Tom Woodward & The True Delusions + Hedy Blaazer
Jun
21
3:00 PM15:00

Tom Woodward & The True Delusions + Hedy Blaazer

TICKETS HERE

Australian songwriter and musician Tom Woodward returns with his new single, the first taste of his forthcoming seventh studio album. He will be performing with his band, the True Delusions, at Frank's Wild Years with special guest Hedy Blaazer (Sydney).

Tom Woodward has been writing and releasing his unique brand of baroque folk-rock, cosmic country psychedelia, and fuzzed-out lo-fi gems on numerous albums and EPs for the last two decades.
With an enviable cache of songs that document his thoughts and experiences, he's already lived a fascinating life.

Tom honed his craft in the thriving arts & music scene of Canberra and Melbourne in the mid-2000s before taking his original songs to audiences around Australia, Japan, and the USA.

In 2023, Tom put down the guitar and embarked on a two month walk up the east coast of Australia, ending with a hospital stay and a hard-earned respect for the fragility of life. A year and a half later, he got deported as an illegal alien from the USA.
Tom's new single 'Termination Day', which premiered with Sunburnt Country Music and Stuart Coupe's Dirt Music on 2SER, is a raised middle finger to the forces of tech feudalism and economic totalitarianism as they attempt to imprison our souls.

Tom's mid-2010s album Beautiful Shadows received critical acclaim in publications such as For Folk's Sake and The Huffington Post and earned him a Canberra Critics Circle award. He has performed at the National Folk Festival, The Multicultural Fringe Festival, and racked up for supports for such luminaries as Abbe May, The Drones, Mikelangelo & the Black Sea Gentlemen, Cash Savage & the Last Drinks, Machine Translations, Steve Poltz, and many more.

'Termination Day' is out now via Bandcamp, streaming services, and Amrap for our community radio friends across Australia

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Shalani + Atticus Flynn
Jun
28
3:00 PM15:00

Shalani + Atticus Flynn

TICKETS HERE

Shalani’s music blends heartfelt emotion, raw honesty, and a hint of whimsy. Drawing inspiration from artists like Gillian Welch and Leonard Cohen, she invites audiences on a journey through the snapshots of her musical world and the vibrant characters within it.

Come along and celebrate the release of her debut single 'Faraway Tree', a track that blends intricate word painting with gentle melodies, with support from Atticus Flynn.

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Milo Hunter + Griffin Ford
Jul
27
3:00 PM15:00

Milo Hunter + Griffin Ford

TICKETS HERE

Milo Hunter is the bedroom project of Sydney/ Gadigal based musician Kyle Shackleford. The name was acquired through cut up technique, stitching Masanori Hata’s 1980 classic: The Adventures of Milo and Otis with famed author Hunter S. Thompson. The music that comes out of this pseudonym is largely influenced by 60’s pop music with a penchant for clean guitars and catchy synth lines, while the vocal delivery airs between a cross breed of falsetto and spoken melodies layered with harmonies. 

Joined by Griffin Ford

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Oceanique + Elk Bell
Aug
17
3:00 PM15:00

Oceanique + Elk Bell

TICKETS HERE

Originally from regional Western Australia, now based in Naarm/Melbourne, twin sisters Maddy and Jess of Oceanique create music that blends heartfelt storytelling with seamless harmonies. The duo’s sound draws comparisons to the sibling harmonies of First Aid Kit and The Staves, combining folk traditions with warm, reflective melodies reminiscent of the vast country sky.

Since their debut in 2019, Oceanique has become a rising act in the Australian folk music scene. Highlights include winning Port Fairy Folk Festival’s ‘Emerging Artist of the Year’ (2024) and Folk Alliance Australia’s ‘Youth Artist of the Year’ (2022). Their captivating live performances have graced renowned festivals such as the National Folk Festival, Woodford Folk Festival, and Port Fairy Folk Festival as well as supporting celebrated artists, including The Waifs at Geelong Arts Centre. 

International recognition followed with six showcases at Folk Alliance International 2024 in Kansas City and a highly anticipated official showcase at Folk Alliance International in Montreal in 2025. Their debut album, Would The Light Hold Me (2023), and a 2024 live EP received critical acclaim, showcasing their evocative songwriting and magnetic harmonies.

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Ally Row + Rowan S. Kaine
Sep
25
7:00 PM19:00

Ally Row + Rowan S. Kaine

TICKETS HERE

Gunaikurnai/Gippsland based, Triple j unearthed winning Ally Row are a folk rock/alt country duo blending genres with their toe tapping music and heartfelt lyricism. The multi-instrumentalists incorporate electric banjo, guitar, keys, harmonica, stomp box and tambourine, creating an unexpectedly full and upbeat live experience. 

