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  • garry gray 2025Julian Wu photo

    The Barman has sent out the call for Top Tens. I have ditched my Imperial Wardrobe to deliver a stripped-down Metallic KO Top 10. Lean on words and mean on content – old, new, stolen, and blue – five live and five vinyl – here we go for the tip of the iceberg of my musical stuff of 2025. Time won’t permit my top 500.

  • penny 2025 Heather McDonaldHeather McDonald photo

    Joseph Keckler – Brunswick Ballroom, Melbourne 
    He made my Top Ten last year, and his return only confirms why. Joseph Keckler remains one of the most distinctive voices working today: brilliant, entertaining, and unlike anyone else.

    An American singer, musician, performing artist, and writer, Keckler moves effortlessly between absurdist operatic monologues and eerie, emotionally charged ballads. His work is steeped in the unorthodox and the uncanny, balancing dark humour whilst showcasing the breadth of his musical talents—something beyond the ordinary. 

    Melbourne musician Rosie Westbrook opened the show with a mesmerising solo guitar set. 

  • run run run stage

    There’s been a steady stream of Japanese bands visiting Australia in the last decade but it’s rare that one makes it out of China. That’s one thing that will make this month’s tour by Run Run Run something special. The ever-evolving Chinese psych-rock band is playing six shows across Canberra, Sydney and Victoria.

    Formed in 2014, Run Run Run has released several albums on seminal independent label Maybe Mars, also home to Carsick Carsand Birdstriking, and has played with Michael Rother (Neu!, Kraftwerk, Harmonia) and Gang of Four.