British glam rockers The Darkness brought their Dreams On Toast Tour to the Tivoli. The city’s rock fans sold out the show and gave the band a very warm, sweat-soaked, welcome back to Australia. It was a night of high rock drama: stage and balcony diving, singing lessons, fan engagement, rockstar theatrics and absolutely fantastic razor-sharp rock ‘n’ roll.

When Adam ‘Nergal’ Darski promised to bring to Australia an “uncompromising vision” of his band’s music I was hopeful at seeing and hearing the dark anti-version of the catholic faith as practiced in Poland. And that is exactly what Behemoth fans got to hear and see at the Tivoli as the band combined their signature religious referencing, black death metal with intense, theatrical, and apocalyptic stage production.

VOILÀ delivered a spicy, beautiful performance across four acts filled with CO2 cannons, sparklers and glowing bunny ears. From ‘Drinking With Cupid’ to ‘Figure You Out’, the crowd bounced, sang and clapped on command. With Yorke setting the tone early, it was playful, joyful and truly magical from start to finish.

Taken as a whole, the night never felt like a band leaning on legacy for the sake of it. Even with forty years behind them, there was no sense of coasting. Just experience, and musicians who know exactly who they are. Some bands prove themselves through spectacle. Others prove it through consistency. Dream Theater don’t need to prove anything.

Lacuna Coil’s Brisbane return drew a strong early crowd, with Melbourne’s Future Static setting the tone for the night ahead. Across an eighteen song set spanning decades, the Italian gothic metal veterans balanced fresh Sleepless Empire cuts with deep catalogue favourites, delivering a commanding performance that reaffirmed their staying power.

Lou Reed was a true master of his music, writing and art, and one of the most profound influences on modern culture. His gritty realism focused on urban life and compassion for marginalised individuals. The team behind ‘Celebrating Lou Reed, The Velvet Underground & Nico!’ delivered an immersive musical experience.

From the moment the line wrapped around the block, it was clear this night was going to be heavy. Heat and bodies packed the room as Snot hit the stage to a huge welcome. Nailbomb cranked the tension until it felt suffocating, then Soulfly blew the place wide open. No breaks, no breathing room, just raw energy all night.

Better Lovers were like energiser bunnies on speed. Loud, heavy and completely in your face, the set felt like hardcore at its most honed. This is a band that knows exactly what they’re doing, and in the close, sweaty environment of the Crowbar it hit even harder. They grabbed the crowd, shook it around and made the venue their own, draining every ounce of energy without wasting a second.

The stage went dark as introduction music played and a robotic voice welcomed the crowd before Poppy appeared and the heavy guitar riffs launched into ‘Bruised Sky’. Her high-energy, theatrical take on genre-bending heavy metal was matched with big beautiful lights, smoke pillars and performance energy that kept the crowd jumping and bouncing throughout the set.

Yungblud’s return to Brisbane felt massive from the moment the gates opened. Packed lines, oppressive heat and a crowd that refused to leave despite the rain set the tone for a high energy night at Riverstage. With Dune Rats firing up the home town crowd and Yungblud leading the night, it was a high energy night of modern rock.

The Rammstein frontman’s Meine Welt Tour opened his set in a truly spectacular cinematic style and fashion, and it was slightly bonkers – in a good way. The lights, the fog, the darkness set up the tone of the approaching musical storm - the industrial noise, the brutal theatricality, and unapologetically dark provocative, but humorous poetic world of Till Lindemann was about to be exposed and brought to life in full-colour.

Is it too early to say we all just went to one of the best concerts of the year? Turnstile blew the night away with a musical detonation that brought the dank sweaty basement gig into a full flight arena show. Turnstile’s note to other bands: up your game. What an amazing night!

There were 50,000 people at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium to say farewell to AC/DC’s PWR/UP Tour. It was also time to farewell the band that put Australian music on the world map. The band formed in 1973. Their first live performance was at Chequers nightclub in Sydney on 31 December, New Year's Eve 1973, and now this was probably their last ever performance in Australia.

This was the band’s first headline gig in Brisbane in 7 years. It was wonderful to see them back in Brisbane at the Crowbar to kick off the mystery gig for the venue’s birthday bash. It was a night of the various flavours of hard punk rock, from its hard edge to its ‘poppier’ heart, with Bella Amor and Haters supporting. Tonight Alive are back.

The Mayhem Ball leaned heavily into spectacle, narrative and visual excess. The ambition was clear, but the constant layering of production left little room for spontaneity or musical risk, creating a performance that felt impressive yet emotionally distant. 

The Good Things 2025 Festival ended on a high note: there were beach balls, chicken crowd surfers, banana people and crowd surfing boat races. And it didn’t rain or storm. Bonus! Here are the highlights.

The night of music had already been set like a blender to genre purée and Wargasm were only going to intensify that reality. Their sound is a collision of guitars, bass, thrashed drums, and electronic rave music and the genre is picking ‘your own adventure’.

The big crowd that sold-out The Tivoli, on a Tuesday night, got to hear the stories behind the creation of the songs, and the songs themselves, that made The Church a household name in Australia and internationally. Steve Kilbey had a vision for his band, but “it was not as easy as I thought – getting into the charts,” as he described his deal with the devil to gain fame.

The Brightside had a line stretched down Warner Street on a Sunday evening as the venue filled for Kalandra’s first ever Australian tour. Portair’s atmospheric soundscapes floated over the crowd before Kalandra’s melancholic Nordic folk, gritty guitars and ethereal melodies created a magical, authentic night of musical highlights.

This is one concert double bill that you do not want to miss: Kim Dracula and Wednesday 13 are a pairing made in heavy metal heaven or hell depending on your view. The ‘Horror Down Under Tour’ gave Brisbane an awesome night of live heavy rock music with a twist and the right amount of chaos.