J-MILLA AND YUNG MILLA TO BRING ‘SAME BLOOD’ TO BIGSOUND 2024
Off the back of their live debut at AMAZON Music’s extraordinary Blak Loud showcase earlier this month, First Nations rap lords, J-MILLA and Yung Milla are now primed to turn BIGSOUND on its head with their SAME BLOOD showcase at Sound Garden on Tuesday 3 September. Undeniably set to be the hip hop party of the year, SAME BLOOD is an explosive live collaboration of rhyme, dance and style between the Marranunggu bruthas who have forged their own unique paths to prominence in the NT and beyond. Following BIGSOUND, the bruthas will take SAME BLOOD to the general public at the LIKE A BOSS MUSIC FESTIVAL on Saturday 7 September, before heading to SXSW Sydney.
Born to the traditional owners of the Litchfield National Park, the Milla brothers grew up rough in the southern suburbs of Darwin, overcoming intergenerational trauma and hardscrabble street life to find powerful voices, explosive stage presence and phenomenal clout as inspiration to a legion of Top End youth.
J-MILLA found his salvation in storytelling as a teen hellbent on redemption, using his passion like a weapon to maintain a healthy mental state for himself and his younger brother, Levi. My People and Unlock the System forged a platform for First Nations justice and social awareness. His latest, Boomerang (watch BOOMERANG), samples the Australian Aboriginal Women’s Choir, another intentional step in his deft mix of social comment and bangin’ club vibes.
Speaking about the AMAZON Blak Loud showcase, J-MILLA says, “There’s a dynamic between us bros that’s hard to define, but the crowd that night, they could see it and that’s gangsta. This is what we’ll be bringing to BIGSOUND and more.”
Yung Milla followed his brother’s lead, but not his footsteps. While J found new footing via a private school scholarship in Adelaide, young Levi continued to draw his resolve as an artist from the challenging urban landscape of Palmerston: ripe territory for a hip hop truthteller determined to right wrongs and rise via killer tracks Better Days, Land Down Under, They Don’t Know, and his new anthem of transcendence, Shine (watch SHINE). Yung Milla will also showcase his solo set at the INCUBATED showcase on Wednesday 4.45pm at JBL Live Stage at BIGSOUND.
Yung Milla says, “Not only are we blood brothers, we’re best friends, we’ve come from struggle and gone through a lot of things together that most people never see. Then to be on stage performing to industry VIPs feels pretty good, like a blessing.”
SAME BLOOD brings all this to the party and more: classic cuts remixed, re-energised and spiced with brand new collaborations from their sometimes-troubled crossroads. Stay tuned for the national unveiling of the brothers’ debut track early next year, inspired by the tragic murder of their cousin, and continuing an uncompromising rise from a world of violence and temptation to a righteous pursuit of justice and glory.
In four short years, J-MILLA has amassed a slew of awards, collaborations and media accolades, carving a path for Yung Milla to escalate thephenomenon dubbed in regional NT communities as “Milla-Mania”.
Earlier this month, the brothers showcased their solo sets at Live Nation’s Ones to Watch and now, for only the second time, SAME BLOOD brings them together with a handpicked posse of dancers and road-hardened energy to blow the hip-hop party fuse for 2024.
Happy Mag calls J-MILLA “a dominant force in hip hop”. triple j calls Yung Milla “hot shit”. We’re calling Same Blood the hip hop party of the year.
TUES 3 SEP | SAME BLOOD, SOUNDGARDEN | FORTITUDE VALLEY, BRISBANE, QLD | 10PM
WED 4 SEP | YUNG MILLA, INCUBATED SHOWCASE | JBL LIVE STAGE, BRUNZ MALL | FORTITUDE VALLEY, BRISBANE, QLD | 4.45PM
SAT 7 SEP | SAME BLOOD, LIKE A BOSS MUSIC FESTIVAL, THE STATION | SUNSHINE COAST, QLD
GAVIN MAC SHARES NEW SINGLE + VIDEO ‘MAKE YOU FEEL’ + DEBUT ALBUM ‘MAKE YOU FEEL’ DUE OUT SEPTEMBER 5
Combining glistening modern alt-country with sentimental hues, the upbeat new single Make You Feel out today with an accompanying music video from Sydney country sensation Gavin Mac is an utterly effervescent glimpse into Mac’s impending debut full-length of the same name, with the album Make You Feel officially set for release on Thursday September 5.
