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The Guardian
7 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Georgia Maq on life after Camp Cope: ‘No matter how far I run away, I'm still exactly who I am'
This isn't a story about a mouthy broad who moved to California and got gentle. But it's not not that either. The musician Georgia Maq moved from Melbourne to Los Angeles two years ago, after saying goodbye to her band, Camp Cope, and working as a nurse for two years during the pandemic. The move was prompted as much by television ('I watched The L Word and thought, I want to live in Hollywood') as an urgent need to not spend her entire life in the place she was born: 'I was sick of who I was, really. I wanted a different life for myself.' When I ask how she describes to her new friends in the US about what her time in the Australian music industry was like, she tells me: 'I say, I played in a band for eight years. We were an all-girl band and people never let us forget it.' I'm speaking to Maq over Zoom, as she sits in her car. She has had an especially charged day, after fielding a phone call from a film director who's hoping to cast her in a 'chaotic and insane' role in a freaky new movie. 'Am I in my actor era?' she deadpans. It would be perfectly cliche for the transplant punk to land in LA and suddenly become a film star. Sometimes, Maq feels as if she's 'too emotional' for LA. The previous day she released the glittering, tender single Slightly Below the Middle from her upcoming EP, God's Favourite, and called her Camp Cope bandmates, Kelly-Dawn Hellmrich and Sarah Thompson. They discussed Hellmrich's upcoming book and the vinyl release of their final show together, at Sydney Opera House in 2023. The call 'brought out a bunch of emotions because it's like, no matter how far I run away, I'm still exactly who I am, and Kelly and Thomo are such a big reminder of who I am and who I was back then,' Maq says. Sign up for the fun stuff with our rundown of must-reads, pop culture and tips for the weekend, every Saturday morning The three of them shared beds and vans and cramped green rooms and big stages for nearly a decade. The mirror they represent can be painful for Maq to look at: 'We have good friendships, but it's not as intense as it was back then. I wasn't always the best person to be in a band with. And sometimes I get reminded of that when it's just us three.' For so long, she didn't know what her music was if it was not complemented by Hellmrich's bass and Thomo's drumbeat. She experimented with electro-pop production on her 2019 solo record Pleaser but since then she has found a comfortable and fertile space to play in country pop. 'I'm a creature of comfort and I love a country songwriter,' she says, admitting she's 'obsessed' with the controversial but impossibly popular Zach Bryan, a country star who was accused of emotional abuse by an ex-girlfriend last year (Bryan has never responded to or denied the allegations). The irony isn't lost on Maq: 'I literally wrote The Face of God,' she scoffs, namechecking the Camp Cope song about how quickly people can write off abuse allegations if they're levelled at a guy who makes good songs. Throughout her career, being Georgia Maq has often meant being a vector for people's biggest emotions. She used the platform she had as the frontperson of a popular band to advocate for change – calling for festivals she played to book more female artists, campaigning for safer crowds and namechecking abusive men in the industry – and was often criticised, by Australia's predictable 'shut up and sing' crowds, by bookers claiming festival lineups were meritocracies, by people in positions of power who'd rather see a troublemaker booted out than have the focus pulled on their bad behaviour. 'The music industry … taught me that I needed to fight,' Maq proclaimed in her keynote speech at the 2023 Bigsound conference. 'I am proud that dangerous men in the music industry still warn each other about me.' 'I was so abrasive and reactive, and I had so much pressure on me all the time,' Maq says now. That period of her life cemented, for many people, an immovable public-facing version of herself. 'I didn't really have time to think. I was just dumb and I was angry and now … I'm not that.' For years, she felt the expectation on her and the band was to make statements more than music. 'That was really exhausting,' she says. Now, with time and a fresh start, she's finding ways to let the light in. God's Favourite, as the title suggests, is preoccupied with ideas and images of faith, repentance, sin and salvation, all set against the backdrop of swiping on dating apps, pretending you can be chill and have casual sex – then remembering, in fact, you're too much of a romantic. 'The song Citronella feels like 11am the morning after an emotional night where you're just like, 'What the fuck am I doing? I can't keep doing this because it'll never make me happy,'' she says. 