Voted ‘Traditional Blues Artist of the Year’ 2022, 2024 and 2025 by the Sydney Blues Society, multi award winning Dom Turner is best known as guitarist, lead vocalist, and founding member of the legendary Australian blues group, Backsliders, as well as touring in international collaborations as The Turner Brown Band, and with Sunpie Barnes, Phil Wiggins and RL Boyce. 

With The Rural Blues Project, Dom presents a mix of unashamedly upbeat and raw electric rural blues songs—hybrid versions of songs from Charley Patton to Lead Belly, Fred McDowell to RL Burnside—as well as originals from his extensive catalogue. Joining Dom is the shuffle king himself, legendary drummer Rosscoe Clarke (Foreday Riders, Cyril B Bunter) along with keyboard master, Johnny Gauci (Johnny G and the E-Types) 

Released in 2014, Blue Planet Eyes introduced The Preatures to the world with its infectious blend of 60s R&B and country-inflected pop-rock. The album garnered widespread critical acclaim, and a devoted global following crossing genres and generations, thanks to its irresistible hooks, timeless sound and standout tracks like ‘Is This How You Feel?’, ‘Better Than It Ever Could Be’ and ‘Somebody’s Talking’. Debuting at #4 on the ARIA charts, Blue Planet Eyes also earned four ARIA nominations and a J Award nomination, with a further two songs placing in triple j’s Hottest 100 in the year of their release (‘Is This How You Feel’ #9 in 2013 and ‘Somebody’s Talking’ #29 in 2014). 

With their songs ringing out around the world, it was clear The Preatures had found ‘it’: an inexplicable but totally identifiable thing. Suddenly, they had gone from playing clubs for hundreds of people to performing in front of tens of thousands. Their quick rise to fame as one of Australia's most exciting acts had earned them a reputation for their boundary pushing song writing and magnetic live shows which saw them play countless shows, including a fifty-date regional tour of Australia, two shows at Sydney Opera House, triple j’s Beat The Drum concert, Splendour In The Grass and Falls Festival, as well as huge international spots on Jimmy Kimmel Live, mainstage Coachella, SXSW, Bonnaroo and Glastonbury. 

However, having reached dizzying heights that most artists could only ever dream of, the five friends from Sydney also found themselves facing mounting pressures. Non-stop touring, financial troubles, personal relationships and the pandemic took a toll on the band and much to fan’s disappointment, they decided to call it quits. 

Fortunately, in the years since, band members have flourished, with frontwoman Izzi Manfredi releasing her remarkable debut solo record, izzi, while pregnant during COVID, while her bandmates Jack, Thomas, Luke and Gideon have gone on to start families, run their own businesses and perform with the biggest artists in the country. 

With a newfound stability, and time to grow, heal and reflect, that magnetic energy that defines The Preatures was fatefully pulling them back together. 

Excited to resurrect the band, The Preatures explain,” We dedicated our entire young lives to this group and to the music we made, falling in love with playing to crowds, however big and brash or small and sweaty. It was insane and we loved it all. Our decision to break up was never because of the music. Sometimes you really need to let go of everything to realise and appreciate what you have. For us, it’s about recognising and letting go of mistakes, allowing adversity to strengthen us, and trusting our game. We don’t know exactly what’s going to happen, but the idea of a comeback has an almost mystical ability to capture our imagination in a cynical world, and we can’t wait to relight that fire and remind ourselves what a privilege it is to play for you.” 

In the music of Romanie, the listener is invited to become immersed in a rich palette of sounds and influences, buoying a natural vocal talent. 

For Belgian-born, Melbourne-based singer and songwriter Romanie Assez, the music has always stemmed from an innate desire to express creativity through personal and engaging storytelling.

Releasing her debut EP – Little Big Steps – in 2021, Romanie introduced herself beautifully with a collection of music that boasted influences as varied as Lucy Rose to Big Thief; Wet Leg and Alvvays, to Middle Kids. At the core of the material, a captivating sense of songwriting nuance and strength that was unafraid to delve deeper in its exploration of personal themes.

Her 2023 debut album Are We There Yet? was nominated for the Australian Music Prize and saw her win the triple j Unearthed x NIDA music video competition and the 2023 Upstart Award, become a semi-finalist in the International Songwriting Competition, and a finalist in St Kilda Festival’s New Music Competition.

Romanie has received a wide range of industry support from Junkee, Tonedeaf, triple j, RRR, Amazing Radio UK/US and MTV. Are We There Yet? landed multiple editorial playlists across Spotify & Apple Music which quickly gathered over 100k streams on streaming services and the music video for ‘Hallucinating’ was selected as ABC rage’s Wild One.

In July 2024 Romanie was a mentee of Wild Turkey’s House of Music 101 receiving mentorship from and showcasing alongside Angus and Julia Stone.

Ever since Romanie moved to Australia in 2019 she’s been establishing herself as a powerhouse in the live music industry, touring both solo as well as with her band; nationally and internationally - supporting artists including Trixie Whitley, Telenova, Blanco White, 10cc, Yoke Lore, playing alongside Katy J Pearson and opening for Australian favourites such as Keli Holiday, The Moving Stills, Mia Wray and many more.

Velvet Trip is the psychedelic music project of Wiradjuri man Zeppelin Hamilton, born and imagined on Gadigal Country.  

With a mind-altering blend of psych-rock and indie-pop, Velvet Trip has mesmerised audiences across Australia, selling out headline shows and making waves on the festival scene. Highlight performances include supporting Djo, Parcels, and Ocean Alley, along with festival appearances at Yours & Owls, Bluesfest, Lost Paradise, Party in the Paddock, and many more. 

In 2024, Velvet Trip released their ARIA-charting debut album, Harmony Blooms. The record landed high rotation on triple j, #1 on the AMRAP Metro Charts, and editorial cover spots across Spotify, Apple Music, and TikTok. The group has been featured in NME, The New York Times (T-Mag), RUSSH Magazine, and was selected for Mushroom Group’s ‘First Nations Pathway Program’. 

After performing at BIGSOUND 2024, Velvet Trip kicked off the Glimmers era with the release of ‘It Don’t Matter’, a single that received critical acclaim from both industry and fans. Velvet Trip was plastered across Australia’s largest billboard on Brunswick Street (Naarm) courtesy of Spotify. Between ‘It Don’t Matter’ and follow-up single ‘Calling Out Your Name’, the band has graced the cover of two Spotify playlists, featured in countless more, and has seen a +600% increase in monthly listeners—all leading up to the highly anticipated release of their recent EP ‘Glimmers’.  

Velvet Trip are cementing themselves as one of Australia’s most exciting and forward-thinking new bands, riding a wave of explosive growth and gearing up to take on the global stage.