When King Stingray swam into view with their self-titled 2022 debut, the ripples could be felt coast-to-coast.
The surf-rock band from Northeast Arnhem Land possess a throwback sound that, with the right equipment, can be located deep in the Aussie DNA. Singing in English and Yolŋu Matha, the language of the Yolŋu people, King Stingray were immediately lauded by the industry and tastemakers.
They won the Australian Music Prize, for the outstanding album of the year; “Milkumana”, co-written by Roy Kellaway and Yirrŋa Gotjiringu Yunupingu, won the Vanda & Young Global Songwriting Competition; and the band collected Best New Artist at the 2022 Rolling Stone Australia Awards.
Their second album, 2024’s For the Dreams, was a contagious, welcome to the party. King Stingray will send those good vibes into the world when they embark on a major tour of the UK and Europe in June 2025. They’ll do so without lead singer Yirrŋa Yunupiŋu, who split from the band in March 2025. —Lars Brandle
Read an exclusive interview with Georgia Lines below. Check out the full Future of Music 2025 list here.
Rolling Stone AU/NZ: How was 2024 for you? What were your biggest achievements and favourite moments?
King Stingray: Biggest achievement: we did over 40 shows, wrote, recorded and released our second album, For the Dreams. Favourite moment: Jumping up with King Giz[zard] and doing a version of “Treaty” [by Yothu Yindi] in Austin.
Music is an increasingly crowded and competitive field. What’s one thing that makes you stand out from other artists?
We don’t think about it too much. We stick to our guns and rock out. Obviously having First Nations band members who write about country, culture, and family gives us an edge and over the last four years we have developed our signature sound, which we say is ‘Yolngu Surf Rock’.
What’s coming up for you in 2025 and beyond? Any big shows, notable releases?
Stay tuned, we have a huge year. Touring our sophomore album around the country, overseas headline shows in Europe and America, a support run with our mates King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard in Lithuania, Greece, and Bulgaria. We have also been working on a documentary with filmmaker Sam Brumby due to be released later in the year and, of course, we are writing new material.