'I just put so much feeling behind everything. I can't do a regular chill thing with someone. I'm not regular and chill. I'm insane.' Slightly Below the Middle sees Maq channelling a conversation with the devil, who invokes her late father, Hugh McDonald, who was a musician in the famed band Redgum. Maq was baptised in the Greek Orthodox church, but her parents didn't instil its belief systems in her or her siblings. Still, something crept in along the way: she shows me the cross around her neck and moves the camera to capture the rosary beads hanging from her rear-view mirror. Sometimes she finds herself visiting Greek Orthodox churches in LA. 'There's a lot of standing up and sitting down and everything's in Greek. So I have no idea what anyone's saying,' she says – but when she goes, she feels connected to her late grandmother, who came to Australia alone at 13 from Ithaca. 'She never went to school or anything. She was just kind of nuts. But she really loved religion. [Going to church] is kind of my way to honour her. I go to be reminded of who I am, I guess.' The biggest story of forgiveness might be the one she's writing for herself. She wonders aloud if maybe she's in her 'redemption arc'. 'But maybe I've made that all up in my head,' she adds. 'Maybe people don't think I'm evil. I don't think I'm evil, but I feel like I want people to know that I've changed.' Georgia Maq's EP God's Favourite is out 4 September. Her single Pay Per View is out now. Each month we ask our headline act to share the songs that have accompanied them through love, life, lust and death. What was the best year for music, and what five songs prove it? 2025, and my EP God's Favourite What's one song you wish you didn't write? 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 The Face of God by Camp Cope What is the last song you sang in the shower? Afterlife by Alex G What's a song you can never listen to again? Song for You by the Smith Street Band What classic song should be stripped of its title? Imagine by John Lennon What is a song you loved as a teenager? Common People by Pulp What is the first album you bought? Hybrid Theory by Linkin Park What song do you want played at your funeral? All My Friends by LCD Soundsystem What is the best song to have sex to? We by Mac Miller
The Sun
23-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Iconic British rock band spark concern as they cancel string of tour dates due to ‘catastrophic' event
PUNK pioneers The Damned have cancelled a string of shows after a "catastrophic event" at one of their homes. They've been forced to pull the plug on three upcoming tour dates, telling fans they are "very sorry". 4 4 The band - currently made up of Rat Scabies, Captain Sensible, Dave Vanian, Paul Grey and Monty Oxymoron - will no longer perform in Seattle, Vancouver or Portland this week. They shared the news in a statement posted to their official social media account on Tuesday. It said: "We are very sorry to have to cancel our Seattle, Portland and Vancouver shows this weekend, due to an unexpected and catastrophic event at a member of The Damned's home. "We apologise for the inconvenience and appreciate your understanding. "Refunds will be available for our two headline shows at your point of purchase." A further update posted this afternoon said: "We're very grateful for your kind messages. "Thankfully everyone is safe and well and no other dates are affected." The band are scheduled to return to England next week for a gig in Blackpool before they head back to the U.S. They're booked for a run of dates across the pond throughout August and September. Next year they'll celebrate their 50th anniversary with a special show at OVO Arena Wembley in London on Friday April 11. First single by British punk rock band The Damned, released in 1976 Announcing the show, they said: "We never thought we'd make it this far and neither did you…." They add: "We haven't made up the set list as yet but with 50 years of catalogue to choose from, only the best songs from our chequered history will be performed - and with the passion and commitment all good music lovers deserve." The announcement came just a few months after the death of founding member Brian James. Born in Hammersmith, London, the iconic guitarist passed away peacefully in early March at the age of 70. He was hailed as the writer of the first ever UK punk single New Rose. After helping to form the Damned, Brian left to found Tanz Der Youth, before he formed The Lords of the New Church with Stiv Bators. 4 4
Irish Times
21-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
The Murder Capital at Iveagh Gardens: A killer set subjects leafy Dublin to a satisfying salvo of mosh pit mania
