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Bringing the golden age of DIY hardcore shows and all things alternative into a modern setting, in 2025 Australia will play home once again to the freshest up-and-coming artists in the scene with the return of NEW BLOOM FEST, a curated touring festival showcasing all things alt rock, post-hardcore, grunge, punk, and everything in between.
Boasting a stalwart lineup, including headliners Basement, Balance and Composure, DRAIN, One Step Closer, Sweet Pill and Glitterer, NEW BLOOM FEST is definitely one to add to your calendars for March next year; legit, this is a stacked and extremely fun lineup lying in wait.
While we still have a few months to go before NEW BLOOM FEST kicks off, we grabbed a quick moment with Jon Simmons, aka the frontman for hypnotic American icons Balance and Composure to sneak a peek into some fan and personal Balance and Composure songs in a live setting; plus we get a glimpse of what backstage is like these days in the world of Balance and Composure. Stay tuned for more NEW BLOOM FEST coverage in the new year...but for now, here's something to whet your appetite!
I have a couple of favourite Balance and Composure songs that I love playing live. Firstly, there's a song any means from our new record [2024's With You in Spirit], it's the third track and we bring out an acoustic guitar for that one. And I just love playing that one with the band. I think it builds really nicely and flows really nicely. Plus, it's just so fun to play a new song. So any means is definitely my favorite right now of all time to play live.
I like playing Reflection a lot too, just because the crowd usually responds really well to that song, and it's just so fun to see everyone rocking out and having fun to that one!
There's also a song of ours called Cut Me Open, that's on The Things We Think We're Missing. We don't play it all the time, but when we do: I feel like there's a special vibe created with the fans and us. There is just something about that track, and I feel like it's a really special one to play live too.
It's funny too on the topic of live shows because these days, two of our guys in Balance have kids that they bring to our shows, and that's changed up the backstage atmosphere so much; but it's in a really fun, wholesome and cool way. I love it. I absolutely love it. Recently we were singing Wheels On The Bus with them, everybody was singing it. It was so funny and so awesome!
NEW BLOOM FEST 2025
For ticket info, head here.
New Bloom Fest Line Up:
Basement
Balance and Composure + DRAIN
One Step Closer + Sweet Pill + Glitterer
New Bloom Fest Dates & Venues:
Saturday 8 March 2025 - Fortitude Music Hall, Brisbane (18+)
Sunday 9 March 2025 - Roundhouse, Sydney (18+)
Monday 10 March 2025 (Public Holiday) - The Timberyard, Melbourne (18+)
BY TIANA SPETER