To call the year King Stingray had in 2022 a success would be an understatement: almost overnight, the self-styled Yolŋu surf rock outfit became one of the most celebrated bands in the country.
Their self-titled debut album reached number six on the ARIA Albums Chart, and earned King Stingray the 2022 Breakthrough Artist Award at last year’s ARIAs.
Already beloved in Northeast Arnhem Land, the band are intent on continuing their conquering of the rest of the country in 2023. That included a hugely-merited headline slot at Fed Live in January, as they fully flung themselves back into touring in the first month of the year.
Thousands of happy fans packed into Melbourne’s sunlit Fed Square to catch them in action, with surf-pop band The Moving Stills, alt-country singer-songwriter Babitha, and fellow Northern Territory outfit Andrew Gurruwiwi Band proving ample support at the free concert.
While King Stingray look forward to another busy year, including a special all-ages show at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl next month, Fed Live continues with another unmissable artist: acclaimed singer-songwriter Vera Blue is next up in the free concert series on Saturday, February 18th, with Gretta Ray, Vetta Borne, and PRICIE offering excellent support.
You can find out more information about Vera Blue’s show here, and read our catch-up with King Stingray below.
Tone Deaf: First of all, was it an honour to be asked to headline the opening night of Fed Live?
King Stingray: Absolutely. King Stingray have been getting and feeling so much love these days and to headline is just amazing.
You had such a busy end to the year with festival slots. Did you all have ample time over Christmas and New Year to regroup and refresh for 2023?
We were lucky over Christmas, we all got back home and enjoyed the classic Aussie holiday BBQs, seafood, backyard cricket, and time with family.
It was quite the lineup of support acts for your Fed Live show. Were you big fans of all three artists?
It was such a good line up and Andrew G Band is actually family.
It’s fair to say that 2022 was a massive year for you! You’d obviously been building towards it for several years, but did you ever think your debut album would be as well-received as it was?
It’s absolutely crazy! We love making music and when everyone gets behind us it’s an unbelievable feeling.
How did it feel to win the Breakthrough Artist Award at the ARIA Awards? The list of previous winners is incredible (Courtney Barnett, Amy Shark, Lime Cordiale etc).
Far out! That was a moment, yeah, too good!
What about new music? Will fans get to hear anything new soon?
We have a few new ones in the pipeline – you never know we might pull one out.
And what’s the plan for the rest of the year? I heard you’re playing a youth show for Live at the Bowl.
Yes we are doing a run of all ages gig, without going through all the dates. It’s going to be a busy year for us writing, recording, and getting in front of as many people as we can. That’s what we love!
