Caitlin Harnett & The Pony Boys
Crowbar, August 9
Despite writing alt-country songs that sound so authentic you can practically feel the tumbleweeds roll by, the wildest west Caitlin Harnett & The Pony Boys has seen is Sydney’s inner one.
Wild (Inner) West pioneers Caitlin Harnett and the Pony Boys.Credit: Joel McDonald
The local quartet do dusty-booted Americana incredibly well, especially live: in 2021 they were named Best Live Act in NSW at the National Live Music Awards, and the band’s stellar showmanship has seen them score support slots for the likes of Orville Peck, Tony Joe White, Hurray For The Riff Raff and The Felice Brothers.
Lead singer Harnett (think how Mazzy Star’s Hope Sandoval would sound if she was raised on the prairie), and her three Pony Boys will be touring in support of last year’s excellent album All Night Long; seeing them in an intimate venue like Crowbar will be a treat.
Ride with Mercury Rev
Enmore Theatre, August 9
In 2024, UK band Ride and US psych rock group Mercury Rev don’t have a whole lot in common sonically – the former’s 2024 album Interplay tips its hat to ’80s synth-drenched pop-rock, while the latter has mastered its own form of Americana-tinged chamber pop (set to showcased on new album Born Horses, out next month).
Synth-rockers Ride started out as shoegaze pioneers.
Those with long memories, however, will be aware both groups started out with debut albums firmly rooted under the “shoegaze” banner, with Ride’s 1990 debut Nowhere considered a landmark album of the genre.
How many effects pedals each band will be pulling out at the Enmore remains to be seen, although it’ll surely be more than Belle & Sebastian with Badly Drawn Boy, who’ll be teaming up for another awesome double bill at the same venue on August 22.
Oxford Art Factory 17th Birthday
August 17
Whether coincidence or a stroke of marketing genius, the Oxford Art Factory’s 17th birthday celebrations fall on August 17 this year, the annual event once again generously featuring another prime line-up of acts – and a drink on arrival – all free.
Sydney indie psych-rockers The Lazy Eyes.Credit: Jack Moran
This year’s acts include Gen Z psych-rockers The Lazy Eyes, a band forged at Newtown High School of the Performing Arts; Aussie hip-hop super group 3% (Nooky, Dallas Woods and Angus Field) whose stunning debut album Kill The Dead is out this month; buzzy Botswana-born, Perth-raised musician, singer, composer and producer xmunashe; Music Victoria’s Best Musician 2023, the Zamrock and Highlife-influenced Immy Owusu; Sydney’s groove-based, jazz-adjacent improvisational group Manfredo Lament; Melbourne singer-songwriter and Triple J Unearthed High 2023 finalist Lotte Gallagher, and a whole lot more.
The Bamboos
Crowbar, August 22
With 11 albums and 11 members, Melbourne soul and funk revivalists The Bamboos don’t come up short either in terms of discography or personnel. They are also one of the country’s most formidable live bands, featuring a brass section and a knockout lead singer in the form of Kylie Auldist, also a successful solo artist who’s provided back-up vocals for both Renee Geyer and Jimmy Barnes live and in the studio.
The Bamboos are a big band with a sound to match.Credit: Ian Laidlaw
At the centre of the feel-good groove collective is New Zealand-born producer, guitarist and songwriter Lance Ferguson, the only constant member of the band who started The Bamboos as an instrumental quartet way back in 2000.
Expect to hear tunes from across The Bamboo’s extensive catalogue, including new tracks from last year’s album This Is How You Do It.
Allday
Liberty Hall, August 31
After the release of 2021 album Drinking with My Smoking Friends, Adelaide-born rapper and singer Allday (Tomas Gaynor to his mum) made the unexpected decision to go and work on an Italian olive farm.
The move was driven by a desire to get away from the music industry due to burn out, but it wound up having the opposite effect, with long days in the studio and rigorous touring suddenly seeming not so bad compared to working in the blistering Italian sun.
Rapper Allday swapped the stage for Italian olive groves - and back again.
Which is good fortune for us, as it has led to the creation of The Necklace, a loose concept album and the 33-year-old’s best work yet.
Gaynor is a seasoned performer who knows how to work the crowd, so expect the new tunes to go down a treat live.
Other artists playing in August include Angus & Julia Stone (three nights at the State Theatre), Troy Cassar-Daley, indie rock ‘It’ band Teenage Dads, Melbourne’s Snowy Band, Tones And I, DMA’S, Dune Rats, James Reyne, Richard Clapton and Jimmy Barnes performing at the Sydney Opera House. The USA will be sending us multi-talented Robert Glasper, party pisstakers Electric Six, R&B star Khalid, retro rockers Greta Van Fleet and singer Madison Beer. Also here: Griff and Clark from the UK, Portuguese singer-songwriter Erika de Casier and superstar K-pop girl group Aespa.
Who will you be seeing? Let us know in the comments.