Music

Emerging Jazz Festival looks at resurgence of Melbourne music venues

MICHAEL DWYER The inaugural Emerging Jazz Festival at Bennetts Lane from February 21 to 28 includes a program of workshops, masterclasses and performances.

Kathryn Selby & Friends celebrate a decade of intimate chamber recitals with concert series

MICHAEL DWYER Kathryn Selby's friends have been many and renowned over a decade of touring but she mostly credits her audience for the longevity of her Selby & Friends chamber recitals.

Matt Walker and Neil Murray hit the road with Since You're Gorn

MICHAEL DWYER Slide guitar virtuoso Matt Walker has Neil Murray's trusty Holden wagon to thank for an unexpected partnership evolving at his Dandenong Ranges studio.

Bowie cremated

Ashes to ashes: David Bowie rests in Bali as details of will revealed

LINDA MORRIS David Bowie's final resting place and financial legacy is revealed.

Mary Black: The Irish singer who took her music to the world

MARTIN FLANAGAN Singing's about more than simply the voice; it's about interpretation and communication, Irish singer Mary Black says.

Phil Scott plays Lionel Bart, a loveable, talented rogue who lost his way

Phil Scott A brilliant songwriter and composer who lost his way in doubt and drink is a compelling character to bring back to life.

Australian K-pop star Prince Mak on the price of fame

Gabriel Wilder When film star Jackie Chan handpicked Henry Mak, from Sydney's western suburbs, to be in his K-pop boy band, it was a dream come true. But it came at a price.

Finnish violinist Pekka Kuusisto and Bryce Dessner from the National love pushing the boundaries of musical genres

SALLY PRYOR Finnish musician Pekka Kuusisto is on a mission to live as if musical boundaries didn't exist.

'I just gave it a go'

One Direction's Zayn Malik: I never wanted to be part of the band

EBONY BOWDEN In his first interview, former One Direction member Zayn Malik has revealed his torment before leaving the band.

Top gigs in Sydney: Adam Lambert, Chvrches, Gold Class, Tonight Alive, Sally Seltmann

Bronwyn Thompson Catch Sydney's biggest shows this week.

Grimes: Standing up to scrutiny

Anthony Carew Claire Boucher, aka Grimes, believes in running her own show.

Four new albums explored

Spectrum reviews: Rufus, Buddy Guy, Nigel Kennedy and Bloc Party

A man born to play guitar, another born to stir classical purists, new dance pop and a calmer, spiritual version of a rock band.

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Savages strive to capture excitement of playing live

Patrick Emery Members of all-female band seek creative freedom uninhibited by commercial and popular expectations.

The Internet's Sydney Bennett talks Grammys as Australian tour winds up

Andrew Drever Last year was massive for the LA band and 2016 has started in a similar vein.

Album reviews: Lucinda Williams, Suede, Adam Brand, the Velvet Underground

Britpop instigators Suede adopt a contemplative outlook, while Adam Brand and the Outlaws edge a little too close to cowboy karaoke.

Songwriting 101

Sia finds the hits in the songs others reject

BERNARD ZUEL Songwriters may not be the stars but they are the powerhouse of pop music. Here's what you do with the songs others discard.

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Sticky Carpet: The Rubens win Triple J's Hottest 100

Mary Mihelakos Sydney band the Rubens claimed victory with Hoops in triple j's Hottest 100 this year.

Grimes: Standing up to scrutiny

Anthony Carew Claire Boucher, aka Grimes, believes in running her own show.

The pleasure and pains of Royal Headache: 'This band makes us bleed'

Andrew Purcell "Oh, we're gonna suck tonight. These hipsters are gonna hate me, and I want them to." Royal Headache are due on stage in a couple of hours for the first of three sold-out New York shows, and after an "awful" sound check, they are cheerfully predicting the worst.

On The Road with Plum Green from The Night Terrors

We chat to Plum Green, one half of The Night Terrors.

American music's roots

From the Hunger Games to opera and bluegrass, Rhiannon Giddens unlocks the secrets of the American voice

BERNARD ZUEL An interpreter of all kinds of roots music finds the heart of America black and white.

Groovin The Moo 2016 line-up announced

Get ready for a road-trip - Groovin The Moo has released its 2016 line-up with The Rubens, Safia and Boy & Bear locked in for this year's event.

Gurrumul cancels St Kilda Festival, Sydney and Brisbane dates due to illness

Dewi Cooke Acclaimed singer-songwriter Gurrumul has cancelled shows in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane, as well as his upcoming St Kilda festival performance, due to illness.

'Work, work, work'

Rihanna's latest single Work goes to number one around the world in 90 minutes

EBONY BOWDEN Expect an Adele-like return when Rihanna's first album in four years, Anti, drops on Friday.

Flat earthers?

Rapper B.o.B insists earth is flat, takes on astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson

People at one time did not have the privilege of seeing a famous rapper debate a famous astrophysicist about whether the earth was flat

Classical concerts touring to Canberra in 2016

Janet Wilson From opera to film scores, to chamber music, there's a lot to choose from in 2016's program of events.

The Rubens top an unsurprising and safe Hottest 100

BERNARD ZUEL Still no woman winning the 100 song countdown of the Triple J audience's favourite tracks of 2015.

Triple J Hottest 100: The Presets searching for a new way to mark Australia Day

BERNARD ZUEL An alternative 100 great songs and a new national day were on the agenda for a radio station and one of Australia's biggest groups.

Tuned In: Canberra celebrates stimulating improvised music

Dan Bigna Pleasure-inducing sounds are to be heard at Confluence and SoundOut events.