Project Description
. Tash Sultana, Fortitude Music Hall, Brisbane. Photo: Alec Smart, 1 Oct 2025 . . Tash Sultana, Fortitude Music Hall, Brisbane. Photo: Alec Smart, 1 Oct 2025 . . Ben Swissa, Fortitude Music Hall, Brisbane. Photo: Alec Smart, 1 Oct 2025 . . South Summit, Fortitude Music Hall, Brisbane. Photo: Alec Smart, 1 Oct 2025 . . Tash Sultana, Fortitude Music Hall, Brisbane. Photo: Alec Smart, 1 Oct 2025 . . Tash Sultana, Fortitude Music Hall, Brisbane. Photo: Alec Smart, 1 Oct 2025 . . Tash Sultana, Fortitude Music Hall, Brisbane. Photo: Alec Smart, 1 Oct 2025 . . Tash Sultana, Fortitude Music Hall, Brisbane. Photo: Alec Smart, 1 Oct 2025 . . Tash Sultana, Fortitude Music Hall, Brisbane. Photo: Alec Smart, 1 Oct 2025 . . Tash Sultana, Fortitude Music Hall, Brisbane. Photo: Alec Smart, 1 Oct 2025 . . Tash Sultana, Fortitude Music Hall, Brisbane. Photo: Alec Smart, 1 Oct 2025 . . CLICK THE PIC TO VIEW THE NEWS
TASH SULTANA
+ South Summit + Ben Swissa
@ Fortitude Music Hall,
Brisbane,
1st October 2025
(Live Review)Review and photos by Alec Smart
Tash Sultana, the Melbourne-based, multi-instrumentalist, musical prodigy of Maltese descent, performed an epic 130-minute concert at the Fortitude Music Hall in Brisbane, supported by South Summit and Ben Swissa.
The concert was part of Sultana’s ‘Return to the Roots’ international tour, which has already visited Europe and USA. As well as six dates in Germany, the European tour included gigs in Paris, Amsterdam, Vienna and London, culminating in Dublin on March 31. Then in June 2025 it relocated to the USA, visiting 9 venues across America.
In Brisbane, Tash Sultana, who can play at least 13 instruments, performed their (Sultana identifies as gender-fluid and uses they/them pronouns) diverse repertoire over two hours, plus a 10-minute encore. Their appearance was illuminated by a spectacular laser-light show projected across the crowd, interspersed with captivating graphics on a massive screen behind.
For the opening and closing numbers of their main set, Sultana was accompanied by a three-piece backing band.
Opening act Ben Swissa, who, like South Summit, supported Tash Sultana on all three of their main east coast tour concerts – Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne – is an accomplished lead guitarist and a confident performer. “Like Swiss cheese, but with an ‘A’ on the end,” is how he enunciated the spelling of his name – although, unlike Swiss cheese, his songs are not rubbery and full of holes!
He was accompanied onstage by drummer Matt Simmonds, and the two deliver a polished set of punchy songs, with Swissa’s vocals ascending occasionally to angelic highs, especially on the song Angel.
Swissa’s website states he is “capturing lots of attention from industry tastemakers and fellow musicians, with his bold, and accomplished take on contemporary, groove-heavy pop music as well as his electrifying live performances.”
A large group of young women gathered at the stage front, obviously captured by his charms too.
South Summit from Western Australia, played 12 gigs across Europe earlier this year as the opening act for Tash Sultana on her ‘Return to the Roots’ tour.
South Summit has several Indigenous members, including brothers Isaiah ‘Zaya’ and Nehemiah ‘Nemo’ Reuben (lead vocals and guitarist, respectively), Torres Strait Islanders from Erub Island, and bassist Josh Trindall, a Kamilaroi/Yuin Aboriginal.
Formed in 2020, they released their debut EP Merlin’s in January 2021, followed by Creatures and Tales of the Yeti, in 2023, then in November 2024 released their debut album The Bliss, all on renowned Indie label Virgin Music Group.
Musically, they’re catchy, mid-paced rock with distinct reggae vibes, and vocalist Zaya has an earthy, emotive voice that elevates their songs.
They’ve played numerous festivals and venues, including a January 2022 concert for inmates at Casuarina Prison, a maximum-security gaol in Perth (which notoriously featured in a 2008 documentary Lockdown Oz – Australia’s Hardest Prison).
