Fifteen years ago, my high school crush strummed the guitar serenading: "And when the sun shines on her hair of gold, she's beautiful."
The song was 'Bella' by Angus & Julia Stone, from their 2007 debut album 'A Book Like This', and at the time, the record felt like a secret between us two.This became the catalyst of a total preference pivot, from Top 40 pop hits to delving deeper into the country's indie/ alternative/ folk scene. My iPod nano was saturated with the siblings' total discography, and I felt hesitant to share music which felt so magic – my own hidden gem.
Unsurprisingly, their talents eventually spilled into the mainstream with 2010 record 'Down The Way' propelling the pair into the Australian music spotlight. I've loyally tracked them on and off the charts, through all six albums, across their solo work – and to Brisbane's QPAC last night (6 August).
The pair launched into their Living Room Sessions tour with 'Santa Monica Dream' – harmonising softly, swaying before the stage's sheet of black velvet. As the acoustic track eventually came to its slow and bittersweet close, the curtains swung open, their band sitting poised among a collection of lamps and vintage furniture.
They picked up the pace with 'Losing You' from new record 'Cape Forestier' – a song rich with harmonies, stripped back instrumentally, returning to their early-day, folk-heavy roots.
"Hey Brissie," Julia smiled. "Thank you so much for being here tonight. It's our first show back in Australia – we've been all over, but it's nice to be home. This song is one of my all-time favourites that Angus ever composed. He wrote it on my birthday – and I have the title tattooed on my foot."
She swapped the acoustic guitar for keyboard during 'Yellow Brick Road', Angus taking the vocal lead, band member Ben Edgar belting a soulful electric guitar solo.
Melancholic 'Nothing Else' from 2017 album 'Snow' was embellished with heavy bass; crowd roaring with excitement as Julia debuted her iconic skills on the trumpet. "How about Julia Stone on the trumpet?" Angus announced to a cheering audience.
"She's such a little legend. It's been great, hanging out, playing music. Even though she nags the sh.t out of me." "I've been nagging him to play the next song on tour for the last 15 years!" Julia laughed. The band rolled into the beautiful 'Just A Boy' from their first album.
"When we were kids, our dad was a wedding singer – he's still a wedding singer today," Julia revealed, "but it took us a while to understand the concept of a 'cover band'. Growing up, we simply thought that he was very good at writing songs. Now, we're grateful that he exposed us to so much amazing music, and taught us about the art of interpreting it."
The band left the stage for the duo's acoustic rendition of Miley Cyrus' 'Flowers'. "Do you want to whistle?" Julia asked her brother – he obliged, effortlessly trilling the melody.
"We haven't played this song on tour, but we practiced during soundcheck, and it felt nice. It makes us feel nostalgic of a time when we'd gone our separate ways, but a man brought us back together to make another record – and we're so grateful that he did." Their self-titled, 2014 album made its first appearance with 'From The Stalls', followed by the bluesy 'Down To The Sea' from 2024's 'Cape Foriestier'.
"Now, we're going back to our Dad's house, where we wrote our first EP," Julia explained. "This is dedicated to Cathy Oates, who's in the crowd tonight. She kickstarted our career." 'Private Lawns' felt almost improvised, the band like a well-oiled jazz machine. Ben Edgar thrummed a banjo solo that stretched for minutes – though felt like no time had passed.
"When we moved to London after scoring our first record deal, we bought a Tarago. We'd saved for months, but somebody smashed the window during a show in Nottingham. A few nights later, the same thing happened; the back window smashed instead. So, we taped them up and drove around in what felt like a cardboard box instead," Angus laughed.
"We don't know what the f...'s going on, all the time, in and out of the studio, but we are constantly looking for ways to express ourselves. This song was the catalyst of our new record." 'Cape Forestier' is an easy-going, nostalgic, sun-soaked crooner, the track somehow melodically mirroring the fishing trawler it was written after.
"Alright?" "Yeah!" "Okay," the siblings asked each other amongst themselves; delving into 'Wherever You Are' before performing an instrumentally fleshed out rendition of 'Bella'.
"Twelve years ago, friends of ours were getting married, so I wrote them a song. It's gone on a big adventure now." "And then they got divorced," Angus interrupted, laughing. 'The Wedding Song' showcased its simple musicality but heart-tugging lyrics; the siblings following with 'Love Song' from their soundtrack album, 'Life is Strange'.
"I wrote this song to win over an ex-boyfriend. It didn't work," Julia revealed. She poured her heart into the vocals of fan-favourite 'For You'. "We feel so lucky to make music and travel together," she continued. "Our parents worked hard to give us these opportunities. We couldn't do it without you."
The Stones rounded off the set with adaptations of their two biggest tracks – an acoustic rendition of 'Chateau', and a synth-driven, psychedelic 'Big Jet Plane'. "We get to meet so many people – have so many hellos, so many goodbyes. When I wrote this, I didn't want to say goodbye. I wanted to take the person with me," Angus announced.
The band returned for an encore and stood without instruments at the front of the stage. Angus gently plucked the melody on guitar, while the five musicians sung Neil Young's 'Harvest Moon' in harmony.
QPAC Theatre is an undeniably beautiful yet unforgiving venue. The acoustics are divine, but exposing, and leave little room for the artists to hide. However, Angus & Julia Stone asserted their strengths as live musicians – the performance was faultless. Their vocals were richer than recordings, and the band sounded more like 15 members than 5.
When I mentioned I was reviewing the pair, more than one person responded with surprise. "Are those two STILL going?" they exclaimed, not negatively, more shocked at the span of their career.
They're not wrong. Close to 20 years is an unbelievable feat for the brother-sister duo. They have well and truly shifted from my teenage secret, to a prominent stitch in Australia's music tapestry.
