I caught a lot of gigs in 2025 – here are some Australian live acts that really stood out to me! This is the third of a few posts in my year in review series.
Ball Park Music
Like Love Tour – 25 Jul @ Waves, Wollongong
Potentially Australia’s best live band, the Park craft a show that’s truly for the fans, with several dedications and deep cuts (Bad Taste Blues Pt III, What’s On Your Mind?) mixed in-between low-key Like Love songs. An Oasis cover even makes an appearance in the encore. The nerds are still on top.
Gut Health
Great Southern Nights – 5 Apr @ La La La’s, Wollongong
Some of the most talented individual musicians I’ve ever seen. Their instrumental mastery and lead singer Athina’s unstoppable stage presence captures your attention the entire show.
Spacey Jane
All the Noise surprise shows – 16 Jan @ The Lansdowne, Sydney
Announcing the show just a day before walking on stage to the Channel 9 cricket theme song, tickets were hard-fought in the 200-cap hotel. The Fremantle favourites sounded revitalised after a year off, and the crowd—some of the loudest, most joyful punters I’ve had the pleasure to be alongside—were all so happy to hear new material in such an intimate setting.
Ruby Fields
92 Purebred Tour – 15 Mar @ Wombarra Bowlo
The astonishing coastal views from the bowlo alone would make this one of my favourite gigs of 2025. The outdoor stage, friendly crowd, tight performances and banter from Ruby and her band make them an essential live rock act.
The Belair Lip Bombs
Again Tour – 1 Dec @ The Grand Social, Dublin
If this was your first exposure to the Lip Bombs, you’d be mistaken for thinking they hailed from Dublin. There was an unreal energy and love in the crowd for the Melbourne outfit’s first ever show in Ireland, especially thanks to the presence of several family members of the band, who brought the moves in the front row. Read my full review…
Crocodylus
Yours and Owls Festival – 1 Mar @ Flagstaff Hill, Wollongong
It was a day of soaring temperatures but in the late afternoon, the sun is finally setting, leaving a bright orange haze in the sky, and you’re watching Crocodylus kill on stage with sweeping ocean views to your left and right. Does it get much better?