Their set at Fortitude Music Hall included a new track, We Are, which will feature on the second album they’re currently creating. They also performed a spirited cover of classic Police hit Roxanne, which they previously recorded for the Triple J Radio tribute series Like A Version.
Tash Sultana entered the Fortitude Music Hall arena under blue lighting, with three backing musicians – bass drums and keyboards – on separate risers at the rear playing a gentle rhythmic introduction.
The backing trio soon departed, but alone Sultana held the crowd spellbound for the next two hours, with music from their diverse compositions, which in the past decade has included two studio albums, four Eps and 27 singles.
Flow State album won the 2018 ARIA Music Award for Best Blues and Roots Album. Notion was shortlisted the previous year.
On a platform at the centre of the stage (upon which a stage hand ignited a stick of incense), was an array of instruments – including a trumpet, drums, keyboard, saxophone, xylophone, Irish bouzouki, electric bass, tin whistle and electric guitar.
These Sultana played at various stages of the night’s extraordinary concert, some of them just long enough to record sound loops on a sampler, then they plucked another instrument and embellished the looping samples with a flourish of melodic scales.
The hyperactive Sultana jogged back and forth between the central podium and two raised platforms either side, frequently leaping off mid-song to grasp another instrument that a well-synchronised stage assistant proffered from the wings.
Highlights from their set included Hazard to Myself, Notion and Jungle.
In between the fantastic laser display – needles of multicoloured light raking the theatre arena like a psychedelic comb – and the diverse music – Sultana weaved together reggae, soul and psychedelic rock, often in a single song – there were sombre moments.
Sultana announced to the crowd that 2025 has been “the worst year of my life.”
They elaborated: “At the beginning of the year, we found out my wife had cancer. They operated, but removed the wrong thing, so they had to operate again…
“Five weeks ago, three of my dogs were bitten by a tiger snake. One died; another had to be put down due to kidney failure.”
Sultana continued: after performing live at the Australian Rules (AFL) Grand Final (in which Brisbane Lions beat Geelong Cats) in a duo with American hip-hop icon Snoop Dogg, playing lead guitar to a rendition of his song Drop It Like It’s Hot, they returned home to another sad blow.
Another of Sultana’s dogs, Marley, was terminally ill and their grandfather passed away.
“I had a really big cry in my dressing room before I came onstage tonight,” they confessed. “I miss my dogs – but I was never going to cancel this tour. It’s like therapy.”
Later in the Fortitude Music Hall concert, Sultana performed their song Pink Moon, from the album Flow State, which they revealed was written about their beloved Marley.
“When I was 22, I lived in Brunswick Heads,” Sultana recalled, explaining the song’s inspiration. “That was when I was first breaking [becoming successful] and I attracted a lot of haters and death threats. I got a lot of love too, but I was doing a lot of drugs and when I returned home from a European tour, I had to put myself in rehab.
“Afterwards I got myself a dog, and called her Marley… Last Sunday, I put her down because she was dying of cancer. I lost my best friend.”
The backing musicians returned for the concert’s closers, and Big Smoke.
Sultana thanked the capacity crowd for turning up on a Wednesday night (mid-week for many is a difficult evening to go out), and she apologised, half-joking, “and I play for fucking ages!”
After a massive 120 minutes performance, Sultana still had plenty of fuel in the tank, and after a break, returned for a ten-minute version of Blackbird, played primarily on an acoustic 12-string guitar.
Phenomenal!
Set List
[with band]Unleash the Rage
Cigarettes
Hazard to Myself[solo]
Milk and Honey
Let the Light in
Notion
Jungle
Pink Moon[with band]
Coma
Ain’t it Kinda Funny
Maybe You’ve ChangedEncore
Blackbird
Check out Alec Smart’s (@alecsmart_fotos) full gallery of this event HERE
Check out Tammy Choo’s (@tammy.choo) full gallery of the Melbourne event HERE
Follow TASH SULTANA
Website – Facebook – Instagram
YouTube – SpotifyFollow SOUTH SUMMIT
Website – Facebook – Instagram – YouTubeFollow BEN SWISSA
Website – Facebook – Instagram – YouTube
Press Release 4th August 2025 (below) HERE
TASH SULTANA
announces
‘RETURN TO THE ROOTS’
Australian Shows 2025– First headline shows
since 2019Supported by South Summit and Ben Swissa
Tickets on sale Aug 8
Return To The Roots Ep Out Now
Listen to the EP Here
.AMNPLIFY – DB
