Pop duo are forced to cancel a string of gigs after band member dramatically collapsed onstage
Royel Otis - an Australian guitar-pop duo from Sydney - will no longer perform their upcoming shows after member Royel became 'unwell with a virus'.
The band was formed in 2019 by Royel Maddell and Otis Pavlovic and this week they had been performing in Germany at the MS Dockville festival.
Video circulating on TikTok appeared to show the worrying moment Royel collapses in the middle of their set.
He was then helped by the rest of the band on stage. The band have not directly addressed the collapsing incident but did release a statement this weekend.
They said: 'We are really sorry to say that we need to cancel our set at Lowlands + Pukkelpop festival as Roy has been unwell with a virus since last night's show in Hamburg.
'We were really looking forward to playing for you and hope we can see you at one of our other shows soon.
'Thank you for all your support always [pink heart emoji] Roy + Otis.'
It comes as this week it was announced that Harvest Rock Festival will return this year after suffering a cancellation last year - and Royel Otis are down to play.
The iconic Adelaide music event announced its 2025 lineup in an Instagram post on Thursday, revealing that iconic rock band The Strokes would be headlining the event in October.
Bragging 14.5 million monthly listeners on Spotify, a platinum album and numerous awards - including a Grammy Award for Best Rock Album in 2021 - the band are a huge addition to the festival's program.
Also on the stacked list of performers is The War On Drugs, M.I.A and Jelly Roll, as well as beloved Aussie favourites Vance Joy, Wolfmother, Lime Cordiale, Royel Otis and The Jungle Giants.
Taking place at Rymill Park and King Rodney Park in the heart of Adelaide on October 25 and 26, the festival's return has sent waves through the live music circuit.
The band was formed in 2019 by Royel Maddell and Otis Pavlovic and this week they had been performing in Germany at the MS Dockville festival when Royel collapsed
Presale tickets will be available for purchase on August 19, and general sale will be open to the public on August 20.
Last year fans were left heartbroken after the festival was scrapped just months before it was set to take place.
In August 2024, Harvest Rock organisers announced on Instagram that the show would not go on, marking the first time it had been cancelled since its inception in 2011.
'We've been working hard to make Harvest Rock III another incredible event, however we have made the difficult decision to not hold the festival in 2024,' the post read.
'We appreciate the ongoing support of the South Australian Government and we look forward to Harvest Rock in the future.'
Secret Sounds, the promoter of the event, is understood to have been unable to book a headline act for the 2024 event, the Adelaide Advertiser reported.
However, the exact reason for the cancellation was not indicated by either Harvest Rock music festival or Secret Sounds.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
‘I couldn't have done this in my 20s': Some of us dread ageing. For these stage actors, it makes them freer than ever
Robert Meldrum stalks the stage of the Explosives Factory in St Kilda in a long coat and hat, bewildered and buffeted by a lifetime of memories, grappling with grief and attrition in a dimming and desolate landscape. He's not suffering from any loss of faculties; he's simply an actor inhabiting the world of Samuel Beckett. Meldrum and his director and longtime collaborator, Richard Murphet (both in their mid-70s), are preparing to open Still, a compendium of six monologues cobbled from the Irish writer's later works. While it speaks to universal themes of resilience and despair, it also captures the experience of any ageing actor who puts their body through the nightly rigours of stage work. As Beckett says in his 1953 novel The Unnamable, ' … you must go on. I can't go on. I'll go on.' 'I don't think I could in any way have done this in my 20s,' says Meldrum. 'My ability to be completely still and present enables me to go into this work in a way I couldn't before.' Murphet agrees, adding that Beckett's 'understanding of age and of maturity, the wealth of experience laid on top of you, is really deep. I sense it would be very difficult for a young person to do this'. As a culture we tend to talk about ageing as a series of losses, a whittling away of vigour and ability, but talking to actors in the latter part of their career reveals something more complex and moving. Apart from obvious issues with mobility and strength – Meldrum jokingly mentions 'walking around and going up and down stairs' as areas of difficulty – these performers feel freer and more focused than ever. 