A buoyant outing anchored by infectious melodics, lustrous instrumentation, and lashings of country charm, Gavin Mac’s new track Make You Feel saw the talented artist team up with Ben Butler on lead guitar, Melinda Jackson on backing vocals, and Josh Schuberth on drums, along with mastering courtesy of William Bowden. Simultaneously nostalgic and joyful, Make You Feel ultimately also reflects Mac’s driving musical mission statement threading throughout his debut studio release, as he reveals, “Make You Feel was, first and foremost, my mantra when I was thinking about song selection and production. I felt that success, for me, was eliciting an emotion, taking the listener to a time or place, and opening them up to some kind of reflection. In today’s fast paced life, we’re always ‘more’ and ‘what’s next’. I’m as guilty of this as anyone.”
Make You Feel also arrives today with a charming accompanying music video that seamlessly expands the underlying lyrical content. With its 1980s setting, empowering storyline and sentimental cues, Make You Feel is equally relatable and aspirational, with Mac choosing to not take centre stage in the visual setting. “I wanted to tell the song’s story, through the experience of my intended audience,” shares Mac. “I’m a terrible actor, which doesn’t help either. Funny given my younger brother Blair McDonough, forged a pretty successful career as an Aussie actor on Neighbours. Based in the 80s, a decade synonymous with excess, the story revolves around an uber-successful businesswoman, who, having reached burn-out, flees the city to reunite with her childhood bestie. En route, she breaks down in the middle of nowhere, and with no means of modern communication, she is forced to walk until she finds help. As she clambers through the countryside in high-heels and a white power suit, our hero’s exacerbation with work and life in the city melts away, and the sights and sounds around her reignite her nostalgia for simpler times. She is reminded of a similar car breakdown with her best friend, and their journey to find help. From despair comes a journey of re-discovery, which results in the two reuniting with a warm embrace. “
Serving as the title track for Gavin Mac’s forthcoming new album Make You Feel, Mac’s latest single opens proceedings into the 10 tracks lying in wait across his maiden full-length, flowing between sharp and driving empowerment (Live Your Life), swooning contemporary twangs (Getaway and How Much Better), airy countrified love songs (Angel In A Black T-Shirt), and poignant, heart-rending odes (Bushfire and Forever Changing You). Spanning influences ranging from John Mayer through to Chris Stapleton, Eric Clapton and Midland, Make Them Feel also boasts Mac’s time-travelling single Sideswiped, with the crisp tune first penned and demoed by Mac as a teenager before catching the attention of Sony Music Australia earlier in his career. “Although this collection of songs was written over a long time span,” shares Mac, “I tried to unite them by singing them, cleanly. By that I mean, not leaning into any style, just singing them straight. I also chose to work with a renowned country music producer to unite the songs through honest, earthy production techniques and instrumentation. My goal was to present a polished set of modern contemporary songs, that each incorporate a nostalgic cue, be it the narrative, instrumentation, or driven. In absence of these recordings being easily boxed into a popular genre or genre subset, my hope was to ‘make you feel’ something.”
Discovered at the age of 16 by Sony Music’s Denis Handlin and John Watson, Gavin Mac quickly gained the title of being Sony Music Australia’s youngest-ever Australian recording artist at the time. Evolving his music industry skills and knowledge in the years to follow, Mac worked alongside both international and iconic Australian artists, including previous work with Nickelback, Queens of the Stone Age, Linda & Vika Bull, and Alex Lloyd. And from managing A&R duties for Roadrunner Records to stepping back from the industry to raise his family, Mac still kept his creative fires alive, co-founding the award-winning brand experience agency Urban, conceiving and delivering marketing campaigns for Electronic Arts, Airbnb, and Netflix.
