The final Camp Cope show at the Sydney Opera House in October 2023 will be released as a limited vinyl.
Out October 17th, Camp Cope Live at Sydney Opera House spans the group’s catalogue across three albums: Camp Cope (2016), How to Socialise & Make Friends (2018), and Running with the Hurricane (2022). It also includes tracks from the 2017 7″ split with American rock band Cayetana, a special guest appearance from Julia Jacklin, contributions from family and friends, and the only recorded performance of the 10-minute version of “The Opener.”
The final performance in October 2023 was part of the Sydney Opera House’s 50th anniversary celebrations, and featured unofficial fourth member, multi-instrumentalist Jennifer Aslett (San Cisco, Julia Jacklin).
Camp Cope will release Camp Cope Live at Sydney Opera House on October 17 via longtime labels Poison City Records and Run For Cover Records, with the full show also available digitally through Bandcamp.
Formed in 2015, the trio, Georgia Maq, Kelly-Dawn Hellmrich, and Sarah ‘Thomo’ Thompson, became known not just for their music, but for pushing the industry toward greater equity for women before calling it quits in 2023.
On the vinyl, Maq reflected: “This release is special because it’s a record of the very last time we were in a room together. Kelly and Thomo changed me and the three of us will always be Camp Cope.”
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Hellmrich added: “There was a time they said we’d ruined our careers for being too loud, too opinionated. Then we sold out the Concert Hall at the Sydney Opera House, with a room full of people who’d probably been told they were too much of something. Too loud, too weird, too soft, too angry, too emotional, too queer, too honest.
“I’m so grateful this album exists as a forever record of the night we all loudly filled one of the greatest rooms in the country with everything they had wanted to silence.”
Maq has steadily built a solo career, from Pleaser’s heartbreak-pop, to singles like “Joe Rogan”, “Tropical Lush Ice”, and “Someone Stranger” with Alice Ivy, plus a live EP recorded at the Sydney Opera House.
More recently, she announced a new solo EP titled God’s Favourite, out September 4th. She has already released two tracks, “Slightly Below The Middle” and “Pay Per View”.
Meanwhile, Hellmrich recently announced her forthcoming debut book has been acquired by Penguin Random House. The book will blend “cultural commentary, personal reflection and interviews”, featuring inspirational female and gender-diverse musicians in Australia’s music scene.
Thompson continues to be an advocate for independent music and musicians through her work at Poison City Records.
She said releasing “Camp Cope Live at Sydney Opera House” on vinyl and digitally only via Bandcamp was a strategic decision that “felt important” to the group.
“From our beginnings rehearsing with amps that we couldn’t hear, our first shows in warehouses and small Melbourne venues, through to touring the world and releasing albums, the one thing that has never changed has been our focus on staying independent,” she said.
“Major streaming platforms such as Spotify have never and will never care about artists, and, no matter how they package themselves, will never care about music or art. Thanks for sticking it out with us as we did things our own way from start to end, this one is for you, not for the industry that tries its best to keep bands like ours from existing.”
Camp Copes’ Camp Cope Live at Sydney Opera House is out October 17th (pre-order here).
Camp Cope Live at Sydney Opera House Track List (Vinyl)
**comes with 15-track digital download**
Side A
Done
Blue
Jet Fuel Can’t Melt Steel Beams
The Screaming Planet (feat. Julia Jacklin)
Lost: Season One
Side B
How to Socialise & Make Friends
Sing Your Heart Out
Running with the Hurricane
The Opener (10 Minute Version)
Track List (Digital)
Done
Blue
Stove Lighter
Jet Fuel Can’t Melt Steel Beams
The Mountain
The Screaming Planet (feat. Julia Jacklin)
Caroline
Lost: Season One
Anna
How to Socialise & Make Friends
Keep Growing
Jealous
Sing Your Heart Out
Running with the Hurricane
The Opener (10 Minute Version)