'I feel I'm performing the best I've ever performed,' Meldrum says. 'As far as the idea of age slowing you down, it's been a positive for me because I've always been a bit speedy.' Working with young actors as a lecturer at VCA and now at the National Theatre, he notes that the biggest challenge 'is getting them to be still, not to constantly think ahead. It's huge. Maybe it takes a lifetime?' Evelyn Krape has experienced something of a career renaissance lately, wowing audiences in Kadimah Yiddish Theatre's production of Yentl, playing an ancient mischievous spirit – an irrepressible agent of chaos scampering up ladders and jumping on beds. She also recently finished a run in Tom Gleisner and Katie Weston's musical Bloom, carrying the emotional stakes of the show as a vibrant, colourful woman coming to the end of her life in a soulless nursing home. The latter is a rare naturalistic, age-appropriate role for 76-year-old Krape, who has specialised in a more freewheeling and vaudevillian performance style, notably in the plays of her late husband Jack Hibberd. 'I've never really played my age. In Dimboola I played a nine-year-old girl. At 21, I played Granny Hills in the Hills Family Show, where I had thick knitting yarn sewn in between two stockings to give me varicose veins.' At 61, actor and cabaret legend Paul Capsis is younger than Krape and Meldrum, but after the recent death of his mother he's found himself thinking about second acts, and what his might look like. 'If anything, I'm planning on being crazier and more debauched,' he jokes over the phone from Lisbon, where he's having a break before starting rehearsals for STC's upcoming production of The Shiralee. 'Because I don't feel any different, you know? I still think I'm 35 – and then my body goes 'Oh hell no, bitch!'' Capsis doesn't necessarily place restrictions on himself as a performer these days, but he does want more agency over certain conditions. 'I've turned down gigs because they were asking me to sing in that countertenor range, and I just don't want to do that to my voice any more. I'm also much more interested in a director's process. I want to know as much as I can before going in.' Sign up to Saved for Later Catch up on the fun stuff with Guardian Australia's culture and lifestyle rundown of pop culture, trends and tips after newsletter promotion While fear – of forgetting lines or blocking, or folding under the pressures of a long run – can increase with age, so too does confidence in one's skills. 'I feel more certain about myself as a performer,' Krape says. 'I'm not afraid to really go for things and if they work, they work. If they don't, you try something else.' All the actors Guardian spoke with mentioned wanting more time in the rehearsal room. Most commercial theatre productions have a three-week rehearsal period, 'which is not enough,' says Capsis. 'Not nearly enough.' 'A gift for an actor is a second or third season,' says Krape. 'Because you can't help but scratch the surface the first time. If you don't get that time to really play, things are more token and superficial.' Meldrum and Murphet extended their rehearsal process over an entire year. It's a method drawn from famed European theatre companies such as Berlin's Schaubühne or Peter Brook's Bouffes du Nord, where rehearsal periods are ongoing and open-ended. 'There was no time frame [for Still],' says Meldrum. 'We just worked until it was ready.' Of course, financial constraints mean this type of deep exploration is rare. Most actors in Australia, even at the pointy ends of their careers, work hand to mouth and can't afford to luxuriate over roles. Retirement seems almost unthinkable. 'There's still so much I want to do. I hope not to have to retire,' says Krape. Meldrum is blunter: 'I can't afford to retire.' Why even countenance the idea when the work is so rewarding and the contributions these actors make so vitalising for an industry often transfixed by youth? Murphet says the work 'keeps me alive, it keeps me energised. And if I wasn't doing it, then I would slip into senility. So I can't say that there's anything about it that makes me feel old, because there isn't.'
