They're celebrating the anniversary with a lineup featuring NO ZU, Laura Jean, Gregor, Teether & Kuya Neil.
To celebrate their 30th birthday, Chapter Music, ALWAYS LIVE and Triple R are presenting CHAPTERFEST 30, a huge all-day party at Northcote Theatre on Saturday, November 5, featuring artists from across the label’s three decade lifespan. Since 1992, Chapter Music has championed adventurous and exploratory Australian music, making them one of the longest running independent record labels in the nation. From small run cassettes in the early 90s, through vinyl, CDs, vinyl again, downloads and streaming, Chapter has flown the flag for the best in Australian music for three decades.
What you need to know
- CHAPTERFEST 30 is a celebration of 30 years of Chapter Music
- The lineup features NO ZU, Laura Jean, Gregor, Teether & Kuya Neil
- It takes place on November 5 at Northcote Theatre
Check out Melbourne’s most comprehensive gig guide here.
The lineup is of course wide, varied and sensational. Naarm/Melbourne’s Heat Beat icons NO ZU return to live performance for the first time since the passing of cherished vocalist Daphne Camf. Revered Eora/Sydney songwriter Laura Jean plays an intimate solo set the day after releasing her brand new album Amateurs. Eccentric pop auteur Gregor and band play their first show since the release of 2020 album Destiny. Future rap duo Teether & Kuya Neil play tracks from their celebrated 2021 mixtape GLYPH.
In June 1992, seventeen-year-old, self-described “pimple-faced nerd” Guy Blackman put out a compilation cassette of bands from his Perth hometown called Bright Lights, Small City. He had to use fake ID to attend the launch of the cassette at the Shenton Park Hotel.
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Thirty years later, Chapter Music is still alive and kicking, having endured and blossomed across eras such as 90s lo-fi jangle, 2000s post-punk revival, 2010s lo-fi jangle revival and 2020s post-punk revival-revival. Chapter has now spent three decades as a tireless champion of Australian independent music and one of Australia’s longest running and most influential labels.
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Guy moved to Melbourne in 1995, where Ben O’Connor joined the fold as Chapter work and life partner. There was a six-year period where records were pressed by hand by Guy at vinyl plant Corduroy Records, then a spell in Japan where Ben & Guy documented the amazing music they discovered there. Back in Melbourne since 2004, they have released earth-shaking artists like Beaches, Crayon Fields, Dick Diver, The Goon Sax, Gregor, Kath Bloom, Laura Jean, Pikelet, Sweet Whirl, Smokey, Teether & Kuya Neil, Twerps, and many more.
Grab your tickets before they sell out by heading here.