Their honest lyricism shines a light on the darker sides of love and mental health delivered with warm vocals, velvety harmonies and an infectious beat. The duo take inspiration from Mumford and Sons, The 502s, Caamp, Sons of the East and Of Monsters and Men, while maintaining their own unique and distinct sound.

This year has shown no signs of slowing down, performing on the main Toyota stage at Tamworth Country Music Festival not once but twice! As part of Americana in the Park and also getting into the highly competitive Top 10 Buskers Championship as well as being invited as special guest performers for Australiana legends, The Bushwackers.

In 2024 their single ‘Bare feet’ was a semi-finalist in both the Unsigned Only and International Songwriting Competition (ISC), opened for ARIA award winner William Crighton, Golden Guitar winner Fanny Lumsden, folk legend Kim Churchill, Irish folk band Seo Linn and singer-songwriter Flynn Gurry.

In 2023 they were winners of the Triple J Unearthed NYE on the Hill Fest competition, Port Fairy Folk Festival busking competition winners, Semi-finalists in the Listen up Music Songwriting Prize and grand finalists in the Passport to Airlie Music Festival competition. 

They have performed at Tamworth Country Music Festival, Woodford Folk Festival, NYE on the hill Fest, Airlie Beach Festival of Music, Longwood Fest, Wodonga North East Food & Wine Fest as well as headlining Patchewollock Music Festival.

Their latest singles “The Great Unknown” and “This Time” were released to great acclaim, being played on ABC Grass Roots, Edge of Country, Saturday Night with Beccy Cole, Henry Wagon’s Double J Tower of Song, Triple j unearthed Country Hour, as well as selected for high rotation on ABC Country.

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Ned Collette, Thalia Zedek, Chris Abrahams & Elisabeth Fuchsia
Jun
14
3:00 PM15:00

Ned Collette, Thalia Zedek, Chris Abrahams & Elisabeth Fuchsia

TICKETS HERE

Ned Collette returns to Franks, this time alongside American songwriter Thalia Zedek, and accompanied by pianist Chris Abrahams, of the legendary instrumental trio The Necks, and American viola player Elisabeth Fuchsia (Bonnie "Prince" Billy). The ensemble will be performing songs from both Collette and Zedek's catalogue. Ned Collette's recent album Our Other History features contributions from Fuchsia and Abrahams as well as Mick Turner and Jim White from The Dirty Three, and Leah Senior. Thalia Zedek's new album The Boat Outside Your Window will be out May 23 on Thrill Jockey. 

Ned's approach to lyrics, vocals and music shares a melancholic beauty that is both haunted and haunting. His words are often more impressionistic than overt in their storytelling, but his vocals carry hints that recall those of the legendary Roy Harper. But where Harper's attack was often Dionysian, Collette's approach is Apollonian, and the tracks often have a compositional feel with a distinct taste of Canterbury... Collette's music is hard to classify. It exists inside a dynamic flux made up of equal parts post-rock, folk, jazz and avant prog, but it manages to remain plain-spoken and uncluttered regardless of how complex its structure can be when you start parsing it - Byron Coley

Last summer, I saw Ned in performance here in my hometown of Louisville, KY, accompanied by Elisabeth Fuchsia who had recently become a hero-friend. And it was ‘magical’, ‘alchemical’, engaging and illuminating and inspiring; I witnessed Ned’s and Fuchsia’s almost overpowering fluency with music and with music’s ability to act simultaneously as the medium for communication between performers and with audience - Will Oldham (Bonnie "Prince" Billy)

Thalia Zedek has one of the most enduring and distinctive voices in modern rock music — a voice like no other — that can be heard in her work with some of the most groundbreaking underground bands, from Uzi and Live Skull to Come. Since 2001, Zedek has been making music under her own name, releasing a string of critically acclaimed albums. 

Thalia Zedek’s considerable body of work demonstrates a clarity of vision, a singular performance style, and an expansive range. Her ability to deliver raw emotions through her vivid stories of loss and hope, strife and triumph is unmatched. Zedek has long been a melodic songwriter in a series of heavy bands. That contrast, along with her distinct blend of both direct and poetic lyrics, allows her to sing of the most difficult of life’s moments in ways that are both elevating and devastating. Out and proud her entire career, Thalia never hesitates to speak truth to power... Her unique musical voice remains potent and pointed. Cultivating her sound with purpose and an unflinching view of humanity, Zedek’s words and music are both invigorating, and capable of capturing the deep emotional complexities of life - Thrill Jockey

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Ryan Davis (USA) + Soda Eaves
Jun
13
7:00 PM19:00

Ryan Davis (USA) + Soda Eaves

TICKETS HERE

Ryan Davis, from Louisville Kentucky, plays a Friday evening at Franks Wild Years, supported by Soda Eaves in band mode. 

