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The Decemberists Return With New Album After Six Years

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As It Ever Was, So It Will Be Again, the eagerly anticipated new album by The Decemberists, is now available via YABB Records (Thirty Tigers). Following a six-year break, the band’s ninth studio album, As It Ever Was, So It Will Be Again, was released. Lead singer Colin Meloy and Tucker Martine produced the amazing double album, which also includes guest appearances by Mike Mills of REM and James Mercer of The Shins.

The Decemberists have been one of the most inventive, audacious, and exciting American rock bands for two decades. The Decemberists were formed in 2000 when guitarist, songwriter, and vocalist Colin Meloy relocated from Montana to Portland, Oregon, where he met guitarist Chris Funk, bassist Nate Query, and keyboardist Jenny Conlee. Their debut EP, 5 Songs, was released in 2001, and their hyperliterate folk-rock sound immediately established them as a unique group. The band joined with Kill Rock Stars for the release of the critically praised albums Her Majesty The Decemberists (2003) and Picaresque (2005), which was produced by Chris Walla, after their 2002 full-length debut with Castaways and Cutouts. The band’s lofty artistic goals were made evident in their 2004 EP The Tain, an epic 18-minute single track.

With the addition of drummer John Moen around this period, the band’s regular lineup started to take shape, and in 2006 they unintentionally signed with Capitol Records for their debut album on the major label. When the band released The Crane Wife, their most ambitious and daring record to date—a song cycle produced by Walla and Tucker Martine, who would go on to become a longtime creative partner—fans’ worries that they would stray from their signature sound quickly dissipated. The album added elements of ’70s prog, hard rock, and even quasi-disco to their palette. The New York Times, Rolling Stone, SPIN, Stereogum, and Pitchfork all praised the album highly and called it Best New Music.

A full-length concept album based on Meloy’s conception for a stage musical, The Hazards of Love, became a Top 20 smash three years later. With their first #1 album, The King Is Dead, which included the GRAMMY-nominated song “Down By The Water,” they once again outperformed themselves in 2011. Following the release of their album What A Terrible World, What A Beautiful World in 2015, which featured the #1 AAA radio hit song “Make You Better,” The Decemberists, along with producer John Congleton, experimented with new sounds and musical techniques for their eighth studio album, I’ll Be Your Girl (2018). “Every band, even The Decemberists, a band whose records have always come bursting with verve, needs to refresh and reconsider its sound sooner or later, no matter how sharp it’s gotten over the course of a long career,” NPR Music wrote. “I’ll Be Your Girl captures a collaborative spirit that keeps the band sounding vibrant and alive.”

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Stefanie Duzel Fires Back With New Single “Ain’t Gon Be Me”

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Following the 2023 release of her debut album The Other Side, Victorian Americana artist Stefanie Duzel releases her new single ‘Ain’t Gon Be Me’ out today.

When Stefanie Duzel began recording her debut album three years ago she was knee-deep in navigating her pub/music venue The Macedon Railway Hotel through the pandemic before she and her business were devastated further by a fire that tore through the building in 2021. 

Though ultimately the fire at the hotel saw the demise of her business, it opened the doors to new and exciting opportunities to pursue her music, with the resulting album The Other Side forming the backdrop to a run of live shows that took her from Melbourne to Tamworth and beyond.

Songs from the album received airplay on PBS, 3RRR and across community radio in Australia, while The Other Side was included in the Best of 2023 edition of the International Americana Music Show, with host Michael Park describing it as “a wonderful debut album… multiple great songs.” In their premiere of the title-track single, the website Sunburnt Country Music said, “The song has fiddle and piano, guts and sass and country charm and twang, and also plenty of joy.”

The album was produced by Lachlan Bryan and Damian Cafarella, acclaimed producers, artists, musician in their own right. They enabled Stefanie to bring ten songs to life in an intoxicating mix of Americana, country and folk-rock, all with a soaring pop sensibility built into their DNA.

Now Duzel has again joined forces with producer and musician Cafarella to record the attitude and swagger-laden sound of her new 2024 single ‘Ain’t Gon Be Me’. The Duzel-penned song has an irreverent and sassy quality as it addresses the age old trap of falling for the wrong kinda guy, as she explains. “I just laughed and laughed to myself when writing this song cause I finally wasn’t attached to the story anymore. This is a song about dodging bullets and pulling the pin…..eventually!”