With years away from music, a fortuitous 2019 road trip to the Tamworth Country Music festival provided the very kindling that would ultimately turn Mac’s gaze firmly back to his passions, songwriting and storytelling, with the Melbourne-hailing singer-songwriter emerging from his musical hiatus with gusto in 2023 balancing renewed purpose, perspective and the powerful drive that comes with unfinished business. In 2023, Mac released his debut solo singles Getaway, Live Your Life and Bushfire, amassing over 300K streams and counting, with 2024 also garnering Mac his first industry nod, taking home the Tamworth Music Association’s 2024 New Songwriter of the Year. Now poised to release his long-awaited debut album this September, Make You Feel may be Gavin Mac’s first official full-length release, but it’s been a labour of love many years in the making, with many incredible experiences also along the way. “Make You Feel is a debut album 30 years in the making,” says Mac. “Do I qualify for some kind of Guinness Book of Records nod?! It’s been a long time in making, but hopefully the first of many to come. I’m already well into my follow up album, which I’m planning to release a little quicker than the first. I take a quiet satisfaction in defying convention. It’s when you know you’re being different, brave and beating to your own drum. So bring it on.”
“The album is like an old photo,” Mac concludes. “I’ve extracted my favourite photos and then digitized them for perpetuity. But not to dwell on the past, instead it’s presentation to the market blends old and new, to ensure it is true to its promise of delivering a ‘modern nostalgia’ experience. I feel the same as I’m sure any artist does when releasing a debut album: excited and nervous. Releasing music into the public domain is also cathartic for any artist. Regardless of how it is received, it’s liberating to hang your music in the public domain for people to hear and hopefully, enjoy in perpetuity.”
Make You Feel is out today.
Gavin Mac’s full-length album Make You Feel is due out Thursday September 5.
THE KID LAROI ANNOUNCES NEW SHOW DATES FOR NOVEMBER 2024 WITH SPECIAL GUESTS QUAVO AND ONEFOUR
Australia’s own multi-platinum chart-topping global superstar The Kid LAROI has today shared his re-routed national Australian tour for November 2024, with two additional show dates set for Brisbane and Hobart. Armed with his debut studio album THE FIRST TIME and having just dropped the hit new single Girls, LAROI’s forthcoming national tour will also see the Sydney-hailing superstar’s iconic friends, Quavo and ONEFOUR jump on the tour with him (excluding Gold Coast and Hobart shows).
Presented by TEG Live, this mammoth Aussie run will commence on November 11 at Gold Coast Home of the Arts, before traversing Brisbane, Sydney, Perth, Adelaide and Hobart, finishing up in Melbourne with shows at Rod Laver on November 29 and 30.
Tickets to THE FIRST TIME shows will go on sale to the general public on Thursday 8 August at 1pm local from ticketek.com.au, with an exclusive 48 hour artist presale live from Tuesday 6 August at 1pm (password FIRSTTIME).
Thrilled to be bringing his tour back to home turf, LAROI says, “I’m really excited to confirm the November tour dates and bring my show to Australia. It’s going to be incredible to perform back home and share this experience with all of you. I’m also pumped to announce that Quavo will be joining the tour as a special guest. Can’t wait to see you guys and make this tour unforgettable!”
Expanding on the homegrown hero’s first-ever headline Australian tour in 2022, which saw LAROI add multiple extra arena shows due to overwhelming demand, these upcoming 2024 shows will also give his legion of fans a chance to witness some of LAROI’s most iconic hits from his 2021 ARIA Award-winning collab with Justin Bieber, Stay, to his near on 1 billion streamed smash, Without You, to his genre-blurring 2022 track Thousand Miles, his 2023 chart-burner Love Again and of course his latest hit single, Girls. The tour will also showcase LAROI’s most personal and musically complex statement to date in the form of his brand new album THE FIRST TIME, boasting 20 new songs from the revered Aussie export alongside his trademark amalgamation of hip hop, pop, alternative and indie flavours.
Supporting LAROI on the tour will be his pal, American rapper, singer, producer and global icon, Quavo. The Migos frontman has reached celebrity status the world over, with a number of acclaimed Migos and solo album releases under his belt, he has performed alongside Madonna at the Eurovision finale in 2019, and amassed Billboard 100 Top Ten Singles with Post Malone on Congratulations, Justin Bieber’s Intentions, Liam Payne’s Strip That Down, Drake’s Portland, and DJ Khaled’s No Brainer, and only last month releasing Tough with Lana Del Ray.