At the frayed bottom-edge of Indiana – just a moderate bike ride north of LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY – multi-instrumentalist, artist and songwriter RYAN DAVIS’ Americana-noir soundwaves have been emanating for years in a myriad of forms. As driving force for the lauded STATE CHAMPION, long-running member of TROPICAL TRASH, administrator of the esoteric and excellent CROPPED OUT festival, and lone proprietor of the SOPHOMORE LOUNGE label, Davis lays down his first proper ‘solo’ release with ‘DANCING ON THE EDGE’ – a rich, 2-LP tapestry of tunes that absolutely glows over seven expansive cuts. It’s a pure collage of modernity and heritage.

After a period of introspection spent re-immersing himself in his drawing & painting practice, as well as his newfound delvings into instrumental music, Davis’ sea change was imminent. “I wasn't sure I would ever make another record of ‘song’ songs,” he says, “but last year I started writing again and it eventually took the shape of the record at hand. I worked painstakingly hard on the material. It felt virtually impossible to complete for a bulk of the time I spent trying to enter into it, but the process pulled me out of a strange place. I was eventually able to live inside of the songs enough to understand the world within them – to ultimately help shape them into what I understood them to be.” Indeed, there’s a load of inspiration captured in the grooves with Ryan’s unfiltered, folk-
traditioned approach to poetic twists-of-tongue meeting head on with sublime instrumentation.

Recorded in early 2023 with help both in-studio and remotely from peers like JOAN SHELLEY, CATHERINE IRWIN (Freakwater), WILL LAWRENCE (Felice Brothers, Gun Outfit, John Early), JENNY ROSE (Giving Up), CHRISTOPHER MAY (Mail the Horse), ELISABETH FUCHSIA (Footings, Bonnie "Prince" Billy), and AARON ROSENBLUM (Son of Earth, Sapat), 'Dancing on the Edge' draws backup perhaps primarily from Davis' tight-knit drinking buddies-cum-cast of collaborators in EQUIPMENT POINTED ANKH (records on Astral Editions, Bruit Direct Disques, Torn Light) – a five-headed hive-mind from which he drew impetus for his own foray into more abstract and improvisational terrain these past few years under the ROADHOUSE alias. The results herein are melancholic, gentle, minimal yet colorful in mood: a lilting highway accompaniment of crisp instrumentation and a relaxed, amiable approach to vocals with rhapsodic wordsmithery. Fans of the aforementioned artists as well as those of Souled American, David Berman, Kurt Vile and ‘Comes A Time’-era Neil should all easily find bounty.

While bare-boned and uncluttered in presentation, many of these pieces track over 6 minutes allowing a fair amount of expansiveness. “Flashes of Orange” percolates with synthetic and organic percussion while Davis ruminates on how “a steady drip falls from the ceiling to my forehead / a pitter-patter of my past mistakes” as a Cale-esque violin chatters through impressionistic fields of pedal steel. It’s got an absence of recurring verses, replaced by an ever-unfolding story, words spotlighted by tasteful flanging synths and lovely key shifts as finally the titular hook lifts its proceedings up into the clouds. Other times the humor shines: tales of a jukebox that “only plays ‘Sultans of Swing’” in “Junk Drawer Heart,” ruminations like “soon I’ll be seen as a problem for the neighbors / soon I’ll be seen as a trophy for the precinct” in “Free From the Guillotine,” and of course the simple proclamation of “A Suitable Exit” being “I never asked to be born / I was only wondering where the door went to.”

Tracked & mixed by SETH MANCHESTER at Machines With Magnets (Pawtucket, RI) and mastered for vinyl by TOHRU KOTETSU at Tokyo’s legendary JVC Mastering Center, ‘Dancing On the Edge’ stares down into the navel of the American Experience underbelly with a fair amount of outward reach. Besides the Kosmische-synth and violin stabs reaching into a European element, stately organ swells build a musical bridge between 1969 Southern California and Felt’s latter era smooth moves, with layers of intelligent gesture taking this well beyond the realm of its archetypal indie troubadour/acoustic songwriter tag. Music and mint juleps never went down so well together.


Brian Turner

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Arugula + Billy Charles
Jun
7
3:00 PM15:00

Arugula + Billy Charles

TICKETS HERE

Arugula are a 5 piece garage/psych band from Meanjin/Gubbi Gubbi (Sunshine Coast/Brisbane) country.

In June of 2023 the band released their  7 track EP that features a range of lo-fi psychedelic tones including floating organs, dusty mellotron and heavily reverberated and jangly guitar, whilst also referencing zamrock percussion beats, country twang and shoe-gaze fuzz walls. 

