The Music Show

There aren’t many bands that are still going after 50 years, but Sparks, who had their first big hit back in 1974 with This Town Ain’t Big Enough For Both Of Us, have seen a renaissance of sorts in the last few years - they wrote a film, starred in a documentary, collaborated with Cate Blanchett, and have released some of their best work. The brothers, Ron and Russell Mael, talk about their shifting style, creative use of repetition, and the work of Bernard Herrmann. 

After performing with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Mo'Ju has swapped the stage for the library - as one of the musicians commissioned by the State Library of Victoria to write a song for their Rebel Heart exhibition, works inspired by letters that reveal tales of love, and of rebellion.

Sparks tour dates available here.

Music heard in this program:

Title: Far Too LateArtist: Mo'juComposer: Mojo Ruiz de LuzuriagaAlbum: Native TongueLabel: ABC Music

Title: Do Things My Own WayArtist: SparksComposer: Ron Mael & Russell MaelAlbum: MAD!Label: Transgressive Records

Title: This Town Ain't Big Enough for Both of UsArtist: SparksComposer: Ron MaelAlbum: Kimono My HouseLabel: Island Records

Title: Tryouts for the Human RaceArtist: SparksComposer: Ron Mael & Giorgio MoroderAlbum: No. 1 In HeavenLabel: Virgin Music

Title: My Baby's Taking Me HomeArtist: SparksComposer: Ron Mael & Russell MaelAlbum: Lil' BeethovenLabel: Lil' Beethoven Records

Title: The Girl Is Crying In Her LatteArtist: SparksComposer: Ron Mael & Russell MaelAlbum: The Girl Is Crying In Her LatteLabel: Island Records

Title: AgapitoArtist: Mo'JuComposer: Mojo Ruiz de LuzuriagaAlbum: State Library of Victoria Exhibition Label: Independent 

Title: I Just Wanna KnowArtist: Mo'juComposer: Mojo Ruiz de LuzuriagaAlbum: Native TongueLabel: ABC Music

Title: Music from Psycho - The MurderArtist: National Philharmonic OrchestraComposer: Bernard HerrmannAlbum: PsychoLabel: Unicorn

The Music Show is made on Gadigal, Gundungurra, and Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Country Country

Technical production by Antonia Gauci

Tabaran, the 1990 album by Not Drowning, Waving and the musicians Of Rabaul, Papua New Guinea featuring Telek, has been inducted into the National Film and Sound Archive as one of the Sounds of Australia. David Bridie looks back on the album, which saw the band head to Papua New Guinea to work with George Telek for the first time.

The music of Australian composer Carl Vine serves as a swan-song for the Goldner Quartet, who have wrapped up by releasing their final album Child's Play. The title comes from one of Carl's pieces, and he joins Andy to talk about the music and collaborating with the Goldners. 

Music heard in this program:

Title: Piano Quintet "Fantasia" IIIArtist: Goldner String Quartet & Piers LaneComposer: Carl VineAlbum: Carl Vine: Child's Play, Piano Quintet & Other Chamber MusicLabel: Hyperion

Title: TabaranArtist: Not Drowning, Waving And The Musicians Of Rabaul, Papua New Guinea Featuring TelekComposer: Not Drowning, Waving & Telek Album: TabaranLabel: WEA

Title: The Kiap SongArtist: Not Drowning, Waving And The Musicians Of Rabaul, Papua New Guinea Featuring TelekComposer: Not Drowning, Waving & Telek Album: TabaranLabel: WEA

Title: Call Across The HighlandsArtist: Not Drowning, Waving And The Musicians Of Rabaul, Papua New Guinea Featuring TelekComposer: Not Drowning, Waving & Telek Album: TabaranLabel: WEA

Title: String Quartet No. 6 "Child's Play" I. PlayArtist: Goldner String Quartet Composer: Carl VineAlbum: Carl Vine: Child's Play, Piano Quintet & Other Chamber MusicLabel: Hyperion

Title: String Quartet No. 6 "Child's Play" V. RunningArtist: Goldner String Quartet Composer: Carl VineAlbum: Carl Vine: Child's Play, Piano Quintet & Other Chamber MusicLabel: Hyperion

Title: This Town Ain't Big Enough for Both of UsArtist: SparksComposer: Ron Mael & Russell MaelAlbum: Kimono My HouseLabel: Island Records

The Music Show is made on Gadigal, Gundungurra, and Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Country Country

Technical production by Emrys Cronin

Alan Menken’s name is synonymous with Disney’s 1990s purple patch: a so called ‘renaissance’ of the animation empire’s fortunes, where a run of films starting with 1989’s The Little Mermaid cut through to a new generation. Ahead of a series of solo performances in Australia, he talks to Andy about how he's brought characters to life through songs. 