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
‘These are moist times we live in': the strange, sticky world of Australian film-maker Philip Brophy
In the long list of words that humans find disgusting, 'moist' ranks among the most hated and the most innocuous. Why is this word so objectionable? Is it the mere suggestion of something displeasing? The mouthfeel? Or is it just social conditioning? According to the Australian film-maker Philip Brophy in the opening crawl of his 1988 experimental short Salt, Saliva, Sperm and Sweat, 'These are moist times we live in … and things just keep getting wetter.' Don't believe him? See for yourself. After whetting appetites back in the 80s, the Melbourne mainstay's early films are returning to Melbourne international film festival – where they first screened. Almost four decades on, Salt, Saliva, Sperm and Sweat and No Dance have been lovingly restored by the same cinematographer who first shot them – Ray Argall – for the twisted enjoyment of a whole new generation of thrill-seeking moviegoers. From his groundbreaking Warhol Factory-esque experimental group → ↑ → (for those who can't read arrows, that's 'Tsk Tsk Tsk') to his collaborative partnership with legendary avant garde artist Maria Kozic, Philip Brophy is hardly being rediscovered. In fact, a whole generation of art students know Brophy as their teacher – among other things, he continues to lecture on film and sound at Melbourne's RMIT. Much like Brophy's uproarious suburban-horror feature Body Melt, the lesser seen Salt, Saliva, Sperm and Sweat delivers what is promised in its title. The film is broken down into four chapters over four days, each following what is essentially the same story. Man wakes up, man goes to work, man makes a total mess. With each instalment, we follow the central figure, brought to life by the cartoonishly slack-jawed Phillip Dean who, save for a few swearwords, remains mute for the whole film. Sign up for our rundown of must-reads, pop culture and tips for the weekend, every Saturday morning Taking inspiration from the emergent technologies of the 80s, Brophy transforms his frame into a computer screen filled with text. Wordy proclamations are bold if somewhat inchoate, such as: 'What's inside a body? More bodies. Body whole, body parts, body fluids. We are already inside out but we don't know it yet.' What the hell, sure! But Brophy's treatise is also starkly prophetic, particularly when he raises the political concerns of a climate catastrophe still being defined back in 1988. The icecaps are melting, holes in the ozone have changed rainfall patterns, but there is 'no spring of knowledge, no well of contentment' for us to fall back on, he warns. 'Sink or swim – float if you're lucky.' So the true horror of Salt, Saliva, Sperm and Sweat isn't so much being subjected to watching a turd slowly drop into a toilet bowl, but in discovering jaded art about the climate crisis was being made almost four decades ago. Perhaps more so than his contributions as a film-maker, Brophy is known for his work as a composer and musician, and Salt, Saliva, Sperm and Sweat has a signature Brophy score that will stick with you. Take, for example, the repetitious single rhythm created with the drum machine: ba / ba-ba-ba / ba / ba, which imitates the syllabic pattern of the film's title: salt / sa-li-va / sperm / sweat. No Dance, Brophy's other offering at this year's Miff, is a film about the advent of electronic music and the human urge to dance. Before being reshot in 16mm in 1985, a Super 8 version of No Dance was shown in music venues across Sydney and Melbourne. Ironically, the original was destroyed precisely because Brophy chose to project it on to the stages of the same sweaty nightclubs the film sought to document. Sign up to Saved for Later Catch up on the fun stuff with Guardian Australia's culture and lifestyle rundown of pop culture, trends and tips after newsletter promotion In this experimental work, best described as a free form video essay with rhythm, Brophy interrogates the juncture of rock and disco at a time when digital synthesisers and programmable drum machines were calling people back to the dancefloor. Like any good DJ, he blends musical styles and dance sensibilities, sometimes so freely that the mashup becomes mishmash. From break dancing to the unashamed novelties of 'the twist', the film takes an anthropological approach to its melange of studies. The world is Brophy's orifice, and he takes great pleasure in examining what's inside. In both films he invites audiences into a splash zone, to experience what's happening as opposed to simply viewing it. Whether gagging at the sight of vomit or tapping your foot to the beat, it's an impulse that the maverick director invites. Like all deserving bodies of work, Brophy's is being given a new life and, thanks to Miff, his films make a return to the place where it all started. As he confesses in Salt, Saliva, Sperm and Sweat: 'You strive to have a presence in the world; to leave your mark upon it.' Like sweat patches and shit stains, the films of Philip Brophy certainly leave their mark. The Philip Brophy Restorations are showing at ACMI on 21 & 22 August as part of Melbourne international film festival