Imagine a stage lit with warm hues of gold and amber, where the air is filled with a blend of earthiness and rhythm, that’s where this song resides. It hits a hard country funk groove, peppered with devilish slide guitar as Duzel unleashes her unbridled, wailing vocal, marked by soaring inflections and a rhythmic pulse, drawing from both the traditional roots of country and the vibrant pulse and passion of funk and soul.

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Kip Moore Set To Damn The Man On New Single “Live Here To Work”

Discover the electrifying sound and rebellious spirit of multi-platinum selling singer/songwriter Kip Moore. With his brand-new single “Live Here to Work,” Moore defies the daily grind, delivering a grunge-tinged anthem that strikes a chord between work and life. Accompanied by a captivating music video, this defiant track showcases Moore’s talent for blending rock n’ roll with heartfelt lyrics. Experience the infectious energy of Moore’s music as he takes you on a journey filled with unforgettable performances and chart-topping hits. Dive into the world of Kip Moore and prepare to be blown away by his genre-defying artistry.

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Along with a grunge-tinged rock n’ roll music video, multi-platinum selling singer/songwriter Kip Moore unveiled his brand-new song ‘Live Here to Work’. Available everywhere through Virgin Music Group, “Live Here to Work” finds Moore reuniting with co-producer Jared Johnston for a defiant, guitar-drenched anthem striking a rebellious chord between work/life balance as he contends “My time is short and it ain’t yours / Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind getting my hands in a little dirt / But I don’t live here to work.”

“I think it’s easy as humans to get caught up in the mundaneness of daily tasks and responsibilities,” said Moore.

“Everyone has experienced that sensation whereby they have reached that limit and you are like ‘fuck that, I have to get off this hamster wheel or my spirit’s gonna die.'” People lost it when we first sang it live at a show few weeks ago. Seeing how others adopt it—or reject it—will be interesting.

Along with announcing he has teamed with Virgin Music Group for the next stage of his career, Moore hinted to the forthcoming premiere of “Live Here to Work” last week. Speaking with billboard, he said, “their tenacity, passion, and global plan focus made this feel like the next best step.” From visiting there the previous few years, we have seen a true global expansion; so, it felt natural to go with a team that has tentacles in many various countries, especially the ones I have been most often.

Moore is in the middle of his marathon Nomad World Tour, which starts in arenas and stadiums this month with a 14-show run in Australia followed by a return to South Africa where he performed before audiences of over 40,000 last year. Last year, Moore also had a string of performances in the United States. Currently on sale are tickets and VIP packages; you may buy HERE.

Multi-platinum selling singer/songwriter Kip Moore has paved his own path and established himself as one of music’s most beloved performers, hailed as “an uncompromising, genre-defying artist firing on all cylinders” (vice/noisey) and “one of country’s most thoughtful artists” (billboard). Starting with his brilliant 2012 debut, Moore has since put out five critically praised albums and written more than a dozen chart-topping singles, including the multi-platinum hits “Something’s Bout a Truck,” “Hey Pretty Girl,” “Beer Money,” and “More Girls Like You.” Leading sold-out headline events in stadiums all around the world including Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, The U.K., Europe, and the United States, with over 1 billion streams and 2.5 million monthly listeners, he has earned a nomination for CMA’s International Artist Achievement Award. Holler called his most recent album Damn Love “the best album of Kip Moore’s career,” and Billboard, Music Row, and American Songwriter also gave it great marks. Moore also performed the lead single and title song of the album on Good Morning America. Moore, who “one of country music’s most tireless and powerful live draws” (Rolling Stone), has spent much of 2024 on the road where he is well-known for his distinctive sound and explosive live performances. Starting the year with Billy Currington as part of a limited Billy Currington & Kip Moore: Live In Concert tour, he then spent some time out on HARDY’s QUIT!! Journey.

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Luke Combs Announces Stadium Tour Australia & NZ

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Global superstar Luke Combs is heading back to Australia and New Zealand in January and February 2025 and is set to break records as the first country artist to headline a full stadium tour down under.

Playing eight huge shows across Auckland, Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne, the multi-platinum, award-winning singer-songwriter will be joined by Stateside icons Jordan Davis and Mitchell Tenpenny, along with local legend Lane Pittman, who supported Combs on his 2023 Australian tour. The explosive stadium show will be one of epic proportions, the likes of which have never been seen in Australia and New Zealand.

