For the unfamiliar, Max Aurora & The Southern Lights blend their dreamy, bittersweet indie rock with the punch of pop-punk and emo. Led by intersex / non-binary songwriter Max Aurora, they explore narrative-driven songwriting, often inhabiting different characters’ perspectives, drawing on empathy, imagery and lived experience.

This double single launch will celebrate the release of 'How I Know It's Right' and 'Picking Up Glass', two songs which are like siblings, both written in the same one creative late night and both produced by Jonothan Tooke from Cry Club.

'How I Know It's Right' is an indie rock / pop punk anthem about looking for wholesomeness after a breakup. In May the band stormed the AMRAP charts to secure #2 on the Indie Chart, #8 on the Metro Chart, and #10 on the National Airplay Chart.

'Picking Up Glass' is an indie rock power ballad about navigating sensory overwhelm in the fallout of the same breakup.

First supports for the show are indie pop sweethearts 'Meraki Minds'. Ballarat-bred and Melbourne-based, Meraki make anthems for those in the post-coming-of-age inertia: electric stage presence, jangly guitars, and dreamy vocals.

Second supports for the show are melodic alternative rock band 'Grevillea Hedge'. Fluctuating between slow ballads to upbeat alternative rock, Grevillea's unique sound will transport you to a place of imagination.

The Retreat Hotel would like to acknowledge the Wurundjeri People of the Kulin Nation, the traditional custodians of the land on which The Retreat now stands, and pay our respects to all elders past, present and emerging. We acknowledge that sovereignty has never been ceded and that our venue operates on stolen land.