Think glam-rock is dead? Think again.
Mulga Bore Hard Rock are keeping the ageing rock genre alive, all the way from Akaye, Northern Territory.
The band released their highly anticipated debut album, Sweet Home Mulga Bore, last month via Community Music, confirmation of a promising new arrival in Australian rock music.
Mulga Bore Hard Rock — Thunder Child (Alvin Manfong – vocals/guitar), Desert Demon (Kirklen Bird – bass/vocals), Desert Dingo (Aiden Manfong – drums), Queen of Hearts (Niara Tilmouth – vocals/tambourine), Star Boy (Tryell Bird – guitar/vocals) and Black Diamond (Talvin Bird – bass) — are aged between 15 and 20, meaning things are just getting started for them.
Powered by their youthful exuberance, and unafraid to wear their rock influences on their sleeve, there’s lots of raw quality on show, particularly on the title track and “Heavy Rain”.
When so much of Australian music is concentrated in Melbourne and Sydney, Mulga Bore Hard Rock are another reminder — like Keanu Nelson and King Stingray — that some of the most exciting new music is coming out of NT.
The band first broke through with “Young Men”, another highlight from their debut album, in 2024, going on to showcase their music at BIGSOUND and SXSW Sydney.
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They’ve played some of the best events in the country, including Golden Plains and Port Fairy Folk Festival, as well as their own headline show at one of Australia’s best homes for live rock music, The Tote in Melbourne.
Get to know Mulga Bore Hard Rock better, as part of our Up-And-Coming Australian Artists series, below.
Mulga Bore Hard Rock’s Sweet Home Mulga Bore is out now via Community Music.
Rolling Stone AU/NZ: How much did music influence you in your early life?
Mulga Bore Hard Rock: Music was always a part of my life growing up .
What artists influenced you growing up?
My dad was a big fan of Elvis Presley. I got into him first, then Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, The Highway Men, Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, and more from that era.
I love singing ballads at home with family around the campfire out at Mulga Bore… Sweet Home Mulga Bore.
Then I started listening to my own music. Then it all came down to the ’80s and ’70s, Guns N’ Roses — Slash is my favourite guitarist — AC/DC, Black Sabbath, Ozzy Osborne, and then KISS.
Now I am listening to Yungblud.
What are some career highlights so far?
Meeting KISS would be the biggest highlight so far.
On the day, going to Cbus Stadium, I had butterflies, then to get there and meet your idols! And to support KISS, my idols, nothing beats that.
I was excited to see them play live too. I knew every word for every song. I can play all of their songs too and we played one — “Detroit Rock City”! I think they liked it, and then meeting them and seeing them play [was] definitely a career highlight so far.
Tell us about your latest release.
We are really excited for people to listen to the whole album from start to finish and go on that journey with us.
Kutcha Edwards, who sang on “Stay”, has a big powerful voice. We spent a lot of time with Kutcha in Melbourne in 2024 — before we went into the studio we spent two weeks at Kindred Studios with him and the Songlines crew (Aboriginal Music Corporation), rehearsing in January for the Share the Spirit show and [to be] support act for No Fixed Address at the Brunswick Ballroom, where I met my all-time hero of the guitar, Selwyn Burns. Kutcha had a big impact on me, teaching me about using my breathing to get the big high notes and the low notes. We are all like one big family now.
What kind of personality traits and values do you believe it takes to succeed in the music industry?
We used the same Neve desk at Hothouse Audio in St Kilda that was used to record The Angels and AC/DC. We learnt about all that history through that studio Hothouse with Dave Walker, who was on the road with us for two years. He taught me a lot and then to record our album with him at Craig Harnath’s studio in St Kilda on the same deck as AC/DC and The Angels!
We just went in and played, and so a good personality trait would be to have confidence in your own abilities and experiment with ideas. No fear — we just got in there and played our hard rock and made our album! Very lucky to have so many good people around us to help get this album out.
How would you describe your music to a potential fan?
Our music is hard rock with blues influence… ballad rock, pop rock influences… little bit of reggae rock… the community rock — influenced by the uncles in my community. [It’s] a combination of all those influences.
What are your goals for 2026 and beyond?
Going to RMIT studying Music and Sound Production. Change my eye colour to blue lol 🙂
Learning to produce our own music and bringing those skills back home to our community. One day [we want to] set up our own studio out [in the] bush where we can relax and record what we want, teach the young ones coming up, see them come up the ladder and get that confidence too. That’s a dream — and taking those new songs to the world.