Murder Capital Iveagh Gardens, Dublin ★★★★☆ Shortly before leading the 'death to the IDF ' chants that generated international headlines , punk duo Bob Vylan used their polemical Glastonbury set to praise artists who had made sacrifices to speak out in support of Palestine . They name-checked the perpetually controversial Kneecap - but also Cork / Dublin band The Murder Capital , whose summer tour of Germany was hit by cancellations after a number of venues vetoed the display of the Palestinian flag on stage. No such issues beset their show at Dublin's Iveagh Gardens . The flag that caused such trouble in Germany is arranged just over the shoulder of singer James McGovern, who leads a chant of 'Free, free Palestine'. But if the political aspect of the gig goes off without a hitch, The Murder Capital initially struggle against the hazy, lazy Saturday evening vibes of the city centre venue. Nestled in the heart of Georgian Dublin, the Iveagh Gardens make for a beautiful backdrop. However, the pint-and-chat ambience is an unsatisfying fit for a group whose music pulsates with menace and fury. Daylight is not their friend, and McGovern is initially frustrated by the easygoing audience. 'I'm seeing a mosh pit here. I'm not seeing one here. Let's see some f**king energy baby,' he says, as the five-piece kick off with The Fall. READ MORE Early in their career, The Murder Capital were spoken of in the same breath as the all-conquering Fontaines DC . They were regarded as kindred spirits, having emerged at about the same time from the bubbling Dublin post-punk scene. But they're very different artists, as made clear by their excellent third album, Blindness. Tellingly, they released that record shortly after touring Europe with alternative rock's original prince of darkness, Nick Cave . Just like Cave, their songs have a literary quality (McGovern has previous credits as a poet) and aren't about fine-tuned melodies – the Fontaines' secret weapon – so much as a piledriving hurtle towards catharsis. At its best, this approach has an exhilarating punch. But a balmy evening in a Dublin park is not conducive to dredging your soul. For that reason, the concert only truly comes together as gloom and drizzle arrive and then finally hits its groove when the sun sets and they negotiate That Feeling – one of several songs on the new LP about the pain of separation from a loved one. McGovern is the focus point, his onstage persona a sort of Amnesty International Liam Gallagher . He rattles a tambourine, strides around in his tracksuit pants and encourages the audience to crowd surf. But he also talks about Palestine and speaks out against the far right in Ireland, observing that the Tricolours he sees in the crowd belong to progressive Ireland more than to racist yobs. The subject of Ireland's spiral into anti-immigration idiocy is addressed directly on the hurricane-force Love of Country. Here needling guitars are matched by flensing lyrics: 'Could you blame me for mistakin' your love of country for hate of men?'. Darkness has descended in earnest as they conclude with their catchiest tune, Words Lost Meaning, the lyrics informed by McGovern's belief that you can only tell someone you love them so many times before it becomes a meaningless cliché. Bathed in stark lighting and framed by the cool summer night, it is a foreceful ending to a performance that takes time to achieve lift-off. But when things finally click into gear, The Murder Capital serve up a killer set that subjects leafy Dublin to a satisfying salvo of mosh pit mania.
Yahoo
13-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Bluesfest Day 3: Rock night with Turnstile vs Pixies, plus Kurt Vile and Sue Foley
The string of new-generation headliners at Ottawa Bluesfest continued Saturday with an ambitious main-stage showing by Turnstile, a band that emerged from the Baltimore punk scene just a decade or so ago. Fresh from a gig at Glastonbury but in front of Bluesfest's smallest audience so far this year, the intense rockers bounced between punk, pop, emo and electronica on a darkened stage, demonstrating the depth of their evolution beyond hardcore punk. At times they sounded like U2, other times it was Red Hot Chili Peppers mashed with a punishing rhythm section. Livewire singer Brendan Yates ping ponged between his bandmates, screaming lyrics over the shifting song structures and demanding the crowd jump along. It was quite the cathartic outpouring of emotion, but Yates was also a sensitive soul who recognized the magic of the moment. 'This is a beautiful gathering to celebrate music,' he observed, before the limbs started flying in the mosh pit. Whether you were in the pit or not, Saturday was another sweat-a-thon at Bluesfest as temperatures soared beyond 30+ and the sun baked the plaza of the Canadian War Museum at LeBreton Flats Park. Seasoned festivalgoers wore hats, smelled like sunscreen and carried refillable bottles, while others fried themselves with alcohol and sunshine, and still others sought relief in the air-conditioned lobby of the museum. After the strong turnout of the festival's first two nights, the crowds seemed a little thin for the Saturday-night showcase of modern rock, which also featured a razor-sharp slice of college-rock nostalgia from the Pixies and a stellar ride with Kurt Vile and the Violators, plus outstanding shows by the Budos Band and Men I Trust on the side stages. Fewer people on site meant shorter lines for everything, less competition for the few shady spots and more elbow room in the crowd. However, one topic of discussion was whether the performance order should have been flipped, with Pixies headlining instead of Turnstile. An unnecessary debate, in my mind, I thought the order made sense. Besides, people didn't exactly swarm to the Pixies. The band attracted a modest number of aging Gen X fans, satisfying them by careening through a ferocious show that showed they've still got the ability to slay a crowd. Glistening with