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
The Block drama explodes as two teams are shut down and snub sparks feud between contestants
The Block has officially entered Week Four - and it's already shaping up to be the most dramatic one yet. Foreman Dan was forced to shut down two building sites after contestants failed to follow crucial rules, while tensions reached boiling point as Mat and Alicia hit out at co-stars Han and Can over an 'awkward snub' that left contestants fuming. The episode kicked off in the aftermath of Sunday's Room Reveal, with Sonny and Alicia inviting everyone - except Han and Can - to join them in their caravan for a wholesome team dinner. While the Perth girls were invited, they opted out, choosing instead to do their own thing. 'The others are a little sad about this, feeling like the Perth duo need to slow down and enjoy the process a little more,' the voiceover explained. But things only got worse for the duo the next morning when Han's phone went flat and she slept through her alarm - missing the mandatory pre-start meeting. The Block has officially entered Week Four - and it's already shaping up to be the most dramatic one yet Foreman Dan (pictured) was forced to shut down two building sites after contestants failed to follow crucial rules, while tensions reached boiling point as Mat and Alicia hit out at co-stars Han and Can over an 'awkward snub' that left contestants fuming As punishment, Foreman Dan shut down their site for two hours. Over in House 5, Robby and Mat were scrambling to rein in their budget amid growing concerns they may not be able to afford the extravagant wine cellar planned for their backyard. Foreman Dan voiced his fears that their builders wouldn't get paid, prompting Robby to snap back: 'I haven't got a crystal ball to rub and predict everything.' Dan wasn't amused, responding, 'If Robby and Mat can't pay for this wine cellar, we're just going to stop works midway. How's he going to sell a house like that?' Mat appeared rattled by the exchange and stressed the importance of keeping their finances in check. 'Fair enough, no one wants an empty hole in their yard! Tighten those purses, lads!' From this point forward, Mat took charge of the budget - starting with a group shopping trip with the girls. Foreman Dan was in a far better mood when he visited House 3 and admired Taz's impressive insulation work, calling it 'bloody beautiful.' The episode kicked off in the aftermath of Sunday's Room Reveal, with Sonny and Alicia inviting everyone - except Han and Can (pictured) - to join them in their caravan for a wholesome team dinner They made a bet: if Taz could finish it in three hours, Dan would jump into Daylesford Lake - which is a chilly seven degrees. Taz flew through the job, but Dan was determined to win - delivering snacks, staging musical interludes, and throwing in extra smoko breaks to slow him down. The cheeky sabotage paid off, with Dan declared the winner by 'one tiny sliver of missing insulation.' 'We hope Taz brought a wetsuit,' the voiceover quipped. Winners Han and Can were off enjoying their MG Getaway at Sky High in Daylesford after last week's big win - but their absence didn't go unnoticed. At a team dinner back at HQ, Sonny revealed that former Blockhead Tommy Calleja had phoned him to express disappointment that the girls hadn't even called him following their win - despite him stepping in to help while Han was unwell. 'The other teams are pretty outraged by this,' the voiceover said. 'That doesn't fly well with me,' Mat said bluntly, labelling the move 'poor taste'. Over in House 5, Robby and Mat (pictured) were scrambling to rein in their budget amid growing concerns they may not be able to afford the extravagant wine cellar planned for their backyard The drama didn't stop there. Emma and Ben were the next to feel Dan's wrath after accidentally sleeping in and missing pre-start. Dan handed down another two-hour site shutdown - their second of the week. But there was a silver lining: the pair were awarded $5,000 for impressing on-site baristas Tina and Shayla with their standout feature - a curved shower wall. With budgets spiralling, feuds flaring and multiple site shutdowns already on the board, it's clear Week Four of The Block is going to be anything but smooth sailing.
