That’s a wrap! The inaugural Rolling Stone House closed its doors in the early hours of Saturday morning, October 19th, completing a three-day festival of indie and up-and-coming acts, part of SXSW Sydney 2024.
Independent Australian music powerhouses LLA and UNIFIED Music Group curated opening night, Wednesday, October 16th, as Full Flower Moon Band, The Grogans and Hockey Dad amped the UTS Underground.
Felony, the reigning best rock act at the Queensland Music Awards, were in full hero-mode, as they stepped in at the 11th hour and filled the slot left vacant when secret headliner Tones & I fell ill. Hockey Dad then brought the house down in the headline spot.
Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers hosted the night and gave us a late-evening religious experience with a DJ set of tunes that inspired the Canberra band, who’re fresh from a coast-to-coast tour of the United States.
Our very own @larsbrandle sat down with the unstoppable #TeenJesusandtheJeanTeasers to ask some of your most burning questions!#sxswsydney #RSHouse24 #teenjesusandthejeanteasers #larsbrandle pic.twitter.com/wLAnbIjsjC
— Rolling Stone AU/NZ (@rollingstoneaus) October 17, 2024
Night two had something for everyone, from singer-songwriter Bri Clark, to experimental duo Party Dozen, DJ sets from Nitecall, melodic indie act The Buoys, Kiwi pop-punkers Bakers Eddy, Indigenous rockers Mulga Bore Hard Rock, and dream-pop band Alibii.
Night owls were rewarded with a special headline set by Voice of Baceprot, the all-female, hijab-wearing heavy metal trio that, in June 2024, became the first Indonesian band to perform at Glastonbury Festival. VoB rocked so hard, the venue’s operators ought to contact a structural engineer.
Epic scenes from #RSHouse at #SXSWSydney. My new favourite band @baceprotvoices pic.twitter.com/E7hxea9TWc
— Lars Brandle (@larsbrandle) October 20, 2024
The third and final evening got underway with Vampr competition winner Athanasia, and another friend of Vampr, Emmanuel Kelly, the differently-abled Australian artist who used his spot as a warm-up for his forthcoming national tour opening for Coldplay.
The vibe never died as Phoebe Rings, Yung Raja, Ayesha Madon, daste., Dayshawn (with two DJ sets) and Colombia’s BALTHVS got the place pumping.
New Zealand DJ and producer phenomenon 9Lives took it home with a set of underground rippers.
All told, more than 20 acts performed at the first Rolling Stone House at UTS Underground, a partnership with American Apparel, Cholula and Vinyl.com, a division of Vinyl Group, publishers of Rolling Stone AU/NZ.
