This Week In Music News
Band breakdowns, big-name tour announcements, an even bigger conference and a secret little something we can’t tell you about just yet. It’s all here in this week’s music news.
The filth hit the fan in music news this week with two members of British death metal icons Cradle Of Filth departing the band mid-tour. Cradle Of Filth frontman Dani Filth announced on social media guitarist Mark ‘Ashok’ Šmerda had been fired from the band.
“Despite all attempts to illegally defame and derail the band, Cradle Of Filth WILL NOT cancel of our South American shows,” Filth posted on the band’s Facebook page.
“Though fans will have to bear with us being a band with only one guitarist live, that is of course until Ashok’s temporary replacement is flown out to join the tour in a few days’ time.”
Following the announcement, Šmerda’s wife, keyboardist Zoe Marie Federoff also quit the group. It has been reported that Kelsey Peters will be taking over on backing vocals and keyboard for the rest of the tour.
Both Šmerda and Federoff have detailed allegations of poor pay and a toxic work environment fostered by Dani Filth and band management.
“Among other reasons it is a lot of work for relatively low pay, the stress is quite high, and we haven’t felt for a while like this band actually prioritising/caring about members,” Šmerda said on social media.
“It has been years of unprofessional behaviour from people above us that led to our decision.”
In brighter touring news from the UK, British-Sri Lankan rapper and activist M.I.A. has extended her upcoming Australian visit in October. Already performing at Harvest Rock festival in Adelaide on 25 October, the ‘Paper Planes’ rapper will also play headline shows at Forum in Melbourne on 26 October and Enmore Theatre in Sydney on 29 October.
Real name Mathangi Arulpragasam, M.I.A. has been a dominant force in hip hop and world music. Her last album ‘Mata’ was released in 2022 and so far in 2025 M.I.A has released two new singles, ‘Safe’ and ‘Armour’.
This year’s Melbourne International Jazz Festival is boasting its most expansive line-up ever, featuring more than 500 artists from 18 countries, including some of the biggest names in jazz today. Harry Connick Jr is headlining the final weekend of the festival with six hours of jazz, soul and New Orleans classics, joined by Bill Frisell and Emma Donovan.
The 2025 Melbourne International Jazz Festival runs for ten days from 17-26 October, with more than 150 performances across 40 venues, including heaps of free events. Other acts include US DJ/producer Natasha Diggs, UK multi-instrumentalist Tenderlonious, and local talent from Melbourne’s Horatio Lune among a cavalcade of world-class performers.
Further north in sunny Brisbane, the southern hemisphere’s premier music industry conference and talent showcase BIGSOUND is set to take over Fortitude Valley from 3-5 September. BIGSOUND 2025 presents keynote presentations, workshops, seminars and of course the live showcase with some of today’s hottest emerging acts and artists.
Rounding out this week’s music wrap is some news from MADCAP Global Entertainment. We have an exciting announcement coming at the end of next week, so keep your eyes and ears peeled for our latest offering.
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