Arts and Entertainment Archive

The story of US pop singer Karen Carpenter is well-known: the squeaky clean all-American girl-next-door who, with her brother Richard as the duo The Carpenters, had sunny hit after sunny hit during the cloudy 1970s. What is maybe not so well known …

Jazz singer Crystal Barreca has found her groove. For a few years now I have had the pleasure of hearing Barreca singing around Sydney’s (and now Canberra’s) jazz spots, cafes and holes-in-the-wall. I most recently remember hearing her up front of the …

Six years ago, when Californian Jonah Matranga was last in Australia, he played at the ill-fated Hopetoun and the now re-ignited Annandale. Spotting the Sando down the hill on King Street, with the recent addition of a bright red sale sign, did he …

Women play a big role in the 69th Venice International Film Festival which kicked off on August 29 and will run at the Venice Lido until September 8, writes Ilaria Bettinelli. Directed by Alberto Barbera and organised by La Biennale di Venezia, …

Listening to After All, the new release by young Melbourne altoist James Carter, I was taken back to the wonderful Ron Carter Trio gig at Sydney’s Basement in June last year. Like Ron Carter’s spry unit, the James Carter group also works without a …

The Russian Resurrection Film Festival opened at Sydney’s Chauvel Cinema on August 30. Festival director Nikolas Maksymow has been at the helm of the largest Russian film festival outside Russia since its inception in 2003. This year the festival will present 25 recent …

It takes a lot of sass to strip on stage – and a whole lot more to make it look classy. Miss Burlesque Australia 2012 Briana Bluebell takes us beyond the sequins and suspenders to what lies beneath: a girl who never …

Once in a while a cinematic experience comes along that sweeps us off our feet. It pleases both the critics and the masses, gathering Academy awards on its path to glory. The Expendables 2 will do NO such thing: it doesn’t have what …

Many artists are wondering what to do to increase sales of authentic and original artworks at the Cairns  (CIAF) next year. But one artist from Badu Island in the Torres Strait knows exactly what to do next — more of the same! …

Got time for a dreadlock holiday? Then get your rasta on for the Reggaetown Festival funking out on September 1 in Kuranda, 27 km from Cairns. The gig reaches its tenth anniversary this year and they’re celebrating by showcasing a killer lineup …