Brisbane’s favourite record store Jet Black Cat Music and Handsome Tours are proud to announce that Nine Lives Festival will return to Fortitude Valley’s The Tivoli for its third annual edition on Saturday 4th March 2023. 

Headlined by US singer-songwriter Angel Olsen, Nine Lives Festival is honoured to host a carefully-curated lineup of international artists including New York’s Crumb, LA’s Drugdealer and Niger’s Mdou Moctar, joined by a selection of hand-picked homegrown favourites including No Zu, Bones & Jones, Folk Bitch Trio, Girl And Girl, FELIVAND and more. 

Back and better than ever, the beloved Brissy block party will return to Meanjin’s iconic live music institution The Tivoli in 2023 with live performances taking place across two stages over one glorious day.Nine Lives is also thrilled to welcome a summertime bazaar of food-trucks serving up some of the city's most delicious bites, record crates and activities for one and all. 

At the heart of Nine Lives Festival lies it’s tastemaker-tailored lineup uniting world class artists from home & abroad, and spotlighting emerging talent from across the country. The stacked lineup will be headlined by US singer-songwriter Angel Olsen who makes her highly anticipated return to Australia for the first time since 2018 and with three new albums to bring with her, including her most recent sixth studio album ‘Big Time’ featuring “the kind of music that recalls the kind of artists who operate on universal levels” (NME). 

The Brisbane block party will also welcome Brooklyn-based psych-rock quartet Crumb who will be making their first ever visit to Australia since their formation in 2016, and follows the release of their sophomore album Ice Melt in April of 2021. 

LA’s Drugdealer (the project of multi-talented indie veteran Michael Collins previously performing as Run DMT, Salvia Path & the Doobie Sisters) will be making their Australian debut, bringing their patented 70’s-inspired smooth rock to the Nine Lives stage. Debuting the project in 2016 with The End Of Comedy featuring collaborations across the album from Mac DeMarco, Weyes Blood, Ariel Pink + more, Drugdealer released Raw Honey in 2019, and will be bringing their most recent release Hiding In Plain Sight to life at The Tivoli. 

Nine Lives are also thrilled to announce Niger based Tuareg songwriter and acclaimed guitarist Mdou Moctar to the lineup, following on from the recent announcement of his debut performances at Sydney Opera House in March 2023. Marking his name as one to watch with his breakout record and live recording Afelan in 2013, Mdou Moctar’s two most recent albums Ilana (The Creator) in 2019 and Afrique Victime in 2021 have been acclaimed internationally for his unique desert-blues meets psych rock sound, cementing his name as one of the most exciting singular voices in guitar music 

Nine Lives is also proud to highlight some of the most talented up & coming artists from across the country. Recently releasing her debut album ‘Ties’, music lovers are in for a treat with Brisbane’s own FELIVAND who will be bringing her unique brand of organic, textural Alternative Pop to the Nine Lives stage, alongside the latest side project by Nice Biscuit co-front woman Grace Cuell, Baby Cool who will bring her psychedelic folk and country blend to the Nine Lives stage. If that’s not already enough, Nine Lives is thrilled to present local talent No Zu, Platonic Sex and 1tbspn, as well as Bones & Jones, Folk Bitch Trio, Girl & Girl, Loose Fit and No Zu.

A collaboration between record store Jet Black Cat Music and Handsome Tours, Nine Lives Festival made its sold-out debut in February 2020 with an all-star line-up including Julia Jacklin, Angie McMahon, Aldous Harding, Allah-Las, Kevin Morby, Kikagaku Moyo, Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever, Hand Habits, First Beige and Sycco. Of the event, Double J wrote “The vibe felt similar to the earliest Brisbane iteration of the Laneway Festival... The line-up was perfect.” Nine Lives Festival returned in 2022 with an eclectic line-up led by Stella Donelly, King Stingray, Floodlights, Surprise Chef and #1 Dads.