And from the archives, conversations with three musicians inducted into the National Film and Sound Archive's Sounds of Australia for 2026: Marcia Hines, Joe Dolce, and Missy Higgins.

A Whole New World Of Alan Menken is in Melbourne on 6 May and Sydney 8 May. 

We're digging into the archives for a special program looking at the role that music played in the UK miners' strikes: a political, industrial and personal struggle. From Peggy Seeger to Paul Weller, Billy Bragg to brass bands—there's music supporting the striking miners, songs tormenting strikebreakers and tracks referencing (and sometimes sampling) National Union of Mineworkers leader Arthur Scargill and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

Emeritus Professor of Politics at the University of East Anglia John Street guides us through the history and music of this divisive time, plus we hear interviews from the ABC archives with folklorist A L Lloyd, singer songwriter Billy Bragg, Grimethorpe Colliery Band, folk singers Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger and composer David Lumsdaine.

Zoe Knighton of Flinders Quartet is undertaking a multi-year project with composer Melody Eötvös. It's fittingly called The Eötvös Cycle, and The Music Show will be following this creation of new Australian repertoire over the next five years. 

Composer Cassie To has told other people's stories when she's scored for the screen and advertising, but her debut album, Heart Songs, takes her into a deeply personal space. 

Mantis is the 2025 Pacific Break winner, for his track Weatherman. It's a breakthrough song for Mantis, a Vanuatu artist inspired by Kendrick Lamar and the West Coast sound. He talks to producer Ce on the ground at WOMADelaide where he performed for the first time in Australia.

Music heard in this program:

Title: Cassie ToArtist: The StormComposer: Cassie ToAlbum: Heart SongsLabel: Amica Records

Title: The Unspoken EightArtist: Flinders QuartetComposer: Melody Eötvös & Rishin Singh

Title: ShivelightArtist: Quercus TrioComposer: Melody Eötvös 

Title: Cassie ToArtist: Open HeartComposer: Cassie ToAlbum: Heart SongsLabel: Amica Records

Title: WeathermanArtist: MantisComposer: Ethan-Xavier HakwaAlbum: SingleLabel: Palm Tree Studios

Title: There Is Power In A UnionArtist: Billy BraggComposer: Billy BraggAlbum: Talking With The Taxman About PoetryLabel: Liberation Records

The Music Show is made on Gadigal, Gundungurra, Kaurna, and Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Country Country

Technical production by Tegan Nicholls

Writing about and scholarship of Bob Dylan tends to focus on the words - he's a Nobel Prize winner for literature, after all - but his music deserves a deeper look too. Between the jangling guitar sound, rusty-hinge vocal stylings, and highly variable intonation, his unpolished and constantly shifting attitude towards performing his own music demands a long conversation with Steven Rings, author of What Did You Hear: The Music of Bob Dylan.

Title: Things Have ChangedArtist: Bob DylanComposer: Bob DylanAlbum: The Essential Bob DylanLabel: Columbia

Title: A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall Artist: Bob DylanComposer: Bob DylanAlbum: The Freewheelin' Bob DylanLabel: Columbia

Title: Lord Randall Artist: Jean RitchieComposer: Jean RitchieAlbum: Ballads (From Her Appalachian Family Tradition)Label: Smithsonian Folkways

Title: 1913 MassacreArtist: Woody GuthrieComposer: Woody GuthrieAlbum: Documentary # 1: StruggleLabel: Asch Records

Title: Song To WoodyArtist: Bob DylanComposer: Bob DylanAlbum: Bob DylanLabel: Columbia

Title: It's Hard On We Poor FarmersComposer: TraditionalAlbum: Archival

Title: Running ScaredArtist: Roy OrbisonComposer: Roy Orbison & Joe MelsonAlbum: CryingLabel: London Records

Title: Lay Lady LayArtist: Bob DylanComposer: Bob DylanAlbum: Nashville SkylineLabel: Columbia

Title: One More Cup of CoffeeArtist: Bob DylanComposer: Bob DylanAlbum: DesireLabel: Columbia

Title: A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall Artist: Bob DylanComposer: Bob DylanAlbum: The Concert For Bangla DeshLabel: Apple Records

Title: A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall Artist: Bob DylanComposer: Bob DylanAlbum: Live 1975 (The Rolling Thunder Revue)Label: Columbia

Title: The Jean GenieArtist: David BowieComposer: David Bowie & Mick RonsonAlbum: Aladdin SaneLabel: RCA Victor

