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The Gum Ball
announces
first portion of acts for 2023
feat. Mudhoney (USA),
Party Dozen, The New Christs,
Darren Hanlon and more…

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One of the Hunter Valley’s most cherished cultural escapes, The Gum Ball, returns in 2023, triumphant in its post-pandemic survival, ripe and ready to return to full strength with three days of musical discovery over the last weekend of the April school holidays, 21-23rd April 2023.

The idyllic bushland festival is pleased to announce the inclusion of seminal American punk band, MUDHONEY, heading up another thirteen specially selected acts, constituting an epic main size entrée serving, full of variety, flavour and styles. A mere taste of what’s to come, with a full line up announcement scheduled for later next month.

The Gum Ball brings a fine selection of esteemed musical guests and showcases them in an intimate setting one by one at the prestigious Dashville venue. Expect an incredible journey of music, covering a huge mix of genre and style, alongside live art, comedy, pro skateboarding, markets, workshops, camping and more.

In 2023, the festival continues in its purpose to connect community and culture, with distinct homage to the traditional owners of the land, the Wonnarua.

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The Gum Ball runs from 2pm Friday, April 21 all the way through to Monday morning, 24th April 2023.

Tickets are on sale now through Humanitix here

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GUM BALL 2021
Artists In Focus

MUDHONEY

Seminal Seattle four-piece Mudhoney return to Australia in 2023, marking nine years since their last local shows in 2014. A mammoth odyssey spanning April and May will see them playing headline shows across six states, with a handful of festival dates among them.

Mudhoney have an enviable career spanning over three decades, thirteen studio albums, five live records, and endless headline shows around the globe. Their provocative debut single ‘Touch Me I’m Sick’ and 1992 hit ‘Suck You Dry’ cemented them as pioneers of the late 80’s early 90’s grunge explosion, with their sound an instrumental foundation of the era.

The band have managed to find time to lay down tracks in the studio this year for their next opus due in 2023, which follows their 2019 EP “Morning in America” (“this is wilder, punkier and even funnier than last time around” – Clash), giving Australian fans the opportunity to hear all of the new material, and a bunch of the former favourites live.

Year after year, Mudhoney delivers contrarian, politically charged, anti-sentimental musings with their signature skuzz-rock rebellious, underground sound to wake you up, punch you in the gut and put a smile on your face with equal measure.

“Mudhoney traits – a limber, swinging rhythm section that rolls as hard as it rocks, Arm and Steve Turner’s intertwining guitars and Arm’s witty and well-observed lyrics, delivered with appropriate venom in an Iggy-esque sardonic croon.” Louder Than War

“The likes of Here Comes Sickness and Sweet Young Thing Ain’t Sweet No More crackle with the nihilistic primal menace that once proved too much for daytime radio.” The Guardian

For more on Mudhoney, check out:  Website – Instagram – Facebook – Twitter

PARTY DOZEN

Party Dozen are a 2-piece noise band from Sydney made up of Kirsty Tickle (saxophone) and Jonathan Boulet (percussion and sampler). Since forming in 2017, they have become renowned in Australia for their incendiary live shows, touring and playing with acts such as LIARS, Spiritualized and Viagra Boys. Exactly what Party Dozen are is completely up to the listener. Doom. Jazz. Hardcore. Psychedelic. No-wave. Industrial. Although largely instrumental, their sets are punctuated by Kirsty’s unique “singing” style, screaming into the bell of her saxophone which itself goes through a bevy of effects pedals. Intensely independent in everything they do, the duo write, perform and record everything themselves and have released two acclaimed albums on their own label, GRUPO: The Living Man (2017) and Pray For Party Dozen (2020).

FULL FLOWER MOON BAND

Brisbane based Full Flower Moon Band are an incredible female fronted rock band on an enviable rise. As in the title of the band suggests, it’s a project that is expansive and fully open to possibility. But as is hinted by the many line-ups – including an all-female crew a few years back – everything orbits around Dillon. It’s a bit like the moment we realised Kevin Parker was the visionary behind Tame Impala.

The latest release, Diesel Forever, mixed by ARIA award-winner Michael Badger, is Dillon’s first album with a permanent band, bringing the grind, groove and grit: Luke Hanson on drums; Caleb Widener and Christian Driscoll on guitars; and Marli Smales on bass. In the centre of this brew is Dillon’s chameleon-like voice: alternately deadpan, bravado-fuelled, sinister and coaxing. She might even add a lower octave, to become ambiguously gendered. An alter ego can also act as a convenient buffer between the songwriter and their words, particularly when they’re bowing at the altar of excess.

THE NEW CHRISTS

Rob Younger formed what was to become The New Christs in the early 1980’s after the demise of Radio Birdman, primarily to support Iggy Pop’s ill-fated Australian tour of 1983. The band have appeared spasmodically in Australia, and with greater success in Europe ever since. Line-ups of The New Christs have included members of Hoodoo Gurus, Celibate Rifles, Radio Birdman, Barracudas and Lime Spiders to name but a few. LP’s released by The New Christs include the classic ‘Distemper’, which reached number 1 on the Australian alternative charts in 1989, ‘Lower Yourself’, ‘We Got This’ and ‘Gloria’, as well as ‘Incantations’ their last studio effort from 2014. Songs such as ‘Born Out of Time’ ‘Like a Curse’ and ‘Heading South’ are etched firmly into the Australian underground rock music psyche. The unmistakable voice, delivery and presence of Rob Younger and his band remains a consistent draw card for lovers of Australian rock music to this day. The current New Christs line up consists of Jim Dickson (Radio Birdman, Barracudas) – Bass, Paul Larsen (Celibate Rifles, Screaming Tribesman) – Drums, Brent Williams – Guitar and Keyboards, Dave Kettley (Radio Birdman) – Guitar, and Rob Younger. These guys were voted in premiere Spanish Rock magazine ‘Ruta 66’ as “best concert of the year!” and have Toured Europe extensively playing to adoring fans. The New Christs remain one of Australia’s best bands.

DARREN HANLON

One of Australia’s greatest songwriters, Darren Hanlon is an exceptional artist, known for his idiosyncratic storytelling. His songs often hone in on the politics of love and relationships and have a rare ability to present the commonplace as special.

He has carved out a scattershot career on his own terms. Over time he’s managed to share stages and tour buses with a lot of his musical heroes (Billy Bragg, Michael Hurley, the Magnetic Fields). Fellow Australian Courtney Barnett has often cited his songs as an early influence on her own writing.

Hanlon has managed to have a rich few years, appearing in and singing the credits of the new Slim Dusty bio-pic Slim & I, garnering high rotation on Australian radio with his pandemic themed song ‘We All Cope in Different Ways,’ and a cameo in the hit kids TV show Bluey. He has just released his 6th studio album Life Tax, his most pared down and gentle work to date and is currently on the road touring it.

For more on Darren Hanlon, check out:  Website – Instagram – Facebook 

FLOWERTRUCK 

Five years in the making, Eora/Dharawal garage-pop outfit FLOWERTRUCK have returned with their sophomore album Partly Cloudy – the long-awaited sister record to their 2018 debut ‘Mostly Sunny’.

The acclaimed four-piece have dedicated their twenties to writing songs of love, loss and overdue rent.

The debut album “Mostly Sunny” nominated for the Australian Music Prize in 2018 made strong comparisons to bands such as alt pop icons Talking Heads, The Go-Betweens.

For more on Flowertruck, check out:  Website – Instagram – Facebook

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AMNPLIFY – ML