sweat, frontman Frank Black (aka Black Francis) growled and sang with a grimace, while guitarist Joey Santiago attacked his axe, producing a wall of fuzzified noise amid the angular melodies. Kim Deal-replacement bassist Emma Richardson held up the bottom end, and the white-haired wizard on the kit was original drummer David Lovering. Earlier, Kurt Vile and his band, the Violators, kicked off the festivities with a set that seemed to pull every classic-rock lick of the past, give them a twist and make it all fresh again. Vile, who's the former lead guitarist of the War on Drugs, played a different guitar on almost every tune, choosing from an impressive array of acoustic, electric and hollowbody instruments. With a compact but powerful band rocking out behind him, the long-haired American channeled the Neil Young-Lou Reid end of the stoner-rock spectrum, winding through a set heavy on early material like the melodic rocker Pretty Pimpin, the gently grooving Girl Called Alex and a snarling KV Crimes that bristled with Crazy Horse-like energy. In a grunge-hippie uniform of jeans and plaid shirt over a graphic T, the 45-year-old Vile spoke little between songs, except to say he was 'hella stoked' to be on tour with Pixies, and to be able to see both them and Turnstile that night. Meanwhile, the daily dose of blues at Bluesfest came from the Ottawa-born, Texas-based guitarist Sue Foley, a Grammy nominee this year, and her band of Texans (plus a Canadian on bass). They dished out a tasty set of rocking blues on the LeBreton stage, filling the steamy tent with smouldering numbers by the likes of Clarence Gatemouth Brown and Stevie Ray Vaughan. There was also one of Foley's signature original tunes, titled Ice Queen, inspired by growing up in a cold capital city. 'I wrote this song about being from Ottawa,' she said, 'because we know all about ice here in Ottawa.' On a day in her hometown that she said was hotter than Texas, it was hard to conjure that image. Nonetheless, the Ice Queen of blues earned a warm welcome from friends, family and fans. Bluesfest continues on Sunday, takes a break Monday and Tuesday, then resumes Wednesday. It runs to July 20. lsaxberg@
Yahoo
12-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'I was overjoyed' - Colchester musician to support The Smashing Pumpkins
A RISING Colchester musician 'cried a few happy tears' after finding out she's going to support one of her favourite bands. Songwriter Bridget Clegg, 22, writes rock and punk songs under the moniker, Bridget. Bridget will be supporting beloved 1990s rock band, The Smashing Pumpkins, in Lower Castle Park on August 14 as part of the Colchester Castle Summer Series. Thousands of people will flock to the area for the festival across eight dates. Headline act - The Smashing Pumpkins - (left to right) James Iha, Billy Corgan, and Jimmy Chamberlin (Image: PR) Speaking to The Gazette, Bridget says the organisers of the festival put her forward to The Smashing Pumpkins' management as a possible support act, and they approved it. She is the first Colchester act to be supporting any of the concert. Bridget said: 'I was at work, saw the message, cried a few happy tears, nothing crazy… 'I was overjoyed and instantly called my parents. 'Let's just say I was the right amount of excited and cool about it. Support act - Bridget (Image: Amy S @esshuttr on Instagram) 'It means so much to me, as an independent artist, when you're doing everything for yourself and you get a win like this out of the blue. "It makes everything seem very worthwhile because sometimes you do lose your confidence and it's so easy to forget how far you've come and what you've achieved. 'I am particularly emotional about it because I really did dream of doing this since I was a child; so, it's amazing to comprehend.' Last year, the emerging artist released her debut EP, Damage Reversal and played Glastonbury Festival's Bimble Inn. Performance - Bridget live with her band (Image: C Wilkinson @ on Instagram) Other headline acts for the string of concerts include Busted on August 15, Craig David on August 16, Tom Jones on August 18, Texas on August 21, and Madness on August 23. Two festivals are also happening, UB40 featuring Ali Campbell will headline the reggae day festival, Roots East, on August 17. Manchester group James will headline the Out of Time Festival on August 22 which also features Lighting Seeds, Happy Mondays and cinematic British folk-rock back The Waeve which features Blur's Graham Coxon and songwriter Rose Elinor Dougall. Bridget thinks the summer series concerts "are brilliant" and they offer 'something for everyone', and is looking forward to catching The Smashing Pumpkins and Skunk Anansie as 'they are heroes' of hers. Excited - Bridget (Image: Amy S @esshuttr on Instagram) As a big fan of The Smashing Pumpkins, who used to get her dad to play Bullet With Butterfly Wings every morning on the way to secondary school, Bridget is practicing 'over and over' for the slot. She said: 'I'm also flittering between being very excited, giddy and adrenalised and then calming it down and being serious, professional and normal about the prospect of what is happening. For more information and live touring dates, visit
