Fresh Finds: Class Of 2025 – Aussie Acts To Add To Your Playlist

Liz Giuffre, Journalist

Liz Giuffre

Liz Giuffre is a Sydney-based music and arts writer who's been listening, writing and dancing badly along to music since the late’ 90s. Although she clearly started her career as the Doogie Howser of Australian music journalism (a reference that will give away her age if nothing else), her passion has only sharpened over the years, even if her upper-level hearing range has softened. Just another excuse to get in early for the best position down the front.

A proud member of The Music extended family, Liz also has a 'grown up job' as an academic teaching and writing about popular music and culture at UTS in Sydney, and she also moonlights as a podcaster and archivist for community radio. Someone towards the higher end of the Australian music industry once called her a "Doctor of Pop", but you can just call her Liz. There's also a couple of little music fans who call her 'Mum'. She’s only met Molly Meldrum in the flesh once, and she didn't 'just go in for the hug'. Regret is a powerful emotion.

Reviews / Album
Album Review: Emma Pask - Season Of My Heart
Don McLean meets Simon & Garfunkel plus the old favourite – thanks Santa.
Reviews / Live
Live Review: The Seekers
After two sets that included more video, flashbacks and a fabulous ‘70s-inspired costume change (Durham still cuts an amazing figure and manages epic heels), of course, the final tune was The Carnival Is Over. Let’s hope it’s got a while to go just yet.
Reviews / Live
Live Review: Jordie Lane, Old Man Luedecke, All Our Exes Live In Texas
It stretched the friendship a little for the electro danceparty waiting upstairs to invade, but folkie folk were well served indeed.
Reviews / Live
Live Review: Salt N Pepa, Merv Mac., DJ Def Rock
Of course the encore was Push It (led in by a sample of The White Stripes’ Seven Nation Army, just because they could), and it was real good.
Reviews / Live
Live Review: Bluejuice, Sures, The British Blues
A strange but cool combination of tunes all round.
Reviews / Live
Live Review: A Day On The Green
Rounding out his time with lighter versions of singles like Yesterday’s Gone, the Day was green and groovy indeed.
Reviews / Album
Album Review: Paul Dempsey - Shotgun Karaoke
While there’s a couple of moments of shameless cheese (the sung ‘instrumental’ in Queen’s I Want To Break Free, for example), even this is divine.
Reviews / Live
Live Review: Kim Wilde, Nik Kershaw
Tonight was not quite as tongue in cheek as some of the recent ‘80s relaunches (Rick Astley at the same venue last year was outwardly and knowingly hilarious), but fun none the less.
Reviews / Live
Live Review: Sampology, Kilter, DJ Butcher, LDRU
Sampology owned not just the evening, but the week. So much painstaking work, no doubt, but bloody hell it was worth it.
Reviews / Live
Live Review: The Basics, Hoy, The Familiars
Spanning much of their decade-plus career, tonight upbeater So Hard For You stood strongly next to the gorgeous harmony-driven Hey Rain, while covers in between also got a go.
Reviews / Live
Live Review: Rihanna
Only 20 minutes late (a very reasonable amount of slack to allow someone you love), she bounced, pranced, sang and costume-changed.
Reviews / Live
Live Review: Calexico, Tiny Ruins
Promising to allow room to make the gig ‘as cinematic as possible’, with just a red curtain backdrop in the main concert hall, they took the Opera House through the desert and out across the countryside with Two Silver Trees, Dead Moon and Maybe On Monday especially.