Saint Etienne’s goodbye lap will make it to Australia and New Zealand later this year.
The beloved British indie electronic-pop act will get their final Australasian tour underway with a concert Nov. 20 at Auckland’s Powerstation, followed by a show Nov. 21 in the New Zealand capital, Wellington.
Presented by Destroy All Lines, the jaunt then skips the Tasman for shows in each of Australia’s five capital cities: Adelaide (Nov. 23), Melbourne (Nov. 26), Sydney (Nov. 27), Brisbane (Nov. 29) and a tour closer Dec. 1 in Perth. The general onsale starts Friday, 9am local time at destroyalllines.com.
Across a career spanning more than 35 years, Saint Etienne earned a reputation for creating the creamiest, classiest of pop, with electronic touches and swinging ’60s flair. Saint Etienne is one for the connoisseurs.
The farewell tour follows the release of their final studio LP, International, via Heavenly Recordings, which dropped in September 2025. International has an Australian connection, a collaboration with Brisbane electronic-pop act Confidence Man on the track “Brand New Me.”
That collection peaked at No. 8 on the Official U.K. Albums Chart, one of the act’s three career top 10 appearances, and 11 entries in the top 40. The group also landed 17 tracks on the top 40 of the Official U.K. Singles Chart, including a top 10 appearance with their year 2000 collaboration with Paul Van Dyk on “Tell Me Why (The Riddle)” (reaching No. 7).
Saint Etienne bandmates Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs have known each other since childhood, and turned that friendship into a band in 1990 with their cover of Neil Young’s “Only Love Can Break Your Heart.” The first thing they ever recorded, which they completed in just two hours in a bedroom studio in Pollards Hill, north of Croydon, also gave Saint Etienne their first and only appearance on the Billboard Hot 100, topping out at No. 97 in 1992.
Singer Sarah Cracknell completed the lineup when she joined for their third single “Nothing Can Stop Us” and the 1991 album Foxbase Alpha.
Saint Etienne “aren’t splitting up as such,” reads a statement from the band. They “still remain the best of friends after 35 years recording together – but they don’t feel like they want to go on forever and wanted to go out with a bang.”
Before making the long haul, Saint Etienne will criss-cross the United Kingdom and Europe for a run of summer festival shows and headline concerts.
TEG taps Melvin Koh to lead Ticketek’s growth push across Asia.
Based in Singapore, Koh is appointed general manager, ticketing Asia, with duties for overseeing Ticketek’s operations, strategic partnerships and platform growth across the region as TEG “accelerates its presence in the region,” a company statement reads.
Koh boasts more than 18 years’ experience across sports, entertainment, venue management, commercial strategy and ticketing. Most recently, he served in a senior leadership post at the Singapore Sports Hub, where he established the Ticketing and Access Management function, and shaped its strategy and operating model.
His background, with extensive stints in both venue and promoter operations, positions him well to represent Ticketek’s platform to venues, promoters and rightsholders across Asia, reads the statement.
“The opportunity to lead Ticketek’s growth ambitions in Asia from Singapore is one I’m genuinely excited about,” comments Koh on his fresh role. “The live entertainment market in this region is growing rapidly, and venues, promoters and rights holders are increasingly looking for a technology and data platform that can keep pace with that growth.”
The new recruit joins Ticketek Entertainment Group (TEG) soon after the promotion of Cameron Hoy as chief executive officer, succeeding Brad Banducci.
“Melvin’s appointment reflects our ongoing commitment to Asia, a region we have operated in for many decades,” Hoy comments on the latest appointment. “Melvin brings deep experience across both venue and promoter operations, precisely the perspective needed to represent the full breadth Ticketek’s, ticketing, digital marketing and data capabilities to our partners across the region.”
TEG, the live entertainment, ticketing and tech giant, is owned by Silver Lake, the U.S.-based private equity company which specializes in technology investing, through a deal struck in 2019 worth more than A$1.3 billion.
Based in Sydney, TEG’s empire collects the ticketing powerhouse Ticketek, TEG Dainty, TEG Van Egmond, plus TEG Live, TEG Sport, TEG Experiences, Ovation and other businesses.
Luke Taleno isn’t short of courage. Or talent, as it turns out.
Taleno stepped into the America’s Got Talent auditions on Tuesday night, June 2, with a performance that was nothing short of golden, and a story that reads like a book.
Born in Cuba, and a cancer survivor, Taleno relocated at the age of just three to the United States, his parents chasing a “good life,” he explained in the preamble. Before he could speak a lick of English, he understood the language of music and its power to connect people. “Actually, that was how I got to learn the language. And the best way I could express myself.”
At 13, he was diagnosed with leukemia. “Writing songs, and music, got me through it,” he remembered.
After high school, Taleno took on odd jobs to pay the bills. “Music was the only thing I loved.” So, he started busking, rapping on the streets. Trying to find that small window of opportunity to chase his dream. Last season, he watched AGT from the audience, as a guest of his friend Jourdan Blue. That experience “made me realize,” he recounted, “this is what I’m supposed to do.”
He didn’t waste the opportunity then to get in front of Simon Cowell. “Remember this face,” he told the British hitmaker and AGT judge a year ago, “because next year I’ll be on this stage. And I expect that golden buzzer.”
Under the bright lights of the AGT stage, he pronounced: “I’m here for a reason, everything in my life prepared me for this moment right here.“
Taleno didn’t waste the opportunity before the entire panel of judges, either. Performing an original number, “From Seat to Stage,” a nod to his real-life AGT experience, Taleno showed he could walk it, and talk it.
“That’s how you take your moment,” Cowell remarked at the close. “I loved it. It was amazing,” Sofía Vergara enthused. “I am so glad that you made it to the stage because you deserve to be on the stage. Good job.”