Title: It's Gonna RainArtist: Steve ReichComposer: Steve ReichAlbum: Works: 1965-1995Label: Nonesuch

Title: A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall Artist: Bob DylanComposer: Bob DylanAlbum: The Great Music Experience 1994

Title: I Believe In YouArtist: Bob DylanComposer: Bob DylanAlbum: Slow Train ComingLabel: CBS

Title: Blind Willie McTell (Take 5 - Infidels Outtake)Artist: Bob DylanComposer: Bob DylanAlbum: Springtime in New York: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 16Label: Third Man Records

Title: Blind Willie McTellArtist: Bob DylanComposer: Bob DylanAlbum: The Bootleg Series Volumes 1 - 3 [Rare & Unreleased] 1961-1991Label: Columbia

The Music Show is made on Gadigal, Gundungurra, Kaurna, and Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Country Country

Technical production by Ann-Marie Debettencor

Riccardo Tesi and Giua are bringing their melodeon, guitar, and Italian folk tradition to Australia for a series of concerts called Retablos. These are Peruvian magic boxes which create windows into different worlds. Riccardo and Giua join Andy to open a window into their world

Points of Inaccessibility, the latest album by Rafael Anton Irisarri, began as an audio-visual improvisation at a former psychiatric prison in Utrecht. The ambient composer was interested in the emotional distance that exists through our online existence - eternally connected, but drifting further apart - and he explains how that led to melodies on the new record that never fully resolve.

Tour dates for Riccardo Tesi and Giua are here.

Title: Signals from a Distant AfterglowArtist: Rafael Anton IrisarriComposer: Rafael Anton IrisarriAlbum: Points of InaccessibilityLabel: Black Knoll Editions

Title: Martini On The RocksArtist: Giua & Riccardo TesiComposer: Giua & Riccardo TesiAlbum: Retablos (Live)Label: Independent Release

Title: Mex MoonArtist: Giua & Riccardo TesiComposer: Giua & Riccardo TesiAlbum: Retablos (Live)Label: Independent Release

Title: Breaking the UnisonArtist: Rafael Anton IrisarriComposer: Rafael Anton IrisarriAlbum: Points of InaccessibilityLabel: Black Knoll Editions

Title: Empire SystemsArtist: Rafael Anton IrisarriComposer: Rafael Anton IrisarriAlbum: A Fragile GeographyLabel: Black Knoll Editions

Title: A Hard Rain's Gonna FallArtist: Bob DylanComposer: Bob DylanAlbum: The Concert For Bangla DeshLabel: Apple Records

The Music Show is made on Gadigal, Gundungurra, Kaurna, and Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Country Country

Technical production by Ann-Marie Debettencor

Irish singer and multi-instrumentalist Andy Irvine has been coming on The Music Show for over thirty years, so he's the perfect person to start our occasional 2026 series Music Now & Then, in which Andy (Ford) speaks to long-running guests about how the world of music around them has changed over the years. Andy spoke to Andy in front of a gaggle of session-goers at the Gaelic Club in Sydney.

The Music Show is recorded on Gadigal, Gundungurra and Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Country

Technical production by Harvey O'Sullivan and Simon Branthwaite

Spanish violinist María Dueñas makes her Australian debut with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, playing Beethoven’s Violin Concerto. Signed to Deutsche Grammophon since she was nineteen, her distinctive style of playing, her expressiveness, and her youth have all captured audiences. She talks to Andy about embracing canonical repertoire like Beethoven, and new music like the work she's premiered by Mexican composer Gabriela Ortiz. 

Claire Edwardes is an old friend of the show: one of Australia's pre-eminent percussionists, a composer, and the artistic director of new music group Ensemble Offspring, which celebrated its 30th anniversary last year. Her new album, Dual Attractor, is a celebration of marimba and vibraphone, as well as the music of women composers and arrangers... and it ends with a bang. 

María Dueñas performs with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra March 13 & 14, and with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra March 19, 20, & 21. 

Claire Edwardes launches Dual Attractor in Melbourne, Amsterdam, Adelaide, and Canberra between now and July. 

Asteroid Ekosystem launch Sounds Have Dreams in Sydney 20 & 21 March.

On stage at WOMADelaide, the world's festival on Kaurna Country, Andy hosts bands from Tanzania, Colombia, and India via the USA. The Zawose Queens, La Perla, and Ganavya demonstrate their diverse musical languages in front of a live audience. 

The Music Show is made on Kaurna, Gadigal, Gundungurra, and Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Country Country

Technical production by Ann-Marie Debettencor