Since the EP has release the band has released 4 singles that sonically range from 60s garage pop tunes “Our Love is Back Again and The Orange Doo” to fuzzed out, tremolo steam trains “Bask In The Sun”, to afrobeat influenced trip “Be Open Now”

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Tenniscoats + Blue Divers
Jun
4
6:00 PM18:00

Tenniscoats + Blue Divers

TICKETS HERE

Tenniscoats (テニスコーツ) from Japan play a special intimate show at Franks Wild Years in Thirroul on Wednesday 4th June with support from local instrumental group Blue Divers

Tenniscoats, the duo of Saya & Takashi Ueno, have been making and releasing music through their own Majikick label since the mid 1990s. They make gentle, melodic and unhurried songs, led by Saya's soft vocal melodies. They are part of a rich music community in Japan, collaborating with and releasing music by Maher Shalal Hash BazPuka Puka BriansCacoy and many more. They have also collaborated extensively with international artists, such as the Oneone album with members of the American group DeerhoofTwo Sunsets with the Scottish jangle pop band The Pastels, and two records - Tan-Tan Therapy & Papa's Ear - with experimental instrumental Swedish trio Tape. They have released music on Australian labels Chapter Music and Room 40, including the recent Tasmania Bootleg, a live recording from Hobart in 2009. 

Tenniscoats will play Thirroul as part of their short run of Australian dates, their first Australian tour since 2012, including a performance at the Rising Festival in Melbourne. 

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Pete Cornelius + Jeremy Edwards
May
30
8:00 PM20:00

Pete Cornelius + Jeremy Edwards

TICKETS HERE

Pete Cornelius has just released his 12th album "Southern" and to help celebrate he's hitting the road with his Tassy band after sell out shows in his home state.

The album was Co-Produced by award winning artist Matt Fell and debuted #1 on the ARIA country chart and is sitting on top of the Australian Roots and Blues Radio Airplay chart for the last 2 months.

“Southern” music is renowned for its rawness and down home soul.. From the deepest south of Tasmania, Pete Cornelius has revealed himself as the real deal and created an album that showcases an artist at the peak of his powers. 

Josh Cunningham - The Waifs

Also joining Pete for this one off show is long time friend and collaborator Jeremy Edwards. So come and join Pete and Jeremy for a night of song, stories and soulful southern music.

Tickets only $20+bf pre-sale and $25 on the door (if any left)

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Elana Stone + Xani Kolac (Album Launch)
May
24
3:00 PM15:00

Elana Stone + Xani Kolac (Album Launch)

TICKETS HERE

Elana Stone is a double ARIA Award-winning singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist known for folk, electronica, indie pop, and balladry. She has released four solo albums and is a member of the all-female folk act 'All Our Exes Live in Texas'. Elana has toured globally with artists like Missy Higgins and the John Butler Trio. Her recent album, Married to the Sound, co-produced with Luke Moseley explores themes of love, motherhood, climate change, and social division. Her latest music combines synth pop, guitar, harmonies, 70s drums, and fuzz bass, with a focus on lyrical vulnerability.

Xani Kolac is a celebrated Australian violinist, singer, songwriter, and improviser known for genre-hopping between pop, jazz, electronic, and chamber music. Since her breakout with indie band The Twoks, she has carved out a unique space in the industry. Xani’s electrifying live performances feature her electric violin, electronic effects, and live looping. Winner of Best Musician at the 2022 Music Victoria Awards, she has collaborated with artists like Clare Bowditch and Tim Rogers, and performed at venues like Hamer Hall and Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Xani’s boundary-pushing, danceable music showcases her passion and creativity.

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Moderate Lovers + The Stormy Sea
May
18
3:00 PM15:00

Moderate Lovers + The Stormy Sea

TICKETS HERE

Moderate Lovers are an indie pop rock 3-piece band from Sydney who write skewed melodic tunes with a pinch of jangle,a dash of distortion, and a healthy serving of observational dry wit. Forming in 2024 after a few drinks at the Townie (aka The Town Hall Hotel, Newtown) Mick, Saul and Adam began crafting Mick’s musical sketches in to a full set of indie rock ear worms. Hailing from bands with solid indie rock cred (Soap Star Joe, Starky, Restless Leg and Froggy Prinze) these guys learnt how to play 90s sounding indie rock...umm in the 90s. 

With their debut EP due for release in May 2025, Moderate Lovers have already created quite the buzz from the handful of live shows they’ve played since October 2024, with strong support from Sydney’s inner west indie rock community. Drawing comparisons to Pavement, Dinosaur Jnr, and Screamfeeder as well as bands from the seminal Flying Nun in-print, Moderate Lovers proudly wear their influences on their sleeves while carving out a sound uniquely their own.

Moderate Lovers are joined by The Stormy Sea

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New Age Nudes + Patrician Warlock
May
11
3:00 PM15:00

New Age Nudes + Patrician Warlock

TICKETS HERE

New Age Nudes: A predominantly DIY solo recording project that performatively oscillates between hiatus and activity. However, when the moon softly settles its rays on the chin at the just right angle, Madame Nude pulls themself away from their slumber to play another potential farewell show. The music of  New Age Nudes may differ each performance, with live performances consisting of glitchy ambient undertones alongside singer-songwriter tunes. However, this time, they may be pulled in a different direction.

