In a recent interview with Rolling Stone Australia, Tash Sultana slammed their home country for not embracing homegrown acts enough.
Even though I’m not Aussie, I second that opinion. And if an artist of Sultana’s calibre feels that way, imagine what it means for lesser-known bands. Or the ones that don’t fit a certain music star “standard”, come from specific backgrounds and create for niche audiences.
Hence, I thought it was a great opportunity to amplify their voices. So I did some digging and found you some real Aussie gems.
PART 228 OF “AM I EVER GONNA SEE YOUR FACE AGAIN?” A RANDOM COLLECTION OF UNKNOWINGLY OBVIOUS FACTS ABOUT THE AUSTRALIAN MUSIC SCENE
Before you ask. It’s true that in the Land Down Under, March is the month when the famous Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras is celebrated. So if you ever get a chance to be there on those dates, you can’t miss it.
I’ve only experienced it once, but it was a night I’ll never forget. I was on an emotional high for days, simply because it’s a feast for all senses. Obviously, music is one of the most important elements of the party. And I was super fortunate that year. Kylie Minogue, who is widely considered a gay icon, graced the premises with her Pop Princess presence.
Back to the international Pride Month, though. I highlighted some awesome Aussie artists repping the rainbow flag in 2020 and 2023 already. But I keep discovering new talent almost every day, so I want ya’ll to know about those acts punching high above their weight.
There are 30 songs on my playlist, one for each day in June. And not that you care about my quirks, but I’m mildly obsessed with sorting things. So it’s not a ranking of any sort. But I’ve ordered the songs alphabetically. I believe it’s fairer that way, and you get a proper shuffle mix of genres, moods, styles and tastes.
On that variety note, some songs are by solo artists, and some are rad collabs. That means you get to know more than 30 artists, really. Plus, one of the tracks is partially sung in Spanish. I also encourage you to approach this playlist with an open mind because you’ll travel from pop bangers to quieter indie rock anthems and from hip-hop rhymes to electronic music operas.
You’ll find some pretty big names on there, too. Apart from the already mentioned Tash Sultana (who, btw, is featured in the first proper post on this blog and who released a beaut EP, Return To The Roots, recently), G Flip, Troye Sivan, and Alex Lahey also made the cut, among others. But I’m not afraid to acknowledge that I heard the names of some acts… like yesterday. Literally, up until last night, I didn’t even know Jawbreakers, Royston Noell, or St. South even existed.
You see, one of my goals on this platform is to present acts that might not have a massive following and/or be familiar to overseas audiences. And, as one of the artists from the playlist, BVT (Bernie van Tiel), stated in an interview with SBS Filipino: “It’s exhausting being a queer person of colour.” So, you know, over the years, I’ve tried to dedicate some space to queer Australia. Because all they really want is to be seen (and heard).
So I had HANDSOME answer some questions for the blog for Pride in 2022. I reviewed a spellbinding song, “I’ll Stay Right Here” by Qeeran, at the beginning of 2023. The concept of the TRANSGENRE Festival caught my eye at the end of that same year. I proclaimed BIG WETT the most entertaining act at the Aussie BBQ in London in May 2023. And I’ve featured Montaigne and Mia Wray more than once in my #lyricsoftheweek segment.
And just to be clear – June shouldn’t be the only month we champion queer, GNC (gender non-conforming) or non-binary musicians worldwide. But we’ve still a long way to go.
So, without further ado, I give you Aussie Pride 2025, curated by me, Silly McWiggles. Listen to it loud and proud. And show those acts that love is love, will you?
P.S. There are SO. MANY. MORE. BADASS. QUEER. MUSOS in Australia. But I needed to introduce some qualifying criteria, namely, the release date (songs released in 2025). Otherwise, the playlist would be endless (which can be a good and a bad thing). So come back next year. I’ll probably have discovered new acts by then.
Cover photo by Manuel Bonadeo on Unsplash
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