The State of Music | Episode Five – Starring: The Rubens, Something For Kate, Mansionair + more | Live-streaming this Fri 29 May @ 7:30pm AEST

Who caught The Teskey Brothers’ magical performance inside Melbourne’s iconic National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) last week? Or Hoodoo Gurus rocking out in Sydney’s Studios 301? Watch both these killer clips and more in last week’s episode here.

Showcasing the finest musical talent in Australia to music lovers worldwide, Episode Five of The State of Music features yet another amazing line-up that’s not to be missed. Catch the live stream when it goes to air on Friday 29 May @ 7.30pm AEST on the Victoria Together YouTube, Facebook and website, together.vic.gov.au.

Episode Five will star THE RUBENS + performances by (in alphabetical order):
ABBY DOBSON, D’ARCY SPILLER, FERGUS JAMES, JADE MACRAE, JOE CAMILLERI & THE BLACK SORROWS, LIME CORDIALE, MANSIONAIR, MITCH KING, NIC CESTER & THE MILANO ELETTRICA, ODETTE, and SOMETHING FOR KATE, the band playing inside the State Drawing Room at Melbourne’s Government House.

It will be hosted by Nova’s TIM BLACKWELL, together with radio legend JANE GAZZO – Jane will be hosting from the Australian Music Vault, located within Arts Centre Melbourne.

Out front of band Leonardo’s Bride, ABBY DOBSON sung the classic ‘Even When I’m Sleeping’, which won the APRA for ‘Song of the Year’ in 1997. She’s dueted with Neil Finn, Daniel Johns, Alex Lloyd, Mark Seymour, Paul Mac and more, plus written singles for hit TV series such as “The Secret Life Of Us”. Two solo albums in, Abby is soon to release her third album with her delicious side-project, Baby et Lulu, in which she writes and sings in French.

From her rural VIC hometown to Melbourne, Sydney and Los Angeles, singer/songwriter D’ARCY SPILLER has a voice that could shuck the most brittle heart. Tender compositions such as current single ‘Deep Black Sea’ (released in line with her triple j Unearthed Feature Artist spot) will appear on her upcoming debut EP, Little Demons, due out on 12 June which was recorded with producers JP Fung (Birds of Tokyo), Chris Collins (Middle Kids) and John Lee (Beaches).

With the release of his latest single ‘Good Man’, FERGUS JAMES has delivered a captivating follow-up to his acclaimed 2019 debut EP, All Of The Colours. Handpicked by Ed Sheeran to open his 2018 Australian stadium tour, James also took out triple j’s 2019 Unearthed Splendour in the Grass competition. The multi-faceted young artist is ready to take on the world – first, catch him live on Episode Five this week.

With a career spanning 25 years and a rich musical history steeped in jazz, blues and soul, multiple ARIA nominee and APRA winner JADE MACRAE has come full circle in 2020. Having spent the last three years touring the world with US blues great Joe Bonamassa, next month the soulful MacRae will release her new album, titled Handle Me With Care, with current single ‘Midnight Air’ out now.

JOE CAMILLERI has been integral to Australian music since 1975 when he fronted Jo Jo Zep And The Falcons, and almost a decade later formed THE BLACK SORROWS who have sold more than two million albums worldwide on the back of bona fide hits such as ‘Hold Onto Me’, ‘Chained To The Wheel’ and ‘Harley & Rose’. Camilleri, who was recently awarded “living legend” status by Rolling Stone, transformed The Black Sorrows from humble beginnings into one of the most sophisticated and successful ensembles in the country averaging over 150 shows in Australia every year and since 2014 have included Europe on their touring schedule.

The infectious performances by Sydney brothers and duo LIME CORDIALE have been enthusiastically received in Australia and abroad, the band even scoring an international management deal with Post Malone. In 2019’s triple j Hottest 100, they were the only act to land four songs (‘Robbery’, ‘Inappropriate Behaviour’, ‘Money’ and ‘I Touch Myself’) in the countdown’s Top 40. Lime Cordiale will release their second album 14 Steps To A Better You on 10 July.

For Grammy-nominated Sydney trio MANSIONAIR, the sky’s the limit. Their stunning debut album, Shadowboxer, has spawned multiple ARIA gold-certified singles in Australia, while the band’s global streaming numbers are at an impressive 250 million and counting. With several ARIA and Billboard charting singles and major tour support slots (CHVRCHES, Florence & The Machine, Carly Rae Jepsen, London Grammar) under their belts, the band’s talents are clearly evident, as heard on most recent single, ‘Easier feat SHAED’

MITCH KING began busking in his hometown of Mt Tamborine at 15. In 2014, he self-released debut A Life Under The Sun, with single ‘Coming Back’ which was adopted by US football team the Green Bay Packers. 2016 EP Southerly Change topped ARIA’s Blues chart, while recent single ‘Burning’ hit 2.5m+ streams. He’s supported Tones and I, America The Band and more, and is currently writing new music with names such as Diesel, the Pierce Brothers and members of The Temper Trap. Listen to his new single, ‘Time Stands Still’, out now.

Best known as the frontman of Jet, NIC CESTER is based in Milan, Italy, where he’s carving out a hugely successful solo career off the back of his debut solo album, Sugar Rush. Expect a live album with his incredible band The Milano Elettrica in 2020. He’s also one of the vocalists for The Jaded Hearts Club, a supergroup with members Miles Kane (The Last Shadow Puppets), Matt Bellamy (Muse), Graham Coxon (Blur), Jamie Davis (Transcopic), and Sean Payne (The Zutons).

English-born, Sydney raised singer/songwriter ODETTE is quickly accelerating to become one of our most interesting pop newcomers. Her 2019 debut album, To A Stranger, was bold and confident, mixing soul and jazz influences on singles such as ‘Take It To The Heart’ and ‘Feverbreak’. Her intoxicating sound can be heard this week when she makes a special appearance with The Rubens on The State of Music.

NSW five-piece THE RUBENS have toured with the likes of P!NK and Bruce Springsteen, won the triple j hottest 100 + multiple awards (including APRAS and a J Award) and smashed radio airplay nationwide with their hit album LO LA RU (2018). The band recently celebrated single ‘Live In Life’ going Platinum (17+ million streams), while current single ‘Heavy Weather’ is on high rotation at triple j. Catch the band when they head out on their biggest headline tour to date, Sept-Dec this year.

Melbourne trio SOMETHING FOR KATE will release their long-awaited seventh album in 2020 – incredibly, their first full-length since 2012. It’s led by the excellent new single ‘Situation Room’. Paul Dempsey, Stephanie Ashworth and Clint Hyndman are one of Australia’s best-loved bands, with five albums to date debuting in the Top 5 of the ARIA Album Chart. They join us this week for a special performance filmed in the gorgeous State Drawing Room at Melbourne’s Government House.

The State Of Music is a weekly livestream created by Mushroom Group in partnership with the Victorian Government’s Victoria Together initiative.