Accompanying New Age Nudes on this special day is Patrician Warlock, a new moniker of Sir Patrick Walker (of Solid Effort royalty). A special exhibition of songs will be presented by Patrician Warlock, some of which may have never reached the public sphere before. 

What a day to be had, what a day to look back on and reflect upon our misshapen weeks. How such passing of time has moulded us to be present in the place of Franks Wild Years.

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Tilly Vickers Willis + Tamara & The Dreams
May
10
3:00 PM15:00

Tilly Vickers Willis + Tamara & The Dreams

TICKETS HERE

As the opening moments of Naarm/Melbourne singer-songwriter Tilly Vickers Willis’ show unfold, her smoky, timeless soundscapes swell to fill the room. Taking influence from groundbreaking artists like PJ Harvey, Beck, Cate Le Bon, Suzanne Vega, and Françoise Hardy, Vickers Willis weaves together layered and sophisticated sonic textures, transporting listeners into the worlds that exist within her music.In May, Tilly Vickers Willis brings her 5-piece band to the East Coast for the first time. The tour marks the first single 'Circuit' for the artist, who will be releasing her debut album in September: "𝘊𝘪𝘳𝘤𝘶𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘶𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 - 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴."Alongside Franks Wild Years, she is playing a string of intimate headline shows across the East-Coast, in coffee shops, night cafes and record stores.

Joined by Tamara & The Dreams

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Glen Rey. + Bundang & Bailen
May
8
7:00 PM19:00

Glen Rey. + Bundang & Bailen

TICKETS HERE

Glen Rey. launches his new record Of That Which We Cannot Speak... in New South Wales this May. Glen Rey. is the new solo project of Mitch Reynolds, who previously released music under the Bluetung moniker. While Bluetung utilised analogue synths and expansive layered production, this new record was built almost entirely around acoustic guitar arrangements; veering in unexpected inwards direction and touching on gently fractured avant-folk, meditative kosmische, and atmospheric tape music. The album was recorded at home on a tascam 4-track in early 2024, and features contributions from members of Troth, Warm Currency and Other Joe, and beautiful design by Chloe Larkin. Of That Which We Cannot Speak... is available as a limited vinyl pressing through Brierfield Flood Press

Opening the night is Bundang and Bailen: Ashley Bundang and Daniel Bailen, through their mothers, share common roots tracing back to the same province in the Philippines. They decompose traditional Filipino folk songs, messing with texture and form to find something that makes sense to them for now

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Orchestra Of Us with Richard Briggs + Pattern Drift
May
4
3:00 PM15:00

Orchestra Of Us with Richard Briggs + Pattern Drift

RSVP HERE free ($10 on the door)

Orchestra of Us is a band formed in isolation. Literally, it began as one person improvising with multiple instruments live over social media every Thursday night from a warehouse in Moruya to an unknown Global audience. Every set different, every performance of the moment. 

Together with Sydney-based artist, Richard Briggs, whose work has garnered attention from the likes of Dirty Three and Chimers – the pair will create a site-specific soundscape turned drawing ‘in the moment’ and in direct response to their visual and tonal surroundings.

Supported by local sonic hypnotists, Pattern Drift, an Illawarrian quartet known for their sprawling audio experiments and the search for euphoric moments through improvised soundscapes, there is only one guaranteed outcome here. 

We have no idea what is going to happen.

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Placid Trips
May
1
7:00 PM19:00

Placid Trips

RSVP free here

Introducing… placid trips

ambient journeys in sound and improvisation

a monthly night of loosely improvised ambient music curated by like-minded travellers

a warm and inclusive space that encourages artistic exploration, experimentation and collaboration

Our very first trip is a real special one, featuring your tour guides

russell webster (shining bird)
adam rogan (catman)
alec marshall (blue divers)

come take a placid trip with us

xo

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Lily Morris + Soda Eaves + Quality Used Cars (Duo)
Apr
26
2:00 PM14:00

Lily Morris + Soda Eaves + Quality Used Cars (Duo)

TICKETS HERE

Lily Morris is a singer-songwriter based on Walbanga country (Braidwood, NSW) penning songs about her beloved hometown, the ins-and-outs of daily life, and the thoughts that hitch through her head at night.

Lily is joined by Soda Eaves, the solo project of Jake Core. Impressionistic and surreal songs that lurch and hum and shimmer within an enveloping tape warmth. Softly sung in an almost whisper up against the cracked sounds of guitars pushing the headroom of practice amps, Soda Eaves evokes the humid tropics of Far North Queensland, ghosts of Anais Nin, the simultaneous longing and excitement of new love, and the comfort of being dry inside as it relentlessly pores outside - Repressed Records

Quality Used Cars, in duo form, will round out the bill on their way up to play the Gum Ball Festival. Quality Used Cars is a project built around the idiosyncratic songwriting and warbling vocal of Francis Tait and brought to life by a band of hard-working familiar faces from within Narrm’s bubbling underground music communities.