Bootleggers presale tickets will be available from Monday 23 September, while Frontier Members can access presale tickets on Tuesday 24 September, scroll down for timings. For more information, head to frontiertouring.com/lukecombs

Luke Combs’ upcoming tour is the latest milestone in an already monumental career, which last week saw him scoop up nominations for Male Vocalist of the Year, Album of the Year (Fathers & Sons) and the coveted Entertainer of the Year (which he won in 2021 and 2022), at this year’s CMA Awards.

Local audiences have well and truly embraced Combs, evidenced with Sydney and Brisbane amongst Luke’s Top 4 global streaming cities on Spotify, and with ARIA 3x Platinum album This One’s For You, and the chart-topping 2x Platinum What You See Ain’t Always What You Get. On his fourth headline Australian tour, Combs’ will cement his unparalleled trajectory, progressing from intimate theatres to stadiums in just five short years.

Released in June, Combs’ Fathers & Sons album is a collection of twelve poignant tracks featuring his most personal songwriting to date. Recorded entirely live, the album sees Combs reflect on his own experiences being a dad to his two sons and the unique bond between parents and their children, and features lead single ‘The Man He Sees In Me’.

Critical acclaim for Fathers & Sons —

“he’s going beyond the country realm now and really has become a pop star, a global popstar” – NPR Music

“filled with unexpected warmth and vulnerability…a perfect match for Mr. Combs’s warm and engaging style.” – The Wall Street Journal

The record adds yet another landmark for Combs, whose hit radio single ‘Ain’t No Love in Oklahoma’ featured on the soundtrack for the new Twisters movie and is the subject of a new exhibit at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. Entitled Luke Combs: The Man I Am, the exhibit features a variety of photographs, childhood memorabilia, instruments, set lists and more from throughout Combs’ life and career.

Earlier this year, Combs performed an unforgettable duet of ‘Fast Car’ with Tracy Chapman during the 66th Annual GRAMMY Awards, which Rolling Stone called “one of the all-time best collaborative performances in Grammy history.” The performance added to a massive year for ‘Fast Car’, as Combs’ version of the song won Single of the Year at the 2024 ACM Awards and 2023 CMA Awards (with Chapman winning Song of the Year). It also spent five-consecutive weeks atop Billboard’s Country Airplay chart and reached No.1 on the Hot AC Chart, the first song by a male solo artist to ever top both. The 2x Platinum single, which has garnered over 1.1 billion global streams to date, also spent eighteen weeks in the Top 5 of Billboard’s all-genre Hot 100 chart, eight of which were spent at No.2.

Returning down under after making their Australian debuts at CMC Rocks QLD in 2023, both Jordan Davis and Mitchell Tenpenny will bring the heat to stadiums in 2025.

Award-winning, multi-platinum singer/songwriter Jordan Davis is known for his Platinum-selling albums Homestate and Bluebird Days as well as his CMA and ACM winning Song of the Year hits and numerous No.1s, including ‘Next Thing You Know’,‘Buy Dirt’‘What My World Spins Around’, ‘Tucson Too Late’, ‘Singles You Up’, ‘Take It From Me’ and ‘Slow Dance In A Parking Lot’. Having secured wins for Best New Country Artist at the iHeartRadio Music Awards (2019) and Billboard’s Top New Country Artist of 2018, he has gone on to be nominated for ACM New Male and Male of the Year and is the current reigning ACM Song of the Year winner for ‘Next Thing You Know’. Currently at work on his new album, Davis recently released ‘I Ain’t Sayin’, the first single off his upcoming project.

A multi-faceted entertainer, Mitchell Tenpenny is a singer, songwriter, producer and performer. Since the release of his debut 3x Platinum No.1 single ‘Drunk Me’, Tenpenny has surpassed 2.1 billion global streams and continues to set the standard for breakout success in country music. His new studio album The 3rd is released tomorrow.

At just eighteen years of age, Tamworth’s Lane Pittman is quickly making an impact in Australian country music. Rising to fame as his debut EP leapt to No.1 on the ARIA Australian Country Album Charts, Pittman has performed on some of the country’s biggest stages, joining Luke Combs on his 2023 tour of Australia and New Zealand.

One of music’s most captivating live performers, tickets to Luke Combs’ last tour of Australia and New Zealand sold out in minutes. Don’t miss out – these shows will sell fast, so make sure you get in quickly!

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