Mel B doused the vibe by pointing out it wasn’t the greatest of all auditions. His breath work needs improvement, the Spice Girl explained. Cowell wasn’t having any of it. “I really admire people who just do it,” he stated.
Taleno just did it.
Howie Mandel, after giving a standing ovation, spoke last. Taleno, he said, is the poster boy of authenticity. “Last year you predicted something, and I have just one question,” he reacted. After a pregnant pause, and a response to his own question, Mandel hit the Golden Buzzer. With that, Taleno automatically advances to the Live Shows for AGT season 21.
Barry Can’t Swim, Interplanetary Criminal and Richie Hawtin (aka Plastikman) are the top billed talent for Bizarro’s 2026 festival run of Australia, which will drop into three east coast cities across one long weekend this October.
The electric music heavyweights lead the Labour Day weekend action at Overtone, set for Friday, Oct. 2 at Musgrave Park on the Gold Coast/Kombumerri; Freeform, Saturday, Oct. 3 at Sidney Myer Music Bowl, Melbourne/Naarm (presentedin collaboration with Crown Ruler), and Mode, Sunday, Oct. 4 at Cockatoo Island/Wareamah in Sydney/Eora.
Each respective lineup is unique and “centered on the same DNA celebrating electronic music on day-to-night dancefloors, while also being individually sculpted by the cities and spaces around them,” reads a statement from Bizarro, the Sydney-based promoter.
While Australia’s festivals scene is in a state of flux, with banner events Bluesfest, Splendour in the Grass, and many others either taking a pause or folding altogether, dance music events are playing to a different beat.
Creative Australia’s Soundcheck report from 2024 mapped the nation’s festivals circuit and found that dance music was the top genre, accounting for almost one in every four fests in these parts. Money is tight, but Aussies love a party. Further proof came earlier this week, when homegrown EDM superstar Dom Dolla sold out his homecoming show at Melbourne’s Marvel Stadium in record time, an historic moment for electronic music in these parts, say promoters Untitled Group and Frontier Touring.
The general on-sale for Overtone, Freeform and Mode festivals begin on Thursday, June 11, with the portal for early access opening the day before, on Wednesday, June 10.
BTS have added a third Melbourne show to their Australian tour leg of BTS World Tour ‘ARIRANG,’ responding to overwhelming presale demand with a new date at Marvel Stadium on Wednesday, Feb. 10.
The addition brings the Australian run to five shows — three nights at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne (Feb. 10, 12 and 13) and two nights at Accor Stadium in Sydney (Feb. 20 and 21).
ARMY Membership presale for the new Melbourne date opens Wednesday, June 3 at 10 a.m. AEST. General on sale for all five Australian shows begins Thursday, June 4 at 10 a.m. AEST for Melbourne and 1 p.m. AEST for Sydney via btsworldtourofficial.com. Only ARMY Membership holders who registered in advance will be eligible for the presale queue, and a Global membership number — a nine-digit number beginning with “BA” — is required for access.
The Australian dates are part of what is already shaping up to be the largest global K-pop tour of all time, spanning stadiums across Asia, North America, Europe, Latin America and Southeast Asia. The production features a 360-degree, in-the-round stage design placing fans at the centre of the experience while expanding overall stadium capacity.
It marks BTS’ first headline tour together since the Permission to Dance on Stage tour, which included 12 sold-out shows across Seoul, Los Angeles and Las Vegas.
The tour supports ARIRANG, BTS’ fifth studio album, released in March 2026. The record debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with the group’s sixth No. 1 on the chart since 2020. The seven-member group — RM, Jin, SUGA, j-hope, Jimin, V and Jung Kook — are five-time Grammy nominees and were named TIME’s Entertainer of the Year in 2020.
BTS World Tour ‘ARIRANG’ — Australia 2027
Feb. 10 — Melbourne, AUS — Marvel Stadium (new show)
The North American leg runs through Nov. 1 in Seattle, hitting major stops including Madison Square Garden in New York on Sept. 13, Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado on Aug. 29 and Intuit Dome in Los Angeles on Oct. 25. A European leg follows from Nov. 17, with dates in Zurich, Paris, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Amsterdam, Berlin, Brussels, Dublin and a run of U.K. arena shows closing at London’s The O2 on Dec. 7.
The tour wraps with five Australian and New Zealand dates in January 2027 — Perth’s RAC Arena (Jan. 19), Sidney Myer Music Bowl in Melbourne (Jan. 21), Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney (Jan. 23), Brisbane Entertainment Centre (Jan. 25) and Spark Arena in Auckland (Jan. 27). Artist presale opens Wednesday, June 3 at 12 p.m. local time, with general on sale from Friday, June 5 at 12 p.m. local time. VIP packages are available via vipnation.com.
The tour follows a landmark stretch for the Louisville, Kentucky singer. Last October he celebrated the 10th anniversary of his debut album T R A P S O U L and released the double album Solace & The Vices, with The Vices leaning into high-energy rap-driven production and Solace embracing a more soulful R&B sound.
He also teamed with Chris Brown on “It Depends,” which debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s R&B Digital Song Sales chart, peaked at No. 16 on the Billboard Hot 100, earned two Grammy nominations, two BET Award nominations, an American Music Award and an NAACP Image Award. A new album is forthcoming, preceded by the recently released single “IT’S OK.”
Tiller broke through in 2015 with the diamond-certified “Don’t” and his 3x platinum debut T R A P S O U L, which helped define modern trap R&B. His follow-up True to Self (2017) debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 — making him only the second artist in chart history to debut at No. 1 with a streaming-only release — while A N N I V E R S A R Y (2020) opened at No. 5 and his 2024 self-titled album landed in the Billboard 200’s top 20.