The pioneers of drill music in Australia, Sydney’s ONEFOUR will also be hitting the road with LAROI, offering a hugely rare opportunity to see drill and rap group live on stage, having only performed live a handful of times over the decade since they formed, including at LAROI’s 2022 Sydney show when he pulled them on stage, and Listen Out Festival last year.
A maiden full-length album from The Kid LAROI, aka Charlton Kenneth Jeffrey Howard, THE FIRST TIME follows on from the rapper’s debut 2020 mixtape F*ck Love, with LAROI rebranding his sound into a style befitting of his international celebrity status, while also ultimately serving up one of the most anticipated albums of last year. Featuring guest appearances from Jungkook and Central Cee on the single Too Much, Baby Drill and Future on What’s the Move?, Robert Glasper and YoungBoy Never on Call Me Instead, and D4vd on The Line, THE FIRST TIME is a technicolour celebration of collaboration and unwavering creativity, traversing the famed Kamilaroi artist’s professional and creative journey, catapulting to stardom alongside his earlier work with Juice Wrld, the 2021 smash single Stay alongside Justin Bieber, and the mixtape that started it all, F*ck Love in 2020.
THE FIRST TIME album has amassed over 1.2 billion streams globally and debuted at #3 ARIA Album chart (#1 ARIA Australian Album), #7 in New Zealand, Top 20 in Canada/Denmark, and top 30 in the US and UK, while its singles TOO MUCH and LOVE AGAIN both hit the top 10 ARIA singles chart and became radio mainstays. Both singles also cracked the triple j Hottest 100, as did the fan favourite single BLEED (which LAROI says is his favourite song he has ever written). NIGHTS LIKE THIS went viral on Tik Tok earlier this year with streams surpassing 100M million. LOVE AGAIN also saw LAROI nominated for two APRA Awards and two ARIA Awards including ‘Best Solo Artist’ and ‘Song of the Year’, LAROI was the #2 Most Streamed Australian Artist for 2023 on Spotify, and earlier this year, LAROI unveiled his documentary Kids Are Growing Up. Furthermore, The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) just last week announced a new award recognising homegrown success, with LAROI taking out the inaugural Australian Chart #1 Awards with his song Girls.
In a swelteringly short space of time, LAROI has taken the world by storm, with two nominations in 2022 at the Grammy Awards, for Best New Artist and also for his work on Justin Bieber’s sixth full length Justice, three wins and multiple nominations at the ARIA Music Awards, Billboard Award wins, and a National Indigenous Music Award alongside his ever-expanding repertoire, as well as his dominating online and pop culture presence. Currently in command of over 43 million monthly listeners on Spotify, over 2 billion views on YouTube, a single, Forever & Again, featured on the official soundtrack for the defining cinematic moment of 2023, Barbie, and a recent 31 date North American run alongside Lil Baby, LAROI’s effortless talent and raw charisma is only matched by his enamouring onstage presence; a fact which permeates vividly whether LAROI is performing at the likes of Coachella or commanding a crowd for his own sold out headline shows. And with two years now chalked up since his last performances on home soil, 2024 is set to fittingly celebrate THE FIRST TIME for the very first time in a run of unforgettable nights across Australia.
Tickets to THE FIRST TIME Australian tour go on sale Thursday 8 August from 1pm local time.
THE KID LAROI THE FIRST TIME AUSTRALIAN TOUR 2024
*SUPPORTED BY QUAVO AND ONEFOUR
MON 11 NOV | GOLD COAST HOME OF THE ARTS, QLD | ALL AGES
THU 14 NOV | BRISBANE ENTERTAINMENT CENTRE, QLD | ALL AGES*
SAT 16 NOV | SYDNEY COMMBANK STADIUM, NSW | ALL AGES*
WED 20 NOV | PERTH RAC ARENA, WA | ALL AGES*
SUN 24 NOV | ADELAIDE ENTERTAINMENT CENTRE, SA | ALL AGES*
WED 27 NOV | HOBART MYSTATE BANK ARENA, TAS | ALL AGES
FRI 29 NOV + SAT 30 NOV | MELBOURNE ROD LAVER ARENA, VIC | ALL AGES*