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Charlie Ivan Band + The Morning Star (duo)
Apr
19
3:00 PM15:00

Charlie Ivan Band + The Morning Star (duo)

TICKETS HERE

Where the Dogs Go to Die broods with a quiet intensity; like a series of impending storms, foreboding in their dark tone, sticky humidity clinging stubbornly in the air. But also their aftermath – of taking stock and licking wounds.

The debut album from Mpwartne/Alice Springs outfit Charlie Ivan Band uses ballads as a vehicle for such back-porch contemplations. Frontperson Charlie Ivan first wrote the songs on Where the Dogs Go to Die alone; his unembellished but emotionally impactful piano playing giving the record its tragic, longing mood. That, and his coarse, Leonard-Cohen in-a-room-with-blinds-pulled-tight shut voice, heavy with burden, regret and confusion.

Charlie Ivan Band recall another band in name – Snowy Band from Melbourne (Snowy himself mastering Where the Dogs Go to Die). The former have a darker bent than the latter – but like them, a broader rhythm section adds colour to their frontperson’s initial ruminations. Sam Sargent on drums and Ned Gaynor on bass add a subtly reliable, always-in the pocket weight to the album, giving the ballads their waltz, or, when needed, the subtlest of bursts (such as on the In Rainbows-esque ‘I Feel and it Rained’).

It’s a debut record both focused but expansive – there’s a near ten minute track on here, after all. And a ten person choir, too; a chorus of voices that float in and out as demonstrative punctuation. Charlie Ivan Band may be the songs of its founder; but many hands give the group its life. And perhaps, the ability to then process, and push through.

Words by Lindsay Riley

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Mess Esque
Mar
30
3:00 PM15:00

Mess Esque

TICKETS HERE

Great Southern Nights presents:

Mess Esque 'Jay Marie, Comfort Me' album launch at Franks Wild Years, Thirroul. 

A bold third missive from the Australian duo – Helen Franzmann (McKisko) and Mick Turner (Dirty Three, Tren Brothers) - who sound like they literally dreamed themselves into being, and perhaps might even still be in the dream! Propelling their uniquely twisted aural circus to heights of exaltation and effect, Mess Esque build out their handmade, openhearted soul into new dimensions, pushing them – and yeah, us! – into more vivid states of being.

Jay Marie, Comfort Me is their third album in less than five years, and the new music feels at least a hemisphere away from their first efforts. Jay Marie, Comfort Me is co-produced by Helen, Mick and Nick Huggins, who recorded the Dirty Three acclaimed Love Changes Everything. Also participating in the recording are Keeley Young and Kishore Ryan from the live band, as well as cellist Stephanie Arnold and a couple of Australia’s living legends of percussion, Bree van Reyk and Mick’s ol’ Dirty Three partner in crime, Jim White.

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Floodlights
Mar
26
6:00 PM18:00

Floodlights

FREE

Floodlights play an intimate stripped back set to celebrate the release of their new album Underneath.

After stripping back the layers to expose their own vulnerabilities, hopes, fears and passions, Floodlights emerge with their third album, Underneath.

Written amidst extensive touring of the UK and Europe, Australia and the US, Underneath was shaped by a surreal period in each members’ lives - full of firsts, exploring new places, playing their biggest gigs and festivals yet. Despite the transience of their new life on the road, the writing process proved a starkly intimate time marked by quiet, shared moments of contemplation. The songs that emerged represent a process of reckoning, catharsis and growth within the group, fusing the incisive societal reflections they are renowned for with more personal meditations on grief, memory and place; ultimately giving shape to myriad emotions and experiences that linger beneath the surface. Through their enveloping alt-rock soundscapes Floodlights paint a metamorphosis in motion on Underneath, while sweepingly exploring, at its core, what it means to be human.

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calyx + Emily Duncan
Mar
16
3:00 PM15:00

calyx + Emily Duncan

TICKETS HERE

Weirdo darkwave violin artist calyx (narrm) brings their distinctive blend of strings, voice and lush synthesisers for a Sunday arvo show at Frank’s Wild Years as part of their DIY tour of Canberra, Sydney and Wollongong.

Between machines and living things, between improvisation and structure, between chaos, resistance and pleasure, calyx reaches through time to seek other worlds and possibilities. Sonic references include Depeche Mode, the Cocteau Twins, Severed Heads, Fever Ray and the Dirty Three.

Joining the bill is Wollongong-based singer/songwriter, guitarist and electronic sound producer Emily Duncan. Emily weaves a dreamy tapestry of ethereal vocals and introspective lyrics over lazy guitar, aiming to transport the audience musically to another space.

