Boy & Bear mark a powerful return with the announcement of their biggest headline show ever, performing at the iconic Brisbane Riverstage with special guests The Dreggs, Bear's Den (UK) and RAGEFLOWER
Boy & Bear swiftly catapulted onto the world stage releasing their double-platinum debut album Moonfire which went on to receive five coveted ARIA awards. 2013’s Harlequin Dream and 2015’s Limit of Love albums both charted at #1 with Harlequin Dream also reaching Platinum sales.
With five consecutive top 10 albums and over half-a-‘billion’ streams, Boy & Bear’s live show is a uniquely compelling experience that has earned the band the glowing reputation as one of Australia’s most outstanding live acts and compelling musical exports.
ON SALE TIMELINE
- Announce: Friday 14 November, 7am AEST
- Pre-sale: Wed 19 Nov, 10am > Fri 21 Nov, 9am AEST
- General public: Friday 21 November, 10am AEST
*Note all times are AEST – Local Qld time
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In it’s original conception Boy & Bear started as a solo project for singer and songwriter Dave Hosking. In February 2009 Hosking sent a track of his “The Storm” to Australian radio station Triple J who played the song regularly and it became a staple of the station. Shortly after Hosking invited singer, songwriter and guitarist Killian Gavin, drummer Tim Hart, Tim’s multi-instrumentalist brother Jon Hart, and bassist Jake Tarasenko to join the band.
In October 2009 Boy & Bear independently released the single “Mexican Mavis”, which after being sent to Triple J again received regularly airplay along with on Nova FM. The band soon garnered a good deal of attention for their melodic and heartfelt style of folk-rock, seemingly the Australian answer to Mumford and Sons and Fleet Foxes. Following the release of “Mexican Mavis” Boy & Bear signed a deal with Island Records and toured alongside Angus and Julia Stone and Hungry Kids of Hungary.
The group subsequently released their debut EP “With Emperor Antarctica” in early 2010 followed up by a UK tour in support of Laura Marling, Alessi’s Ark and Mumford and Sons. In August 2011 Boy & Bear released their debut full-length album “Moonfire” to across the board positive reviews with the album reaching No. 2 in the Australian Albums chart. The album features the singles “Feeding Line”, “Milk & Sticks”, “Part Time Believer” and “Big Man” and has since been certified as double platinum. At the 2012 ARIA awards the band took home five trophies including for Breakthrough Artist, Album of the Year and Best Group.
In 2013 Boy & Bear released their second full-length album “Harlequin Dream” led by the homage to Richard Clapton single “Southern Sun”. The album peaked at No. 1 in the Australian Albums chart, was produced by Wayne Connolly and has since been certified gold.
Andrew Davie, Kev Jones and Joey Haynes first formed Bear’s Den in 2012 in West London. The band set out on their first tour in 2012 in the United States with Ben Howard, Nathaniel Rateliff and The Staves. The tour was the subject of a documentary “Austin to Boston,” in 2014 by James Marcus Haney and premiered at the 58th BFI London Film Festival. In 2013 the band also went out to tour Australia to support Matt Corby in October 2013.
Bear’s Den released their first studio album on 20 October 2014 by Communion Records, an artist led label founded in 2006 by Kevin Jones and Mumford and Sons’ Ben Lovett and producer Ian Grimble. The band has also re-toured the North America to support various other bands, such as Mumford and Sons, Smoke Fairies and Daughter, as well as headlining tours themselves. To promote the release of their “Islands “ album, Bear’s Den set out on tour across Europe in October 2014. In June 2014 Bear’s Den received a monetary prize for earning the Momentum Deezer Award from the PRS (Performing Right Society) for Music Foundation, a foundation that is a UK copyright collection society and performance rights organisation. To
I remember being genuinely struck by Boy & Bear when they opened for Laura Marling a few years back, for numerous reasons; that, in itself, was surprising to me, given that their gentle brand of folk-rock was hardly the most original thing I’d heard in a while. There was such a confidence to their performance, though, that you couldn’t help but be impressed; after all, this was their first time in the UK, playing to an intimidatingly large room (Salford’s Lowry Theatre) and just about as far as they could possibly get from their hometown of Sydney. They fired through material from their debut record, Moonfire, with a genuine tightness to the performance, despite the fact that the album, at that point, was over a year away from reaching record stores; they’d not even been signed for long at that point. Perhaps the bravest decision they made, though, was to throw in a Bon Iver cover; so distinctive is Justin Vernon’s delivery that usually, artists covering his songs tend to try to take them in an entirely different direction. Not Boy & Bear, though; they stuck to the script and delivered a version of ‘Flume’ that - whisper it - might even have been more emotionally arresting than the original. They’ve made it to the UK a few times since, with their most recent dates, earlier this year, in support of sophomore LP Harlequin Dream; their schedule is usually a heavy one, so don’t be surprised to see them back before long.
Three burly dudes clad in thick sweaters and toques: not exactly what you’d expect from an indie-folk outfit from London singing emotionally heavy folk rock tunes about love and loss. Of course, this is exactly what you get with Bear’s Den, the kind of honest and approachable guys you could see yourself being friends with.
Having started their career signed to Communion Records as the openers for fellow indie/rock/folk acts like Matt Corby, Daughter, and probably the golden ticket, opening for Mumford and Sons at London’s O2 arena, Bear’s Den possess that unique ability to produce an intimate performance that’s infused with raw energy and adaptable to any sized stage. As they’ve graduated from an opening act to headliners, Bear’s Den have found their place on stage at both festivals and smaller venues, endowing the crowd with music from three EPs including Without/Within, Agape, and their latest addition, Elysium, keeping the folk indie spirit alive throughout.
They get into the music without getting completely lost in it, giving the crowd an open invitation to wholeheartedly indulge in their performances. The heartbreaking Sahara is the perfect example of their ability to convey honest emotion on stage, and you truly get the sense that they’re doing it for no one but themselves.