of bread bake in her oven while her young children nap. Ms Rothe set up the stall in Langhorne Creek, a picturesque wine-growing region 55km from Adelaide, as she recovered from post-natal depression. Mother-of-three Louise Rothe's stall Googies and Greens , which stocks an abundance of homemade food, is so successful she didn't have to return to a previous job in catering. "Fewer income earning opportunities in regional and rural locations see households operate in the informal sector," it wrote. The Tasmanian Women in Agriculture group told a 2023 parliamentary inquiry examining country bank closures that stalls help secure and diversify farming families' earnings. Nearly a century later, roadside stalls still play an important role in many rural households. Roadside stalls dot the Australian landscape, offering an array of flowers, crafts and produce. (PR IMAGE PHOTO) "Everything looks enticing and is good to taste, touch and smell." "Whatever direction you take a run in a motor car on Sundays you will find the road sides lined with stalls and the stallholders are the farmers and their families," Queensland's Western Champion newspaper reported in 1931. These kinds of stalls, which usually operate on an honesty payment system, have a long history of offering fresh, homegrown produce directly to communities. Roadside stalls dot the landscape across Australia, offering fresh fruit and vegetables, nuts, eggs, honey, jam, plants, seeds, books, craft and even bags of horse and sheep manure for garden fertiliser. "It's more of a wholesome life." "It's the environment of living rurally, you make your own fun," she says. With beginnings in a sweet gesture of friendship, The Blue Bee Market has become a way for Ms Smitheman to connect with her neighbourhood, teach local kids about nature and earn some money while raising two daughters. "I finally had my own flowers to give her," Ms Smitheman tells AAP. She gifted her friend a bouquet on the first anniversary of her grandmother's passing. Tiarna Smitheman sells flowers by the bunch from her Blue Bee Market stall southeast of Adelaide. (PR IMAGE PHOTO) In her first season, the stall sparked conversations around town, was a popular choice for Mother's Day presents and captured the imaginations of tourists staying at the motel next door. Ms Smitheman sells bunches of her home-grown blooms from the welcoming wall-papered stall, giving the community of 1400 an alternative to supermarket or servo bouquets. The women's connection through flowers is the inspiration for her little roadside stall, The Blue Bee Market in Keith, a farming hub 230km southeast of Adelaide. A sunny spot in her backyard brims with cosmos, sunflowers, dahlias, billy buttons and zinnias in spring and summer, a reminder of her friend's late grandmother. All other regional websites in your area The digital version of Today's Paper All articles from our website & app Login or signup to continue reading Subscribe now for unlimited access. When Tiarna Smitheman couldn't find fresh flowers to comfort a bereaved friend, she grew her own. Louise Rothe's roadside goodies have sold so well she hasn't had to return to a previous job. Photo: PR IMAGE PHOTO Your digital subscription includes access to content from all our websites in your region. Access unlimited news content and The Canberra Times app. Premium subscribers also enjoy interactive puzzles and access to the digital version of our print edition - Today's Paper. Login or create a free account to save this to My Saved List Login or create a free account to save this to My Saved List Login or create a free account to save this to My Saved List