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Rowan S. Kaine + Brendan Neville
Mar
9
3:00 PM15:00

Rowan S. Kaine + Brendan Neville

TICKETS HERE

Up-and-coming folk songwriter Rowan S. Kaine relishes in the participatory tradition of oral storytelling. With an extensive repertoire of traditional Lomax-era field recordings, as well as comical talkin' blues and original tunes, Rowan walks the path of a passionate storyteller, connecting with audiences through his soulful and authentic musical journey, transporting you back to the Greenwich Village of the 60's.

Touring his latest release ‘Down to the Bone’, a reflection on personal upheaval. Through powerful lyricism and a cinematic blend of fiddle and electric guitar, ‘Down to the Bone’ builds from a ruminating calmness to a roaring intensity.

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Simon Joyner & The Eucalypts (USA) + Blue Riders
Feb
26
6:00 PM18:00

Simon Joyner & The Eucalypts (USA) + Blue Riders

SOLD OUT

Simon Joyner is widely regarded as one of the great singer-songwriters of our generation.

He will be touring Australia / New Zealand for the first time in Feb/Mar 2025, joined his backing band, The Eucalypts – featuring Leah Senior, Jesse Williams, and Michael Beach - all celebrated Australian songwriters and performers in their own right.

The tour coincides with the release of Joyner's newest album, Coyote Butterfly, out Nov 22nd, via Melbourne’s Homeless Records, as well as a reissue of his third album, 1994's The Cowardly Traveller Pays His Toll, in late November. The Cowardly Traveller was famously one of three records played in their entirety on John Peel’s legendary BBC1 show, alongside records by Bob Dylan and Siouxsie & the Banshees.

"... the reigning heir to Henry Miller's dark emotional mirror, Townes Van Zandt's three-chord moan, and Lou Reed's warehouse minimalism: his name is Simon Joyner." — Gillian Welch

"Joyner has been chipping away at the subtle absurdities of life since 1991, his rambling balladeering garnering comparisons to Leonard Cohen and Townes Van Zandt. He also shares a wry approach to self-reflection with modern practitioners like Mark Kozalek, Bill Callahan and David Berman."MOJO

Simon Joyner & The Eucalypts will be joined by local group Blue Riders, a Blue Divers offshoot band. 

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Freya Josephine Hollick & Billy Charles
Feb
23
3:00 PM15:00

Freya Josephine Hollick & Billy Charles

TICKETS HERE

Born and raised in the historic gold boom center of Ballarat in Western Victoria, Australian Cosmic Country Queen Freya Josephine Hollick has mined a rich alluvial songwriting vein across 3 full-length albums including The Unceremonious Junking Of Me (2015), 2018’s Feral Fusion and most recently 2022’s The Real World.

As a young child cherry picking her dad’s hip 70’s record collection, Freya was exposed to the cosmic sounds of outliers like Townes Van Zandt, The Band and Gene Clark, authentic storytellers with pioneering spirit. The resultant contact high imbued Freya’s spirit, solidifying her desire to deal in that same brand of raw, heartfelt writing. With a voice that demands attention, and a rapidly developing craft, Freya found her resolve and her reason.

Freya’s most recent album The Real World, was born as a revelation in the Mojave Desert with Lucinda William’s Buick 6 in tow. It was and then shaped with her Australian band across the most treacherous time in recent human history. With it, Freya is ready to answer the call in her heart to take her music further. To America and beyond, with the most important record of her life.

ARIA chart action including a top 10 vinyl entry, a #2 on The Australian Country charts and a #1 on the AIR 100% independent chart, along with album of the week nods from 3PBS, 3RRR, ABC Country and a cover feature on the venerable Rhythms Magazine were highlights among a raft of media attention for the release.

Star turns at Dashville Skyline, Out On The Weekend and a busy upcoming festival season speak to the rise Freya has enjoyed with the release of her most accomplished work to date.

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Tired Girl & Marcus Index - Double Album Launch
Feb
22
3:00 PM15:00

Tired Girl & Marcus Index - Double Album Launch

TICKETS HERE

Marcus Index and Tired Girl play an afternoon show at Franks Wild Years, Thirroul, after both releasing albums: 

Marcus Index. Wordsmith and musical wanderer. 

Across a decade as the front man of Spookyland, Index received worldwide critical attention for the raw intensity of his vocals and poetic lyrics, garnering comparisons to artists like Jeff Mangum and Bob Dylan. 

His new album “Where Diamonds Suffocate” is out via Impressed Recordings.

After a long career spanning various musical projects (Tees, Grease Arrestor), Tired Girl is ready to share her debut album TIRED - out February 7 via Blossom Rot Records.

Written a long way from Tired Girl’s - aka Liz Tillman’s - sleepy hometown of Thirroul on the South Coast of NSW, TIRED came together in Lyon, France over 2023. Liz and her love had followed a relatable pull of restlessness and flung themselves into the unknown, landing in an apartment in a 17th century silk factory on a cobblestone street lined with leafy green trees on the other side of the world. This sense of upheaval and challenging stasis is present throughout TIRED, alongside a certain comfort that wherever life may take you, you can land softly.

Distance from the familiar had a big influence on the creative choices and songwriting for TIRED. Liz says of the experience:
“I like writing music that has a lot of vocal layering and pretty harmonies. Because I had less gear here in Lyon, I probably lent more on my vocals than I have in the past. There is a naivety in how I write, as I don’t have the background of a drummer or a producer, so I think it lets me write beats and come up with ideas without the restriction of how drums “should be” played.”

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Digby Ayton + Field Commander Ali
Feb
16
4:00 PM16:00

Digby Ayton + Field Commander Ali

TICKETS HERE

Digby Ayton will be playing solo at Franks Wild Years on Sunday 16th February alongside Field Commander Ali. 
Digby is a songwriter from lutruwita / Tasmania. His latest EP, titled 4 Fergus, is out now and he has a new album on the way. Digby will be visiting Franks to play a Sunday evening show and may be joined by a special guest.

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Davey Higgins + Sam Galloway
Feb
13
7:00 PM19:00

Davey Higgins + Sam Galloway

TICKETS HERE

Davey Higgins music would pass The Pub Test anywhere from Bellshill to Rooty Hill and every campfire, wake, wedding and Marrickville wine bar in between. He knows how to write a memorable tune. The sort of old school tune that you feel good about instantly. 

Sam Galloway in solo acoustic mode. Sparse, ramshackle indie-pop nursery rhymes designed for home use only.”

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Lo Carmen
Feb
2
3:00 PM15:00

Lo Carmen

TICKETS HERE

like the Velvet Underground jamming with Mazzy Star in a Nashville honky tonk after closing time’ Post To Wire

‘a holy-glowing dreamscape of smoke-clouded guitars, loping basslines and tantric drums that channel a history of sound recordings, from delta blues to chiaroscuro surf reveries, haunted pop ballads to modern bloodied valentines’ Will Hermes

Lo Carmen’s shimmering songs transcend time and genre and they are in full mesmerising force on ‘Transatlantic Light,’ recorded with The Great Beyond, featuring Cec Condon on drums (Mess Hall), Ken Gormly on bass (Cruel Sea) and Sam Worrad on guitar (Holy Soul).

'Transatlantic Light' maintains the intimate, confessional style that defines Carmen’s work while exploring new sonic landscapes. Robyn Hitchcock drops by for some backing vocals and Peter Head adds his iconic Hammond and piano stylings. 

Lo Carmen & The Great Beyond will perform the new album along with other favourite tracks from her eight albums deep catalogue. Limited edition clear pink Impressed Recordings vinyl will be available at the show.

More info: www.locarmenmusic.com

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Howard Eynon (Show at The Thirroul Railway Hall!)
Feb
1
5:00 PM17:00

Howard Eynon (Show at The Thirroul Railway Hall!)

TICKETS HERE

Brierfield Flood Press and Franks Wild Years join forces to present a very special performance by the legendary Howard Eynon, joined by guests Jordan Ireland and Sover!

Howard Eynon is an Australian singer, songwriter and storyteller. His 1974 album So What if I'm Standing in Apricot Jam became one of Australia's most eclectic albums of the 70's.  Forty years later Howard had a musical resurgence when this album was re-released on both vinyl & CD, first in Australia through Buttercup Records and later through the Earth label of Fire Records in London. With his charismatic storytelling and a rich 12-string guitar sound featuring a unique tuning of its own, Howard's music has been described as 'psychedelic acid folk'.

For this special Thirroul appearance, Howard will be presenting his new 'How Would I Know’ Show, which he describes here in his own words: 

"The 'How Would I Know' Show is about more than music—it’s about connecting on a deeper level, about the power of love with bits of Eastern philosophy and some simple truths that life has to offer. I hope you can join me on this new adventure. I’ll be sharing stories from the road, the studio, and the veggie patch. Expect quirky tunes, heartfelt lyrics, and a few surprises along the way and who knows, maybe we’ll discover some hidden gems together. Stay tuned, and I’ll see you with love and music, Howard". 

Refreshments available at the bar courtesy of Franks Wild Years

+ Local record diviner Monkberry Moon Delights on house music duties, selecting tracks and selling some choice picks from his collection. 

Tickets $23 presale, kids under 12 free. 

See you in the Apricot Jam ! 

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Zipper + Ali Jef
Jan
24
5:00 PM17:00

Zipper + Ali Jef

FREE!

Zipper are Haruka, Matt, Celeste, Liam and David. Featuring members of Wireheads, Nylex, Rule of Thirds, Divine Rip and Mains.


Zipper play new wave pop with Japanese/English vocals and duelling guitar, like Chica Sato of The Plastics fronting Magazine. Special soft and spiky sounds.

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